Curriculum Development

The fundamentals

Ms Sumbal Salim. PCEPT Workshop 2011

Task 1
 Lets begin by defining the terms:
1. Curriculum
2. Course
3. Syllabus

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011

 Differentiating between curriculum and
syllabus
 A curriculum may be viewed as the content, standards, or
objectives for which an institution hold the learners accountable.
 Or it may be taken as the set of instructional strategies teachers
plan to use
 However, taken as educational plans, standards or intended
outcomes, curriculum becomes a political stance.
 The teacher is then accountable for the effectiveness of theirs
plans and the implementation of the curricula in a premeditated
manner- leaving little room for flexibility.

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011

Differentiating between curriculum and
syllabus
 Syllabus may be viewed as a concise statement or table of the
heads of discourse..the subjects of a series of lectures..it is
connected with the courses leading to examinations.

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011

What do experts say?
“.. Curriculum is a very general concept which involves
consideration of the whole complex of philosophical, social
and administrative factors which contribute to the planning
of an educational program. Syllabus on the other hand, refers
to that subpart of curriculum which is concerned with a
specification of what units will be taught” (Allen 1984).

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011

 Things to remember
 Curriculum MUST be a flexible document..
 A curriculum should ONLY give a guideline for planning.
 A curriculum may be provided by the institution or expert
curriculum planner.
 Syllabus is a concrete document..
 A syllabus should remind the instructor of what is to be taught,
how it is to be taught and from where it is to be taught.
 A syllabus should be drawn up the instructor or those involved
directly in the teaching.

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011

Types of Curriculum frame-works
Subject-centred
Problem-centred
Learner-centred

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011

Subject-centred Curriculum
 Here the focus is on the content of the curriculum
 The teaching in the subject-centred curriculum corresponds
to the textbook written specifically for the subject

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011

Subject-centred Curriculum
 The focus in subject-centred curriculum may be on
 Traditional areas in the traditional disciplines
 Interdisciplinary topics that touch on a wide variety of fields
 On processes such as problem solving
 On the goal of teaching students to be critical consumers of
information

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011

 Subject to be taught

Definition of important Identification of accompanying

Topic area within the subject to intellectual discipline
generalization and be covered
understandings to teach

Determination of objectives

Deciding upon learning

experiences relevant to
mastering the content

Evaluating the extent of

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011mastery of what was taught
Examples of Subject-centred
curriculum
1. Subject Design
 Stresses entirely on the content
 Learning is very compartmentalised
 Does not account for learner interest, experiences and
tendencies

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011

Examples of Subject-centred
curriculum
2. Discipline Design
 Knowledge gained through a method which the scholars
use to study specific content of their fields
 Only the In-depth study of specialised areas takes place

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011

Examples of Subject-centred
curriculum
3. Correlation Design
 It links separate subject designs to reduce fragmentation
 Subjects are related to one another but also retain
individual identities

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Examples of Subject-centred
curriculum
4. Broad field design/ interdisciplinary
 Prevents compartmentalization of subjects
 Integrates the contents which are related to each other

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011

Learner-centred Curriculum
 Centred on certain aspects of the learners themselves
 May explore the learner‟s own life, family history or local
environment

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011

Examples of learner-centred curriculum
1. Child-centred design (John Dewey, Rouseau, Pestallozi and
Froebel)
 Anchored on the needs and interests of the child
 Learner is actively involved in the learning process
 Learning takes place through doing
 Learners interact with the teachers and the environment

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011

Examples of learner-centred curriculum
2. Experience-centred design
 Experiences of the learners become the starting point
 The learning environment is open and free-no boundaries
are defined
 Learners choose from various activities the teacher
provides
 Learners are empowered to shape their own learning

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011

Examples of learner-centred curriculum
3. Humanistic design (Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers)
 The ultimate goal is development of the self
 Integrates thinking, feeling and doing with the whole
person
 Stresses the development of positive self-concept and
interpersonal skills.

