Curriculum Design

1. Subject- Centered Curriculum Design

• Focuses on the content of the curriculum, and corresponds mostly to the textbook written for the specific subject, schools divided the school hours across subjects.

• Focuses on a specific discipline/subject

• Subject-centered curriculum design describes what needs to be studied and how it should be studied

• Most common type of curriculum used in the U.S.

• Downside — not student-centered, constructed without taking into account the specific learning styles of the students, which can reduce student engagement and motivation

Subject-Centered Curriculum Design

This curriculum design refers to the organization of curriculum in terms of separate subjects, e.g., geography, math, and history, etc. This has been the oldest school curriculum design and the most common in the world. It was even practiced by the ancient Greek educators. The subject-centered design was adapted by many European and African countries as well as states and districts in the United States. An examination of the subject-centered curriculum design shows that it is used mainly in the upper elementary and secondary schools and colleges. Frequently, laypeople, educators, and other professionals who support this design received their schooling or professional training in this type of system. Teachers, for instance, are trained and specialized to teach one or two subjects at the secondary and sometimes the elementary school levels.

There are advantages and disadvantages of this approach to curriculum organization. There are reasons why some educators advocate for it while others criticize this approach.

Advantages of Subject-Centered Curriculum Design

• It is possible and desirable to determine in advance what all children will learn in various subjects and grade levels. For instance, curricula for schools in centralized systems of education are generally developed and approved centrally by a governing body in the education body for a given district or state. In the U.S., the state government often oversees this process which is guided by standards. It is usually required to set minimum standards of performance and achievement for the knowledge specified in the subject area.

• Almost all textbooks and support materials on the educational market are organized by subject, although the alignment of the text contents and the standards are often open for debate.

• Tradition seems to give this design greater support. People have become familiar and more comfortable with the subject-centered curriculum and view it as part of the system of the school and education as a whole.

• The subject-centered curriculum is better understood by teachers because their training was based on this method, i.e., specialization.

• Advocates of the subject-centered design have argued that the intellectual powers of individual learners can develop through this approach.

• Curriculum planning is easier and simpler in the subject-centered curriculum design.

Disadvantages of Subject-Centered Curriculum Design

• Critics of subject-centered curriculum design have strongly advocated a shift from it. These criticisms are based on the following arguments:

• Subject-centered curriculum tends to bring about a high degree of fragmentation of knowledge.

• Subject-centered curriculum lacks integration of content. Learning in most cases tends to be compartmentalized. Subjects or knowledge are broken down into smaller seemingly unrelated bits of information to be learned.

• This design stresses content and tends to neglect the needs, interests, and experiences of the students.

• There has always been an assumption that information learned through the subject-matter curriculum will be transferred for use in everyday life situations. This claim has been questioned by many scholars who argue that the automatic transfer of the information already learned does not always occur.

• Given the arguments for and against subject-centered curriculum design, let us consider the learner-centered or personalized curriculum design.

Example of Subject-centered curriculum

1. Subject Design- the oldest and most familiar, easy to deliver, has complementary books, written, and available support instructional materials but learning is so compartmentalized, forgets about student's natural tendencies, interests, and experiences.

2. Discipline Design- related to the subject design but focuses on academic discipline, often used in college.

3. Broad Fields/Integrated Design- in the broad fields/integrated curriculum design, two, three, or more subjects are unified into one broad course of study. This organization is a system of combining and regrouping subjects that are related to the curriculum.

2. Learner- Centered Curriculum Design

• The curricula that emphasized the needs, nature, and interests of the learners in the curriculum.

• Focuses on students’ own interests and goals

• Acknowledges that students have individual learning styles, and therefore should not be subject to a standardized curriculum

• Aims to empower learners to shape their education

• Downside — it can create pressure on the educator to source materials specific to each student’s learning needs

Learner-Centered/Personalized Curriculum Design

Students who have varying needs, interests, and abilities may benefit from a personalized curriculum.Learner-centered designs focus on the needs, nature, and interests of the learners in the curriculum. The aim of these design is to develop the potential and the abilities of the learners and to make the curriculum relevant and responsive to them. Learner-centered curriculum design may take various forms such as individualized or personalized learning. In this design, the curriculum is organized around the needs, interests, abilities, and aspirations of students.

