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“The basics in designing and developing a teaching

curriculum for a small-scale education program:


summarized literature”

Aimable Ineza
Makerere University Business School

MARCH 2018
Contents

I. INTRODUCTION TO CURRICULUM DESIGN ...................................................................................... 3


II. PRINCIPLES OF CURRICULUM DESIGN AND HOW THEY ARE USED IN
TEACHING/LEARNING ENVIRONMENT ...................................................................................................... 4

III. SUBJECT-CENTERED AND LEARNER-CENTERED CURRICULUM ............................................ 7

IV. CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT PROCESS .................................................................................... 10

V. REDESIGNING CURRICULUM AND JUSTIFICATION...................................................................... 13

VI. RATIONALE FOR DESIGNING NEW PROGRAMMES .................................................................. 15

REFERENCE ..................................................................................................................................................... 16

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I. INTRODUCTION TO CURRICULUM DESIGN

The word curriculum is derived from the Latin word “currere” meaning to run or to proceed. A
curriculum is a well-defined, prescribed course of studies which students must complete for them
to pass a given level of education.

The curriculum is a total guided learning experiences designed to facilitate learners’ learning for
establishing quality relationship between what is learnt and what operates outside the school
(Ololube, Kpolovie & Makewa, 2015).

The purpose of a curriculum is to enable students to become;


 Successful learners with motivation for learning and are able to think creatively and
independently.
 Confident individuals, who have self-respect, secure values and beliefs, can relate with
others and manage themselves.
 Responsible citizens who are committed to participate responsibly in all spheres of life and
are able to develop knowledge and understanding of the society.
 Effective contributors with an enterprising attitude and can solve problems.

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II. PRINCIPLES OF CURRICULUM DESIGN AND HOW THEY ARE USED
IN TEACHING/LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

Principles help teachers and schools in their practice as a basis for reviewing, evaluating and
improving teaching and learning. Learning should be designed on the following principles.

CHEPSAA. (2013) recommends the following principles for curriculum development:


Alignment
Alignment of intended learning outcomes, teaching and learning activities and assessment: The
methods and activities used to teach the course, as well as the assessment methods, need to be
designed to match and achieve all the stated learning outcomes.

Relevance
The relevance to the needs of the field and the learners: Course content and methods used to
teach it must fit the current requirements and focus of the field of learning; and also be
appropriate for the learners’ level and professional needs.

Coherence
The coherence of the whole programme of learning and teaching: All parts of the course must
clearly be based on the same principles and approach, rather than sending the learners ‘mixed
messages’.

Reiterative process
Curriculum needs to be evaluated and reviewed continuously to remain relevant. The CHEPSAA
workshops are the start of this process.

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The following additional principles may also be considered in developing the curriculum:

Challenge and enjoyment


A curriculum should be designed for learners to experience challenging, engaging and
motivating learning. Learners should be active in their learning and have opportunities to
develop and demonstrate creativity.

Breadth
The intended curriculum should expose learners to a broad range of experiences therefore
learning should be planned and organized so that they learn and develop skills within the
classroom and other aspects of school life. This means that there should be inclusion of co-
curricular activities in an effective curriculum.

Progression
Learners should experience continuous development in their learning as each stage must build
upon earlier knowledge and achievements therefore the curriculum should help learners reflect
on and apply what was learnt earlier.
Depth
A curriculum should give learners opportunities to develop their full capacity for thinking and
learning, exploring and achieving more advanced levels of understanding. As learners grow, they
develop the ability to critically think and be creative therefore the curriculum should be designed
to expose learners to a wide range of content at a given level of education.

Personalization and choice


A curriculum should respond to the individual needs of learners and support particular talents. It
should provide opportunities or exercising responsible personal choice. For instance giving
learners an opportunity to choose the subjects they are interested.

The implication of the above principles in teaching/learning scenario are that, in any curriculum
design, the learner is at the center of the learning process. For example, teachers must use the
principles of relevance, challenge and enjoyment, breadth, progression, depth as well as
personalization and choice to use teaching in order to help the learners to achieve learning.

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The principle of relevance is a reminder that the curriculum should seek to recognize and
promote achievements outside the classroom activities. All kinds of learning experiences that are
relevant and supportive to the learning process must be considered.

All the stated principles above oriented to enhance the employability of the learner. Without
employability, the learner would generally not be able to enjoy the fruits of learning. Learning is
meaningful when its fruits are used to help oneself and the others, especially through gainful
employment.

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III. SUBJECT-CENTERED AND LEARNER-CENTERED CURRICULUM

Teacher Vision (2017) advises that the difference between learner-centered and subject-centered
curriculum is philosophical. Philosophy drives behavior, so when it comes to your teaching style,
it is important to have a deep understanding of your own belief system.

Curricula which adhere to learner-centered classrooms are influenced strongly by constructivism.


