Crafting the Curriculum

Introduction
• As a teacher, one has to be a curriculum
designer, curriculum implementor
and a curriculum evaluator.
These threefold functions are embedded
in the teaching profession.
Lesson 1:
Curriculum Design Models

2 ways a curriculum be organized:

• Horizontal organization
• Vertical organization
Other structures of
Curriculum Design
1. Subject-centered design model

• Focuses on the content of the curriculum

• Centered design corresponds mostly on
textbooks
• Aim for excellence in the subject matter
content
 Subject-Centered Curriculum
a. Subject design

• Oldest and the most familiar design for

teachers, parents, laymen and advocates.
• Easy to deliver
• Complementary books are written & support
instructional materials are commercially
available
 Subject-Centered Curriculum
b. Discipline design

• Focuses on academic disciplines

• Learned through a method which the scholars
use to study a specific content in their fields
• Often used in college
 Subject-Centered Curriculum
c. Correlation design

• Links separate subject designs in order to

reduce fragmentation
• Subjects are related to one another but each
maintains its identity
 Subject-Centered Curriculum
d. Broad field design/interdisciplinary

• Prevent the compartmentalization of subjects

& integrate the contents that are related to
each other
• Sometimes called holistic curriculum
– Broad field design draws around themes
and integration
Other structures of
Curriculum Design
2. Learner-Centered Design

• Among the progressive educational

psychologists, the learner is the center of the
educative process.
Other structures of
Curriculum Design
2. Learner-Centered Design

• Among the progressive educational

psychologists, the learner is the center of the
educative process.
Other structures of
Curriculum Design
a. Child-centered design

• Anchored on the needs and interests of the

child
• Learner learns by doing
• Learners interact with the teachers &
environment
• Collaborative effort between teachers &
students on planning lessons
Other structures of
Curriculum Design
b. Experience-centered design

• Believes that the interests and needs of

learners cannot be pre-planned
• Time is flexible and children are free to make
options
• Activities revolve around different emphasis
such as touching, imagining
relating & others
Other structures of
Curriculum Design
c. Humanistic design

• Development of self is the ultimate objective

of learning
• It considers the cognitive, affective and
psychomotor domains to be interconnected
and must be addressed in the curriculum
Other structures of
Curriculum Design
3. Problem-Centered Design

• Draws on social problems, needs, interest and

the abilities of the learners
• Emphases on life situations, contemporary
life problems, areas of living & many others
Other structures of
Curriculum Design
a. Life-situations design

• Pressing immediate problems of the society

and the students' existing concerns are
utilized
• The connection of subject to real situations
increases the relevance of the curriculum
Other structures of
Curriculum Design
b. Core design

• Centers on general education and the

problems are based on common human
activities
• Central focus includes common needs,
problems and concerns of the learner.
Lesson 2:
Dimensions and Principles
of Curriculum Design
6 Dimensions of a Curriculum Design:


Scope Sequence

Continuity Integration

Articulation Balance
Dimensions of Curriculum Design
1. Scope

• All the contents, topics, learning experiences

and organizing threads comprising the
educational plan
• It is where the decision-making of the teacher
is needed
• Can be divided into chunks called
units, sub units, chapters or
sub-chapters
Dimensions of Curriculum Design
1. Scope

• Deductive principle
– from whole to the parts which will
have a cascading arrangement
• Inductive principle
– From examples to generalization
Dimensions of Curriculum Design
2. Sequence

• Contents and experiences are arranged in

hierarchical manner, where the basis can
either be logic of the subject matter or on the
developmental patterns of growth of the
cognitive, affective and psychomotor
domains.
 4 Principles for Sequence
(Smith, Stanley& Shore)
a. Simple to complex learning
– Content experiences are arranged
from simple to complex; concrete to
abstract, from easy to difficult

b. Prerequisite learning
– There are fundamental things to be
learned ahead
 4 Principles for Sequence
(Smith, Stanley& Shore)
c. Whole to part learning
– Overview before specific content or
topics

d. Chronological learning
– Order of events is made as a basis of
sequencing the content and
experiences
5 Major Principles for organizing
content in units
(Posner & Rudnitsky)
1. World-related sequence
– Relationship that exists among people,
objects or events of the world

a. Space
– Spatial relations will be the basis
– Closest to farthest;top to
bottom or east to west
5 Major Principles for organizing
content in units
(Posner & Rudnitsky)
1. World-related sequence
– Relationship that exists among people,
objects or events of the world

a. Space
– Spatial relations will be the basis
– Closest to farthest;top to
bottom or east to west
5 Major Principles for organizing
content in units
(Posner & Rudnitsky)
b. Time
– Content is based from the earliest to
the most recent

c. Physical attributes
– Physical characteristics such as age,
shape, size, brightness and others
5 Major Principles for organizing
content in units
(Posner & Rudnitsky)

2. Concept-related sequence
– Reflects the organization of the
conceptual world, how ideas are
related together in a logical manner
5 Major Principles for organizing
content in units
(Posner & Rudnitsky)
a. Class relations
– Refers to group or set of things that
share common practices

b. Propositional relations
– Statement that asserts something
– Evidence ahead before proposition
5 Major Principles for organizing
content in units
(Posner & Rudnitsky)

3. Inquiry-related sequence
– Based on scientific method of inquiry
– On the process of generating,
discovering and verifying knowledge
– Content and experiences are
sequenced logically and methodically
5 Major Principles for organizing
content in units
(Posner & Rudnitsky)
4. Learning-related sequence
– Based on psychology of learning and
how people learn

a. Empirical prerequisites
– Based on empirical studies where
prerequisite is required before
learning the next
level
5 Major Principles for organizing
content in units
(Posner & Rudnitsky)
b. Familiarity
– Prior learning
– Familiar should be taken up first
before the unfamiliar

c. Difficulty
– Easy content is taken ahead than the
difficult one
5 Major Principles for organizing
content in units
(Posner & Rudnitsky)
d. Interest
– Contents and experiences that
stimulate interest are those that are
novel
– These can arouse curiosity and interest
of learners
– Use these contents and experiences to
increase the appetite for learning
Dimensions of Curriculum Design
3. Continuity

• Vertical repetition and recurring appearances

of the content provide continuity in the
curriculum
• For learners to develop the ideas,these have
developed and re developed in spiral fashion
in increasing depth and breadth as the
learners advance
Dimensions of Curriculum Design
4. Integration

• Organization is drawn from the world themes

from real life concerns

5. Articulation
• Can be done either vertically or horizontally
Guidelines in Curriculum Design
• Curriculum design committee should involve
teachers, parents, administrators and even
students.
• School's vision, mission, goals and objectives
should be reviewed and used as bases for
curriculum design.
• The needs and interest of the learners, in
particular, and the society, in
general should be considered.
Guidelines in Curriculum Design
• Alternative curriculum design should
consider advantages and disadvantages in
terms of costs, scheduling, class size, facilities
and personnel required.
• The curriculum design should take into
account cognitive, affective, psychomotor
skills, concepts and outcomes.
Lesson 3:
Approaches to
Curriculum Design
6 Features of a Curriculum:


Teacher

Learners

Knowledge, Skills, Values
6 Features of a Curriculum:


Strategies and Methods

Performance

Community Partners