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011

Advantages of learner-centred
curriculum
 Gives power to the learners who are viewed in experts in
knowing what they need to know
 Takes into account the social and cultural context of the
learner
 Creates direct link between in-class work and learners‟ need
for literacy outside the classroom

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011

Disadvantages of learner-centred
curriculum
 Relies on teacher‟s ability to create/select material
appropriate to learners‟ expressed needs
 Requires a skilled teacher, time and resources
 Teachers find it difficult to strike balance among the
competing needs and interests of students

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011

Alternatives for a learner-centred
curriculum
 Student-designed creative activities
 Small group-activities (in and out of class)
 Change seating configuration
 Focus on team learning/peer teaching
 Design problem solving activities
 Paired activities
 Design tasks cards
 Standard lectured
 Teacher demonstration

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011

Problem-centred curriculum
 Subject matter is organised around a real or hypothetical
problem to be solved
 Is engaging and authentic and gives learners a real purpose of
inquiry

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011

Types of problem-centred curriculum
 Life situations involving real problems of practice
 Problems which revolve around life in a given institute
 Problems selected from local issues
 Philosophical or moral problems

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011

Curriculum Development
Is a multi-stage process involving dedication, understanding and
knowledge on part of the curriculum designer or developer

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011

 Curriculum Development for
Engineering
 Various models have been presented in the engineering
educational literature for the development of curricula for study
programs in engineering.
 In the teacher improvement workshop conducted by the
engineering development bank, the following adaption of the
model described by Grayson (1978)was given.
 The model identifies the following stages in the design and
development of a curriculum:
Stage 1: Problem definition
Stage 2: Structuring the curriculum
Stage 3: Implementation
Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011
 Framework for developing an engineering
curriculum based on Grayson’s model
• Mission statement
• Industry needs
• Societal needs
Problem • Professional needs
Defitnition

• Domains of knowledge
• Stdent constraints
• Accrediting body
Structuring the • Resources
curriculum • Teaching and learning methods

• Advisory boards
• External examiners
• Feedback from industry
Implementation • Outcomes assessment
and evaluation

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011

Stage 1 Problem Definition
The inputs to stage 1 are:
The Mission Statement. This should be a part of the
strategic planning and quality management procedures of the
Department and it provides overall guidance of the purpose of the
Department.
Industry Needs. These can be difficult to obtain but
should include a competencies measure of manpower
requirements and the skills, knowledge and employers expect of
graduate engineers.
Societal needs. The role that the engineer will play in the
national development, the engineer's responsibilities to society,
society's expectations and the impact of technology on society are
necessary
Ms Sumbal Salim inputs to the
PCEPT Workshop curriculum design process.
2011
Stage 1 Problem Definition
 Professional needs. This input includes criteria set
for the initial registration of professional engineers,
criteria for continued registration, and criteria for
educational program as set by the professional societies.
 Evaluation of an Existing Curriculum. Feedback
from the existing curriculum, if any, can be used to
determine how well the existing curriculum satisfies the
educational goals. This information will help in improving the
curriculum.

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011

 Task 2
1. Does your department have a mission statement? What do
you think could be the mission statement?
2. How can you conduct a needs analysis to learn about the
industrial needs?
3. Make a list of the needs of the industry of your particular
field.
4. Make a list of the societal roles of engineers of your field.
5. What are the professional needs of engineers from your
field?

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011

Outputs of Stage 1
 A broad statement of the educational objectives of the
engineering education program.
 These educational goals reflect the philosophy of the
Department and are based on the current and future needs of
society, the profession and industry.
 A qualifications profile (Program outcomes) which is a list of
the knowledge, skills and attitudes that a graduate from the
program must possess.

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011

 Setting of Goals
 The Grinter Report, for example, proposed two broad goals-
one technical and the other social- for engineering education.
 The first was the preparation of the student to perform analysis
and creative design, or construction, production or operation,
where a full knowledge of the analysis and design of the
structure, machine or process is essential.
 The second goal was to develop an understanding of the
evolution of society and of the impact of technology on it, an
acquaintance with an appreciation of the heritage of other
cultural fields, and the development of both a personal
philosophy, which will ensure satisfaction in the pursuit of a
productive life, and a sense of moral and ethical values
consistent with the career of a professional engineer.
Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011
 Task 3
1. Write the aims of your curriculum.
(aims are the broad learning outcomes which talk about the
change to be brought about in the learners e.g Students will
learn how to use effective office communication skills in
English)
2. Create a professional profile for learners of your specific
field.