Constructivism by Piaget holds that prior knowledge forms the foundation by which new
learning occurs. Learner-centered curricula focus primarily on individual students' learning. The
teacher's role is to facilitate growth by utilizing the interests and unique needs of students as a
guide for meaningful instruction.

Subject-centered curricula on the other hand, focus essentially on delivering content by all
means. The teacher determines what ought to be taught, when, how, and in what time frame. The
content that must be covered throughout the year take precedence. The classes often require strict
discipline because children's interests are considered only after content requirements are
established.

In this framework students are compared with one another. Student success is judged in
comparison with how well others do. A fixed standard of achievement is not necessarily in place.
In these classrooms grades resemble the familiar bell curve.

Table 1 below provides a comparison between subject-centered and learner-centered curriculum:

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Table 1: Comparison between Subject-centered and learner-centered curriculum

Subject Centered Learner Centered


Characteristics  The focus is on the content of  Focuses on what must be learnt
the curriculum. by each learner. Takes into
account relevance and
 The teaching relies on the meaningfulness of what students
textbook written specifically for are learning.
the subject and therefore
depends on how well the  The instructor provides learners
teacher has prepared. with opportunities to learn
independently and from one
 Listening to lectures, studying another to acquire several skills.
the textbooks and studying for
examination are all practices  The approaches used include
that show the influence of the active learning experiences for
subject centered curriculum lectures, assigning open-ended
approach. problems and problems requiring
critical or creative thinking that
 Learning is measured by how cannot be solved by following
much subject matter has been text examples, involving students
learnt and achievement of in simulations and role plays,
learners is checked through and using self-paced and/or
frequent tests team-based learning.

 Learners are taught to be


consumers of information

Advantages  Emphasizes facts and


information in different  Learning is constructive because
organized subjects the learner engages in creating
their own knowledge and
 Amount of subject matter is understanding by connecting
learnt in a set time what is learnt to prior knowledge
and experiences
 If subject matter has been learnt,
the teacher and students feel  Encourages cooperation,
satisfaction communication and negotiation
between the teacher and learners
 There is a predetermined
uniform standard supposed to be  It is based on a challenging
achieved by all students in order curriculum which motivates
to qualify for the examination learning and develops creative
and critical thinking skills in
 Offers teachers with a practical learners
pathway to navigate the
 Deeper understanding and more

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challenges of teaching positive attitude towards the
subject

 There is greater retention of


knowledge

 Due to the existence of positive


interpersonal relationships and
interactions that contain order
and comfort, learners feel
appreciated and respected and so
develop high self esteem

Disadvantages  Without focus on learners  Relies on teacher’s ability to


teachers ignore individual create or select material
learner requests for guidance and appropriate to learner needs
so students think school is
irrelevant  Requires a skilled teacher, time
and resources
 The subject matter selected is of
value to the learner for future use  Teachers find it difficult to strike
but does not address their balance among the competing
immediate need needs and interests of learners

 Learners feel disconnected from


their teachers and peers resulting
into dropping out mentally or
physically because they do not
enjoy learning

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IV. CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

Curriculum development is a multi-stage process involving evaluating the existing program, to


design an improved program, to implementing a new program and back to evaluating the revised
program.

The curriculum development process seeks to address the following:


 What will be taught;
 Who will be taught;
 How it will be taught.

The following are essential considerations in curriculum development process:


 Issue/problem/need is identified (issue or what),
 Characteristics and needs of learners (target audience or who),
 Changes intended for learners (intended outcomes/objectives or what the learners will be able
to do),
 The important and relevant content (what),
 Methods to accomplish intended outcomes (how),
 Evaluation strategies for methods, content, and intended outcomes (What works?).

The following are essential steps in curriculum development process:

1. Problem Definition and Needs Assessment


The curriculum development process starts with the identification and analysis of the need or
problem that is to be addressed by the curriculum.
Problem definition: clearly defines the problem by studying its impact on different
stakeholders. For instance in a nursery school; there could be a need to improve the reading and
writing skills of the learners. Therefore the extent to which it affects the quality of education,
learners, teachers, administrators and society can be studied at this stage.
Needs assessment: involves identifying the difference between how the problem is currently
being addressed and how it should ideally be solved. Learning and teaching methods,

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performance of learners and teachers are examined; this information can be obtained through
questionnaires, interviews, direct observation of skills and so on.