Advocates of the design emphasize that attention is paid to what is known about human growth, development, and learning. Planning this type of curriculum is done along with the students after identifying their varied concerns, interests, and priorities and then developing appropriate topics as per the issues raised.

This type of design requires a lot of resources and manpower to meet a variety of needs. Hence, the design is more commonly used in the U.S. and other western countries, while in the developing world the use is more limited.To support this approach, Hilda Taba (1962) stated, “Children like best those things that are attached to solving actual problems that help them in meeting real needs or that connect with some active interest. Learning in its true sense is an active transaction.”

Advantages of the Learner-Centered Curriculum Design

• The needs and interests of students are considered in the selection and organization of content.

• Because the needs and interests of students are considered in the planning of students’ work, the resulting curriculum is relevant to the student’s world.

• The design allows students to be active and acquire skills and procedures that apply to the outside world.

Disadvantages of the Learner-Centered Curriculum Design

• The needs and interests of students may not be valid or long lasting. They are often short-lived.

• The interests and needs of students may not reflect specific areas of knowledge that could be essential for successful functioning in society. Quite often, the needs and interests of students have been emphasized and not those that are important for society in general.

• The nature of the education systems and society in many countries may not permit learner-centered curriculum design to be implemented effectively.

• As pointed out earlier, the design is expensive in regard to resources, both human and fiscal, that are needed to satisfy the needs and interests of individual students.

• This design is sometimes accused of shallowness. It is argued that critical analysis and in-depth coverage of subject content is inhibited by the fact that students’ needs and interests guide the planning process.

Examples of Learner-Centered Curriculum Design

1. Child-centered Design- influence of John Dewey, Rousseau, Pestalozzi, and Froebel, anchored on the needs and interest of the child who engages with his/her environment, learning by doing.

2. Experience-centered Design- the child remains to be the focus but believes that the interests and needs of the learners cannot be pre-planned, the experiences of the learners become the starting point of the curriculum, and the learners are made to choose from various activities that the teacher provides.This concentrates on activities that are meaningful and interesting to the learners. In doing these activities, learners will develop various skills like process skills, communication skills, problem-solving skills critical thinking skills, and creativity that are important for the learner

3. Humanistic Design- by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers, stress the development of positive self-concept and interpersonal skills. The curriculum is composed of topics and learning experiences that focus on the holistic development of an individual. It also addresses the needs and nature of the learners. The goal of this design is the development of a well-rounded individual

3. Problem- Centered Curriculum Design

• Draw on social problems, needs, interest, and abilities of the learners. These curriculum design focus on understanding and finding solution to individual and social issues and problems.

• Focuses on specific issues and their solutions

• Teaches students how to be problem solvers

• Considered an authentic form of learning because students are exposed to real-life issues, so they develop skills that are transferable to the real world

• Downside — this format does not always consider individual learning styles

Example  of Problem- Centered Curriculum

1. Life-situation Design- allows the students to clarify their views of various problem areas, uses past and present experiences of learners to analyze the basic areas of living.

2. Thematic design - This design suggest the thematic approach to integration. Almost all models advocate this approach. The only thing that is different is the main focus of the theme.

3. Problem design- The learners are exposed to the different lessons in problem solving involving real life problems.

4. Core Design - centers on general education, and the problems are based on common human activities.

Curriculum Sequencing is the process of planning, organizing, and scheduling the content of a course of study to ensure that the material is presented logically and meaningfully. A well-sequenced curriculum can help students make ties between their prior learnings to the latest material, understand the relationships between different topics, and build upon existing skills and knowledge.

Sequencing curriculum content is essential in curriculum design. Sequence is defined as the order in which contents are presented to the learners (Print, 1993). Traditionally, contents are sequenced based on the nature of the subjects and disciplines they belong. They are also organized according to a specific curriculum design principle or philosophy.