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011

Stage 2 Structuring the Curriculum
Elements
The inputs to stage 2 are:
 The educational objectives and program outcomes from
stage 1.
 The domain of knowledge for the engineering discipline.
This represent the area of the knowledge that can be
identified as being fundamental to the particular discipline,
including the basic sciences and mathematics on which the
engineering principles and practice are based. Advances in
engineering sciences and in technology will result in modifications
to the curriculum if the knowledge of graduates is to be up-to-
date.
 Student characteristics. Course designers are able to
better accommodate the needs of the "clients" if they have
an understanding of the prior education, experience, learning
habits, motivation and numbers of the students entering the
program.
Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011
Stage 2 Structuring the Curriculum Elements
 Accrediting body. The criteria and accrediting
procedures of the relevant authority must be met in the
final curriculum design. Criteria often include topics to covered,
time to spend on each section of the curriculum, minimum length
of course and staff qualifications, for example see the ABET 2000
criteria.
 Resources. The resources available to the Department to
be used in delivering the curriculum include: library facilities,
laboratories, computer systems, staff qualifications, experience
and interests, funding, classrooms, access to resources outside the
department and so on. It may be necessary to plan the upgrading
of some of these resources as part of the continuous improvement
in the quality of the program. The effectiveness of the use as well
as the actual quantity of the resources needs to be considered.
Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011
 Teaching and Learning Methods. An awareness of
the theories of learning can provide some insight into
understanding how university students learn. This in turn
will reflect on the design of the curricula, the teaching
methods, the assessment procedure to adopt and educational
technology to be used. These considerations become more
important when one is involved in the fine details of
curriculum design, that is in the design of the syllabus to
achieve the learning outcomes of each subject.

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011

 Stage 2
Stage 2 consists of two steps:
1. Organizing the main structural elements of the curriculum.
The objective of this step is to make decisions about the
broad structure of the course: the length of study, the
percentage of the course devoted to each study the major
subjects and their sequence, mandatory courses and elective
courses.
 Sequencing of material is important. Students must learn to
apply the fundamentals to increasingly difficult problems over
the duration of the program. Topics may be treated at a
fundamental level initially and at advanced levels in later years.
Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011
Stage 2
 Integration of material is also important. For example, in
the study of mathematics it is good practice if students learn
to apply to their chemical engineering science subjects what
is being taught in mathematics as it is being taught or soon
after. That is, knowledge should not be developed in isolation
in individual courses.
 2. Detailed structuring of the course. This is the development
of the content and learning activities within each subject
area. Subject specialists provide the main input at this stage.

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011

Stage 2
Guiding principles for organizing the content are:
 Exposition of content should proceed from the simple to the
complex
 Material for presentation should be ordered according to
prerequisite knowledge
 Material should be presented from the practical to the
abstract.
 Material should be presented from the part to the whole, that
is individual elements should be mastered before complex
systems or mechanisms are studied.

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011

 Task
 Evaluate the objectives of any particular course in your
curriculum and see whether it contributes towards the aim
or not.
 Does your curriculum have proper sequencing and
integration? Give us an example if, yes. If no, why and how
can it be corrected?

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011

 Stage 3 Implementation and
Evaluation
The curriculum developed and approved at stage 2 must now be
implemented and evaluated.
 ABET 2000, for example, requires that Departments have a
documented assessment process which demonstrates that the
objectives of the program are being measured and achieved, and
that the results of this outcomes assessment are being applied to
the continuous improvement of the study program.
 Evidence that could be gathered as part of this assessment
process would include: students„ results, students' project and
design outputs, nationally (or internationally) referenced subject
content examinations, alumni surveys, career developments of
former students, graduate employment, employer satisfaction
surveys and program accreditation results.
Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011
Stage 3
 Individual subjects can be evaluated by getting feedback from
students, by observing the quality of students' output in
designs, tests or examinations, by observing student
performance in subsequent courses and by comparing class
performance with that in previous years or for similar
courses.

Ms Sumbal Salim PCEPT Workshop 2011