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
- Direction of curriculum is
sideways
• Vertical organization
- Follow a vertical design.
Curriculum Design Structures

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
Examples of 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
Examples of 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
Examples of 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
Examples of 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
Curriculum Design Structures

2. Learner-Centered Design

• Among the progressive educational

psychologists, the learner is the center of
the educative process.
Example of Learner-centered Designs
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
Example of Learner-centered Designs

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
Example of Learner-centered Designs

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
Curriculum Design Structures

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
Example of Problem-centered 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
Example of Problem-centered 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)
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
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
Curriculum Development Models

These are based on a body of theory about

teaching and learning.

These are targeted to needs &

characteristics of a particular group of
learners.
Outline approaches, methods, & procedures
for implementation.
 Curriculum Development Models

Deductive Models:

1.Saylor, Alexander, and Lewis’s

2.Tyler’s

Inductive Model:

3. Taba’s model
Models of Curriculum Development

The Taba Model

Taba took what is known as a grass-roots approach to

curriculum development. She believed that the
curriculum should be designed by the teachers rather
than handed down by higher authority. Further, she felt
that teachers should begin the process by creating
teaching-learning units for their students in their
schools rather initially in creating a general curriculum
design.
 Models of Curriculum Development

The Taba Model

an inductive approach to curriculum development,

starting with specifics and building up to a general
design
 The Taba Model

Five-Step Sequence.
1. Producing pilot units - linking theory and practice
a.) Diagnosis of Needs
b.) Formulation of Objectives
c.) Selection of Content
d.) Organization of Content
e.) Selection of Learning Experiences
f.) Organization of Learning Activities
g.) Determination of what to evaluate and of the ways
and means of doing it
h.) Checking for Balance and Sequence
The Taba Model

Five-Step Sequence (cont.):

1.
2. Testing Experimental Units
3. Revising and consolidating
4. Developing a Framework
5. Installing and disseminating new units.
Saylor, Alexander, and Lewis’s conception of the curriculum
planning process:

GOALS & OBJECTIVES

CURRICULUM CURRICULUM CURRICULUM

DESIGNING IMPLEMENTATION EVALUATION

(Instruction)Decisions Decisions as to evaluative

Decisions as to
as to instructional modes procedures for determining
design(s) made by
made by responsible learner progress made by
the responsible
teacher(s). the responsible
curriculum planning
The curriculum plan teacher(s).
group(s) for a
includes alternative Decisions as to evaluative
particular
modes with suggestions procedures for evaluating the
educational center.
as to resources, curriculum.
Various prior
media, and organization, Plans are made by the
decisions by
thus encouraging responsible planning
political
flexibility and more group.
and social agencies
freedom Evaluative data become bases
may limit the
for the teacher(s) for decision making
final design(s).
and students. in further planning.
Models of Curriculum Development

The Saylor, Alexander, and Lewis Model

Curriculum: “a plan for providing sets of learning

opportunities for persons to be educated.”

Curriculum planners begin by specifying the

major educational goals and specific objectives
they wish to be accomplished.
Models of Curriculum Development

The Tyler Model

The best or one of the best known models for

curriculum development with special attention to
planning phases is Ralph W. Tyler’s in his classic little
book, Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction.
The Tyler Model of Curriculum Design

The nature and structure of

knowledge
The needs of the society
The needs of the learner
Tyler:
Fundamental Questions in Developing
Curriculum

 Whateducational purposes should the

school seek to attain?
 What educational experiences can be
provided that are likely to attain these
purposes?
 How can these educational experiences be
effectively organized?
 Howcan we determine whether and to what
extent these purposes are being attained?