CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENTProcess, Principles & Significance of Design, Selection of Content and Organization of Learning Experiences

M.ED Work Shop

Jamal Shah

CURRICULUM:

• A critical component of school education that

frames or prescribes education-in-practice in a

country or school and provides guidance and

support for the teacher

• A comprehensive educational package involving

the conceptualisation, planning, designing, and

detailing of a comprehensive learning program for

the benefit of deploying it in the schools

SYLLABUS:

• A layout out of key topics and related learning in

an individual course in a learning program

• is a sub-set of the curriculum

PROCESS OF CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

• SIX STEPS OF C.D.

• Identification of the problem or Need

• Need Assessment

• Goals and Objectives

• Content Selection

• Orientation & Method

• Evaluation

IDENTIFICATION OF PROBLEM/ NEED• Encompasses the purpose of the curriculum

• National:

• Development of people as a population and a nation

• Economic and industrial growth

• Changes in line with emerging global trends

• Institutional:

• Compliance to common core curriculum

• Aligned to school’s locational environment and special interest

• Consideration of level of education – middle level

SETTING GOALS & OBJECTIVES

• Educational Goals:

• Provide for holistic development of the children; identify aspects of

intellectual, emotional, social/ spiritual, and physical learning and

growth

• Academic Objectives:

− Relate to discipline and subject learning

− Typically broken down to topical level

− Describe emphases of learning and abilities to demonstrate – learning

outcome

SETTING GOALS & OBJECTIVES• UNESCO 4 PILLARS

• Learning to KNOW

• Learning to DO

• Learning to LIVE TOGETHER

• Learning to BE

• PILLARS IN PAKISTAN

• Philosophy

• Psychology

• Society

• Economics

CONTENT SELECTION• Study of Global Trends

• Benchmark of Compatible Countries

• Environmental Forces:

• Geographical

• Social, Cultural and Political

• Economical

• Educational and Technological

• National History and Literature

ORIENTATION & METHOD• Orientation:

• Refer to advocacy of educational philosophy and teaching and

learning principles and practices:

• Perennialism, Essentialism, Progressivism

• One out of these must be predominant

• Others according to subjects

• Religion and Moral Studies – Perennialism

• History and Social Studies – Essentialism

• Science and Mathematics – Progressivism

ORIENTATION & METHOD• METHOD:

• Teacher Centered, Student Centered

(Extent)

• Thematic arrangements and choice of

teaching strategies

• Learning Activities and Experiences

Intended

• How assessment is to be carried out

EVALUATION & FEEDBACK• An ongoing activity for continuous improvement,

• How well is curriculum producing desired results?

This is based on:

District education officers’ audit results and feedback

Public examination results analysis

Schools’ and teachers’ feedback

Managed by a centralized group or committee

PRINCIPLES & SIGNIFICANCE OF CURRICULUM DESIGN

• Personalization and Choice

• Relevance

• Coherence

• Challenge

• Balance

• Depth

• Progression

PERSONALIZATION AND CHOICE

• To improve the development of learner’s skills focusing on

personalization & choice

• Skills learner use in their wider lives

• Making reference to learner’s skills

• Assessing their understanding and providing feedback and

progress

• Listening to learner’s questions and ideas

• Providing support to tailor their different needs

COHERENCE• Subjects Or Theme Based

• Subject-based curricula support disciplines but tend to

undermine coherence across different aspects of learning

• Theme-based curricula support coherence, but tend to

undermine disciplinary development

• Links between skills

• Similarities and Dissimilarities b/w skills

RELEVANCE

• What to learn (Curriculum)

• Context relates to learner’s need, experience and interest

• How to learn (Pedagogy)

• Consequences (for individual & Society)

• Skills for learning, life and work

• Maturity

CHALLENGE/ RIGOROUS

• Compels learner to think, rethink and think hard

• Disciplinary habits of mind, specific powerful ways of

thinking

• Subject or Discipline???

• Maths: transformation and Invariance

• History: Origin and Context

• Sociology: Structure and Agency

BALANCE• Which subject?

• Developing secure learning of subject-specific skills

• Emphasis to skills that are transferable across curriculum areas

• Better links with skills in literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing

PROGRESSION• Universal

• Addition before multiplication

• Natural

• Multiplication before division

• Differentiation before integration

• Arbitrary

• Areas of triangles before areas of parallelograms

• Optional

• The Romans before the Vikings

DEPTH/ FOCUS• Successful Education

• Persuade learners to learn more

• Increase CURIOSITY

• To Learn ABSTRACT Ideas

• From SIMPLE to COMPLEX

• From Concrete to Abstract

• Big ideas about science

SELECTION OF CONTENTS• Validity

• Comprehensiveness

• Variety

• Appropriateness

• Relevance to LIFE

• Importance

• Conservation

• Beneficial