PRINT’S PRINCIPLES IN SEQUENCING CURRICULUM CONTENT

Print (1993) identified the following design principles that are most commonly used to sequence the curriculum contents:

A. Simple to Complex this is traditionally applied to disciplines like Math, Language, Science, or Music. The topics are arranged in a progressive spiral sequence.

B. Prerequisite Learning

This principle is followed in subjects and courses that largely consist of laws and principles like Geometry, Algebra, and Physics. To understand the laws and principles, students should learn the basic prerequisite knowledge and concepts.

C. Chronology

This design principle suggests sequencing of content according to chronology of events. History is an example.

D. Whole-to-Part Learning

This is a deductive approach to designing contents. One must see the big picture of ideas to understand the specific concepts and skills.

E. Increasing Abstraction content can be sequenced according to the idea or principle that a student can learn most effectively if the concept or skill is related or relevant to own personal experiences.

Curriculum design should be an intentional process, and it can be guided by a teacher’s own experience, or perhaps in a workshop setting, or even part of a curriculum design course. Regardless of the inspiration, there are a few curriculum design tips all educators should keep in mind.

Identify student needs: A student-centered curriculum obviously must originate with students’ needs. However, even if they aren’t considering that type of curriculum design, teachers should have a clear understanding of these needs and use them as a compass as they revamp their course curriculum.

Have a clear set of goals: Clearly defined learning outcomes or course goals will help guide educators as they design new curriculum. These can be state standards, individual student goals or even goals for themselves as educators, but having identifiable benchmarks makes it easier to assess both student and educator success.

Acknowledge limitations: In an ideal world, teachers would have endless resources and time to ensure that all components of their lesson plans and overall curriculum are taught to completion. But in reality, there are limitations, in terms of bandwidth, class time, student abilities and more. When they are designing or updating course curriculum, teachers must acknowledge these limitations and ensure that realistic expectations are set.

Select your instructional methods — Choosing to redesign curriculum is an opportunity for educators to formulate lessons and strategies that play to their strengths. In planning out a refreshed course plan, they should select instructional methods that they enjoy, that are effective with students and that they are proficient in.

Establish an evaluation process — While curriculum design is an opportunity to play to one’s strengths, it is also an opportunity to reflect and more clearly see the effectiveness of certain teaching strategies. During this process, educators should implement a solid evaluation process that gives them high-quality feedback on their lessons and helps inform improvements for the next time.

Lastly, and most importantly, educators should consider taking a curriculum design course. In these courses, teachers are afforded the time to do the curriculum-enriching work for their school, district and classrooms that they may not have had during the school year. 

Factors that Influence Curriculum Design

Several factors need to be taken into account when designing a curriculum. These include:

• teacher’s individual characteristics,

• application of technology,

• student’s cultural background and socio-economic status,

• interactions between teachers and students, and

• classroom management; among many other factors.

Sequencing Curriculum Content

While creating a curriculum and its sequencing, various factors must be considered.

First and foremost, the curriculum should be designed to fulfill the students' particular needs. It should be customized as per their age, level of understanding, and interests. Moreover, the content should also be relevant to their lives and goals. Doing so will help to create an engaging learning environment and motivate students to learn the material more effectively.

The second factor to be considered when creating curriculum sequencing is the importance of scaffolding. Scaffolding breaks complex tasks into smaller and more manageable pieces, providing a framework for evaluating learning. In this way, teachers can assess students for conceptual knowledge and their ability to research, perform, and apply their knowledge at every stage of a course, alerting them to when additional guidance is needed.

The third and most significant factor that needs to be considered is the sequencing of the curriculum. The concepts should be taught logically, building upon previously learned concepts. Doing so will ensure the students can understand and learn the material effectively. Moreover, it should also be flexible, allowing students to review and revisit the material as needed, providing opportunities for further exploration and discovery.

Curriculum sequencing should consider both the student's needs and the curriculum's desired outcomes. Ensuring that the curriculum's sequencing is well thought out and tailored to the needs of the students will ensure that the desired outcomes of the curriculum are achieved.