Module 4.
The Teacher as a Curriculum Designer 46
4
The Teacher as a
Curriculum Designer
We are done analysing the curriculum development process in Module 3. We had
explored processes involved in developing a curriculum, the several models used in
developing a curriculum and foundations of curriculum development. In this section, we
will try to explore the fundamentals of curriculum designing and the approaches to
curriculum designing.
SELF-CHECK!!!
After finishing this module, you are expected to achieve the following
intended learning outcomes
1. Accurately identify the fundamentals of curriculum designing.
2. Precisely describe the different approaches to curriculum designing.
LEARNING RESOURCES
For further readings, you may refer to the following books;
Module 4. The Teacher as a Curriculum Designer 47
Curriculum Development for Teachers by: Purita P. Bilbao, Ed.D. [Link] page 41-
56
MET Reviewer LET Specialist 2019 Edition page 318 – 340
EXPLORE!!!!
We will now try to dive in to curriculum designing. We will
explore the fundamentals of curriculum designing, the elements of
a curriculum design and, the different approaches in designing a curriculum.
FUNDAMENTALS OF CURRICULUM DESIGNING
Before a teacher designs a curriculum, it is necessary that the
fundamental concepts and ideas about the curriculum to be considered. Every
curriculum designer, implementer, or evaluator should take in mind the ten
axioms for curriculum designers introduced by Peter Oliva, as a guide in
developing a curriculum.
1. Curriculum change is inevitable, necessary and desirable.
One of the important characteristics of curriculum is its being dynamic.
Because of this, teachers should respond to the changes that occur in schools
and in its context. Societal development and knowledge revolution come so fast
that the need to address the changing condition requires new curriculum designs.
Module 4. The Teacher as a Curriculum Designer 48
2. Curriculum is a product of its time.
A relevant curriculum should respond to changes brought about by current
social forces, philosophical positions, psychological principles, new knowledge,
and educational reforms. This is also called timeliness.
3. Curriculum changes made earlier can exist concurrently with newer
curriculum changes.
A revision in a curriculum starts and ends slowly. More often, curriculum is
gradually phased in and phased out, thus the changes that occur can coexist and
oftentimes overlap for long periods of time.
4. Curriculum changes depend on the people who will implement the
change.
You will implement the curriculum, hence you should be involved in its’
development. You should know how to design a curriculum. Because you are the
implementor of the curriculum, it is best that you should design and own the
changes. This will ensure an effective and long lasting change.
5. Curriculum development is a cooperative group activity.
Consultations with stakeholders when possible will add to a sense of
ownership. Even learners should participate in some aspect of curriculum
designing. Any significant change in the curriculum should involve a broad range
of stakeholders to gain their understanding, support and input.
6. Curriculum development is a decision-making process made from
choices of alternatives.
Module 4. The Teacher as a Curriculum Designer 49
You as a curriculum developer or designer must decide what contents to
teach, philosophy or point of view to support, how to provide for multicultural
groups, what methods or strategies, and what type of evaluation to use.
7. Curriculum development is an ongoing process.
Continuous monitoring, examination, evaluation and improvement of
curricula are to be considered in the design of the curriculum. As the needs of the
learners change, as society changes, and as new knowledge and technology
appear, the curriculum must change.
8. Curriculum development is more effective if it is a comprehensive
process, rather than a “piecemeal”.
A curriculum design should be based on careful plan, should clearly
establish the intended outcomes, support resources and needed time available
and should equip teaching staff pedagogically.
9. Curriculum development is more effective when it follows a
systematic process.
A curriculum design is composed of desired outcomes, subject matter,
complemented with references, set of procedures, needed materials and
resources and evaluation procedure which can be placed in a matrix.
10. Curriculum development starts from where the curriculum is.
Curriculum planners and designers should begin with existing curriculum.
An existing design is a good starting point for any teacher who plans to enhance
and enrich a curriculum.
Module 4. The Teacher as a Curriculum Designer 50
Elements or Components of a Curriculum Design
There are many labels or names for curriculum design. Some would call it
a unit plan, a syllabus or lesson plan. Whatever is the name of the design, they
have common components for all of them are almost the same. Some schools,
institutions or departments added other minor parts or trimmings to the design.
1. Behavioural Objectives or Intended Learning Outcomes.
The objectives or intended learning outcomes are the reasons for undertaking
lessons from the student’s point of view. It is the desired learning outcomes that
are to be accomplished in a particular learning episode, engaged in by the
learners under the guidance of the teacher. As the designer of the curriculum, the
beginning of the learning journey is the learning outcomes to be achieved. For
more details on this matter, you may refer to your assessment of learning
subjects and/or principles of teaching.
2. Content/Subject Matter
The content of the lesson or unit is the topic or subject matter that will be
covered. In selecting content, you should bear in mind the following principles in
addition to those mentioned about the content in Module 2.
➢ Subject matter should be relevant to the outcomes of the curriculum. An
effective curriculum is purposive and clearly focused on the planned
learning outcomes.