2. Setting Goals and Objectives


After identifying learner needs, the curriculum addresses the needs by setting goals and
objectives which communicate what the curriculum addresses and hopes to achieve.
Goal: a statement that describes the purpose of the programme, course or subject. They are
abstract and generally hard to measure.
 Examples;
i. Student will become knowledgeable about fundamentals of ICT
ii. Student discusses the basic concepts of computer programming
Objective: reflects the knowledge and skills a learner should attain for each lesson. Objectives
are specific and measurable.
 Examples;
i. Student will be able identify parts of a computer correctly
ii. In two computer programming languages, student will be able to write and test a
program calculating average of marks obtained in four subjects

3. Developing Educational Strategies


Once the goals and objectives are determined, educational strategies are developed. These help
the learner to attain the goals and objectives.
Content: specific material to be included in the curriculum such as the topics and sub-topics.
Methods: ways in which content is presented such as recitation, lecture, explanation,
demonstration, discussion, role playing, audiovisual, problem solving and so on. These teaching
learning styles must motivate students to learn the content intended to be taught.

4. Implementing the Curriculum


Once the curriculum has been developed, tested and revised, it is ready for implementation. It is
delivered to school authorities, schools and teachers to prepare for implementation.
It is important that those involved with implementing the course; usually teachers and examiners
as well as students, interpret the curriculum correctly.

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5. Evaluation
This phase is a system of feedback, providing information to planners, teachers, students, parents
and decision-makers. Evaluation is a process involving ongoing activities aimed at gathering
timely information about the quality of a programme. It is done to identify successes and failures
of the curriculum with the intention of correcting deficiencies and to measure if stated objectives
have been achieved.

Image 1 below illustrates the curriculum development process:

Figure 1: Curriculum Development Process

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V. REDESIGNING CURRICULUM AND JUSTIFICATION

In the 21st century, humanity is facing severe difficulties at the societal (global warming,
financial stresses), economic (globalization, innovation) and personal levels (employability,
happiness). Technology’s exponential growth is rapidly compounding the problems via
automation and offshoring, which are producing social disruptions. Education is falling behind
the curve, as it did during the Industrial Revolution (Fadel, 2011)

Adapting to 21st century needs means revisiting each dimension of the curriculum in order to
address the following short-comings:
 Knowledge – relevance required: Students’ lack of innovation. There must be a strike of
balance between the conceptual and practical.

Education need to reflect on the following:


(i) Should engineering become a standard part of curriculum?
(ii) Should trigonometry be replaced by some statistics?
(iii) What is relevant and significant in history?
(iv) Should personal finance be taught to everyone?
(v) Should entrepreneurship be mandatory?

As far as skills are concerned, education need to reflect on the following:


 Skill – necessity for education outcomes: Higher-order Skills (“21st Century Skills”) such
as the “4 C’s” of Creativity, Critical thinking, Communication, Collaboration and others
are essential for absorption of Knowledge as well as for work performance
(vi) Isn’t the rush to cover curricula content hindering emphasis on skills development?
(vii) Do teacher possess the required expertize in combining knowledge and skills in a
coherent ensemble, guiding materials and assessment?

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 Character (Behavior, attitude & values) – to face an increasing challenging world: as
complexities increase, humankind is rediscovering the importance of teaching character
traits such as performance-related: adaptability, persistence, resilience, etc. Moral-
related: integrity, justice, empathy, ethics, etc.

As far as character is concerned, education need to reflect on the following:


(viii) Should character development be also an integral part of the education systems’
mission?

 Meta-Layer: essential for activating change, building expertise, fostering creativity via
analogies, establishing lifelong learning habits, and so on.

As far as character is concerned, education need to reflect on the following:


(ix) How should students learn how to learn?
(x) What is the appropriate sequencing within subjects and between subjects? How do we
develop curiosity?
(xi) How do we facilitate students’ pursuing of their own passions in addition to the
standard curriculum?
(xii) How do we adapt curricula to local needs?

Most of the education transformation efforts worldwide are focused on the “How” of education,
which is laudable. But very little is being done about the “What”. Education must wake up and
adopt, through re-designing, the much needs an innovative global curriculum, adapted to the
needs of the 21st century student and society.

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VI. RATIONALE FOR DESIGNING NEW PROGRAMMES

The following are some of the reasons why some education systems decide to abandon old
education programs to design new ones:

 Aligning with education standards – education systems have standards such as


minimum or maximum years for basic education, required content for curricula at
different levels etc.

 Poor quality of education – inconsistencies and poor performance of students in


national tests i.e. PLE, and Trends in International Math Sciences Study (TIMSS)

 Too many non-practical subjects – too many subject that are not relating with the
knowledge and skills need on the market

 Non-global recognition – if the professionals produced by a given education system


cannot be universally as qualified people

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REFERENCE

CHEPSAA. (2013). Principles and practice of good curriculum design. Cape Town, Consortium
for Health Policy & Systems Analysis in Africa.
Fadel, C. (2011) Redesigning the Curriculum. Center for Curriculum Re-design. Retrieved from
http://curriculumredesign.org/
Olulube, N.P., Kpolovie, P.J., & Makewa, L.N. (2015) Handbook of Research on Enhancing
Teacher Education with Advanced Instructional Technologies. A volume in the Advances
in Higher Education and Professional Development (AHEPD) Book Series

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