What is curriculum design?

Curriculum design involves the creation of an organizational plan for education

professionals to use in their class. Teachers can use curriculum design to arrange
their courses, create a schedule and design lesson plans.

In their curriculum design, teachers plan activities, coursework and educational

assessments to help students achieve academic success. Teachers may also design
curriculum according to their school's specific guidelines and teaching standards.

Schools may choose to standardize their curriculum design, which involves

creating one curriculum design for all teachers within a school system to follow.
For example, school administration may provide teachers with a curriculum design
they must follow throughout the school year, which provides details on specific
activities, due dates and coursework that teachers provide to students.

Related: How To Become a Curriculum Developer (With Tips)

Types of curriculum design

As a teacher, you can choose which type of curriculum design to use based on the
size of your class and your student's educational needs. Schools may combine
subject-centered curriculum with student-centered curriculum to create a design
that covers the proper subjects and works with a variety of student learning styles.

Here are the three types of curriculum design teachers can use:

Subject-centered design

Teachers use subject-centered curriculum design when creating curriculum about

a specific subject material or educational topic. This type of curriculum design
focuses on the educational material, rather than a specific learning style.

For example, a teacher may make a curriculum design that focuses only on math
concepts, using generalized activities that cater to a variety of learning style.
Subject-centered curriculum design includes information about the subject that a
class studies. It typically provides details on specific activities, coursework and
exams a class can complete for each subject.
It's common for teachers to use subject-centered design for larger classes since it
may be more challenging to make student-centered curriculum involve each
student in their class. While it's easier for schools to use subject-centered
curriculum, it may be more challenging to use this curriculum design to cater to
each student's specific needs.

Related: Instructional Design vs. Curriculum Development: Key Differences

Learner-centered design

This is a student-centered design that involves creating a curriculum according to

the needs of the student. A teacher may individual a curriculum plan for each
student, or they can create a curriculum design that involves the entire class.

For example, a teacher may create a curriculum design for a student that finds it
challenging to pay attention for a long period by including several small activities
don't don't require extensive amounts of attention. If their entire class prefers
doing group work, then they may include activities in their curriculum design that
involve working in small and large groups.

Often, learning-centered curriculum design involves allowing students to choose

their assignments, activities and lessons according to their preferred learning
style. By doing this, teachers may motivate students to take control of their
education.

Teachers might find this type of curriculum design to be more challenging to

complete since it requires more detailed instructions that are specific to each type
of learning style. This design may be useful for teachers who have smaller classes,
or for schools that have fewer students, as it may be easier for them to focus on
each student's individual needs.

Related: How To Write a Curriculum

Problem-centered design

This is another form of student-centered design that focuses on a student's

specific educational challenges. Teachers can use problem-centered design after
identifying areas of improvement for a student's learning. For example, if a
teacher notices a student struggling to understand a specific concept, they can use
this curriculum design to help the student better understand the information.
Teachers may also create problem-centered curriculum designs for common
education challenges. So, if a teacher knows that students often have trouble with
a specific science concept, they can make a curriculum design that covers the
concept thoroughly.

Related: Top 11 Teacher Careers (Plus Education Requirements, Salary and Job
Duties)

Benefits of curriculum design

Here are several reasons a teacher may use a curriculum design. Curriculum
design can:

 Boost student engagement: Teachers can plan activities in their

curriculum design that may boost student engagement in the
classroom. For example, they may plan a learning game that
encourages students to take part.
 Improve learning environment: Teachers may improve the
environment of their classroom by using a curriculum design, since
the design allows for more organization and efficiency in their
lesson plans.
 Develop learning goals: A teacher may develop goals for their
classroom, which they can achieve by creating a curriculum design
tailored to each goal. For example, if their class' goal involves
learning the alphabet by the end of the school year, they can design
lesson plans that involve teaching the alphabet in a fun and creative
way.
 Track student's progress: Teachers often design their curriculum
to help track their student's progress. For example, teachers may
include various exams throughout their curriculum design to
identify students that may need further help in their course.

What are the best practices for curriculum design?

Here are some best practices to keep in mind throughout the curriculum design
process:
Identify student's needs

Before designing your curriculum, try identifying the needs of your students. You
may identify your class' collective needs, or you can identify individual needs. It
may be useful to observe your students while you're teaching to understand their
learning styles. Also, try identifying specific subject material that may be more
challenging for your students so that you know which topics may require a
problem-centered curriculum design.

Related: 9 Jobs You Can Do With a Curriculum and Instruction Degree

Develop learning goals

It's important to create learning goals for your class so that you can understand
the curriculum's purpose. You may include goals you want your students to
achieve, or you can communicate with your class to understand the goals that they
want to accomplish during the school year. After creating a list of goals, include
activities and lessons in your curriculum design to help students achieve positive
results.

Related: Learning Goals vs. Performance Goals: Differences and Advantages

Create a curriculum map

A curriculum map is a graph or chart that teachers use to have a visual

representation of their curriculum design. The map contains information about
activities, deadlines, exams, student progress and specific instructions. By having a
map of your curriculum, you may view areas of improvement or scheduling issues
and ensure that your curriculum follows a proper timeline. Some software
programs allow you to transfer your written curriculum design into a curriculum
map.

Related: What Is a Process Map?

Review potential challenges

Try to review areas in your curriculum that may cause potential challenges for
students or interfere with the curriculum's schedule. For example, you may not
want to teach an important lesson on the day before a long school break since
students may be likely to forget the material they learn that day. Identifying
potential issues can help you create a schedule that meets your student's needs.

Related: How To Identify and Overcome Any Weakness

Change the design

Be sure to pay close attention to your student's progress so that you can identify
potential challenges and areas of improvement in your curriculum design. It's
useful to change designs if it can improve your student's learning experience, help
them reach their goals and create a better classroom environment. For example, if
your students find a specific activity challenging, you may delete that activity from
future curriculum and replace it with a different activity.

Related: Peer Feedback: 18 Tips for Providing Constructive Feedback

Evaluate your design

You may find it useful to evaluate your curriculum design at the end of the school
year to see the design's strengths and areas of improvement. Review your class's
achievement rates for each goal and communicate with your class to see which
aspects of the curriculum they liked and disliked. Be sure to note areas of
improvement in your previous curriculum designs so that you can create improved
designs in the future.