Module 4. The Teacher as a Curriculum Designer 51
➢ Subject matter should be appropriate to the level of the lesson or unit. An
effective curriculum is progressive, leading students towards building on
previous lessons. Contents which are too basic or too advanced for the
development levels of learners make students either bored or baffled, and
affect their motivation to learn.
➢ Subject matter should be up to date and, if possible, should reflect current
knowledge and concepts.
3. References
The reference follows the content. It tells where the content or subject matter has
been taken. The reference may be a book, a module, or any publication. It must
bear the author of the material and if possible, the publications.
4. Teaching and Learning Methods
These are activities where learners derive experiences. It is always good
to keep in mind the teaching strategies that students will experience (lecture,
laboratory classes, fieldwork, etc.) and make them learn. The teaching-learning
methods should allow cooperation, competition as well as individualism or
independent learning among the students. (You have a separate course for all of
these teaching methods).
5. Assessment/Evaluation
Module 4. The Teacher as a Curriculum Designer 52
Learning occurs most effectively when students receive feedback. The
process by which this information is generated is assessment. Students usually
learn more by understanding their strengths and weaknesses. For this reason,
summative assessment should include feedback if possible. (You have a
separate course for assessment of learning.)
APPROACHES TO CURRICULUM DESIGNING
More or less, you are familiar with the preliminaries of making a simple
design of a curriculum. You can start by making your lesson plan. You will further
enrich your knowledge by looking into how other curricularists approach the
curriculum design. In the portion, we will study the types of curriculum design
models as well as the approaches to curriculum design.
Types of Curriculum Design Models
There are several ways of looking at curriculum and designing one. For
this lesson, we will focus on the most widely used design models.
1. Subject – Centered Design
This is a curriculum design that focuses on the content of the curriculum.
The subject-centered design corresponds mostly to the textbook because
textbooks are usually written based on the specific subject or course. Henry
Morrison and William Harris are few curricularists who firmly believed in this
design. Subject-centered curriculum design has some variations which are
focused on individual subject, specific discipline and a combination of subjects or
disciplines which are a broad field or interdisciplinary.
Module 4. The Teacher as a Curriculum Designer 53
a. Subject Design
It is the oldest and most familiar design for teachers, parents and other
laymen. According to the advocates, subject design has an advantage because it
is easy to deliver. Textbooks are written and support instructional materials are
commercially available. Teachers are familiar with the format, because they were
educated using also the design. In our country, the number of subjects in the
elementary education is fewer than in secondary level. In college, the number of
subjects also differs according to the degree programs being pursued. For each
subject, a curriculum is being designed.
However, the disadvantage of this design is that sometimes, learning is so
compartmentalized. It stresses so much the content and forgets about student’s
natural tendencies, interests and experiences. The teacher becomes the
dispenser of knowledge and the learners are simply the empty vessel to receive
the information or content form the teacher. This is a traditional approach to
teaching and learning.
b. Discipline Design
This design model is related to subject design. However, while subject
design centers only on the clusters of content, discipline design focuses on
academic disciplines. Discipline refers to specific knowledge learned through a
method which the scholars use to study a specific content of their fields.
Discipline design model of curriculum is often used in college, but not in
elementary or secondary levels. So from the subject centered curriculum,
curriculum moves higher to a discipline when the students are more mature and
Module 4. The Teacher as a Curriculum Designer 54
are already moving towards their career path or disciplines as science,
mathematics, psychology, humanities, history and others.
c. Correlation Design
Coming from a core, correlated curriculum design links separate subject
designs in order to reduce fragmentation. Subjects are related to one another
and still maintain their identity. For example, English literature and social studies
correlate well in the elementary level. In the two subjects, while history is being
studied, different literary pieces during the historical period are also being
studied. To use correlated design, teachers should come together and plan their
lessons cooperatively.
d. Broad field Design or Interdisciplinary
Broad field design or interdisciplinary is a variation of the subject-centered
design. This design was made to cure the compartmentalization of the separate
subjects and integrate the contents that are related to one another. Thus subjects
such as geography, economics, political science, anthropology, sociology and
history are fused into one subject called social studies.
Sometimes called holistic curriculum, broad fields draw around themes
and integration. Interdisciplinary design is similar to thematic design, where a
specific theme is identified, and all other subject areas revolve around the theme.
2. Learner – Centered Design
For progressive educational psychologists, the learner is the center of the
educative process. This emphasis is very strong in the elementary level,
Module 4. The Teacher as a Curriculum Designer 55
however; more concern has been placed on the secondary and even the tertiary
levels. Although in high school, the subject or content has become the focus and
in the college level, the discipline is the center, both levels still recognize the
importance of the learner in the curriculum. Like subject centered design, learner
centered design has also several variations.
a. Child-Centered Design
This design was attributed to the influence of John Dewey, Rouseau,
Pestallozi and Froebel. This design is anchored on the needs and interests of the
child. The learner is not considered passive individual but one who engages with
his/her environment. One learns by doing. Learners actively create; construct
meanings and understanding as viewed by the constructivists. In the child-
centered design, learners interact with the teachers and the environment, thus
there is a collaborative effort on both sides to plan lessons, select content and do
activities together. Learning is a product of the child’s interaction with the
environment.
b. Experience-Centered Design
This design is similar to child-centered design. Although the focus remains
to be the child, experience-centered design believes that the interests and needs
of learners cannot be pre-planned. Instead, experiences of the learners’
becomes the starting point of the curriculum, thus the school environment is left
open and free. Learners are made to choose from various activities that the
teacher provides. The learners are empowered to shape their own learning from
the different opportunities given by the teacher.
Module 4. The Teacher as a Curriculum Designer 56
c. Humanistic Design
The key influence in this curriculum design is Abraham Maslow and Carl
Rogers. Maslow’s theory of self-actualization explains that a person who
achieves this level is accepting of self, others and nature; is simple, spontaneous
and natural; is open to different experiences; possesses empathy and sympathy
towards the less fortunate among the many others. The person can achieve this
state of self-actualization later in life but has to start the process while still in
school. Carl Rogers, believed that a person can enhance self-directed learning
by improving self-understanding, the basic attitude to guide behaviour.
In humanistic curriculum design, the development of the self is the
ultimate objective of learning. It stresses the whole person and the integration of
thinking, feeling and doing. It considers the cognitive, affective and psychomotor
domains to be interconnected and must be addressed in the curriculum. It
stresses the development of self-concept and interpersonal skills.
3. Problem – Centered Design
In general, this design draws on social problems, needs, interest and
abilities of the learners. Various problems are given emphasis. There are those
that center on life situations, contemporary life problems, areas of living and
many others. In this curriculum, content cut across subject boundaries and must
be based on the needs, concerns and abilities of the students. There are two
variations of problem centered design.
a. Life-situations Design
Module 4. The Teacher as a Curriculum Designer 57
In this design, the contents are organized in ways that allow students to
clearly view problem areas. It uses the past and the present experiences of
learners as a means to analyse the basic areas of living. As a starting point, the
pressing immediate problems of the society and the students’ existing concerns
are utilized. Based on Herbert Spencer’s curriculum writing, his emphasis were
activities that sustain life, enhance life, aid in rearing children, maintain the
individual’s social and political relations and enhance leisure, tasks and feelings.
The connection of subject matter to real situations increases the relevance of the
curriculum.
b. Core Problem Design
This design centers on general education and the problems are based on the
common human activities. The central focus of the core design includes common
needs, problems, and concerns of the learners.
Approaches to Curriculum Design
After knowing the design models for curriculum, the next question now is,
how will you approach a particular design? Based on specific design, we will now
examine how you will approach curriculum.
1. Child-Centered or Learner-Centered Approach
This approach to curriculum design is based on the underlying philosophy
that the child or the learner is the center of the educational process. It means that
the curriculum is constructed based on the needs, interest, purposes and abilities
Module 4. The Teacher as a Curriculum Designer 58
of the learners. The curriculum is also built upon the learner’s knowledge, skills,
previous learning and potentials.
Principles of Child-Centered Curriculum Approach
➢ Acknowledge and respect the fundamental rights of the child.
➢ Make all activities revolve around the overall development of the learner.
➢ Consider the uniqueness of every learner in a multicultural classroom.
➢ Consider using differentiated instruction or teaching.
➢ Provide a motivating supportive environment for all the learner.
Let us consider the example cited by Bilbao et. al 2015 illustrating the
child-centered approach.
School X is anchored on the theory of multiple intelligences in all its curricular
and co-curricular activities. Every classroom provides activity centers where
children can learn on their own with different learning resource materials.
Learners can just choose which learning center to engage in with different
resources. This arrangement allows for the capacity of every learner to be
honed. It also allows learning how to learn, hence will develop independence.
The teacher acts as guide for every learner. The learner sets the goal that
can be done within the frame of time.
2. Subject-Centered Approach
This is anchored on a curriculum design which prescribes separate distinct
subjects for every educational level.
Module 4. The Teacher as a Curriculum Designer 59
This approach is anchored on the following principles:
Principles of Subject-Centered Curriculum Approach
➢ The primary focus is the subject matter.
➢ The emphasis is on bits and pieces of information which may be detached
from life.
➢ The subject matter serves as a means of identifying problems of living.
➢ Learning means accumulation of content, or knowledge.
➢ Teacher’s role is to dispense the content.
Example of Subject-Centered Approach:
School Y aims to produce the best graduates in the school district. Every
learner must excel in all academic subjects to be on top of every academic
competition. The higher the level of cognitive intelligence is, the better the
learner. Hence the focus of learning is mastery of the subject matter in terms
of content. Every student is expected to be always on top in terms of mastery
of discipline. Memorization and drill are important learning skills. The school
gives emphasis to intellectual development, and sets aside emotional,
psychomotor and even value development. Success means mastery of the
content.
3. Problem-Centered Approach
This approach is based on a design which assumes that in the process of
living, children experience problems. Thus, problem solving enables the learners
Module 4. The Teacher as a Curriculum Designer 60
to become increasingly able to achieve complete or total development as
individuals. This approach is anchored on the following principles:
Principles of Problem-Centered Curriculum Approach
➢ The learners are capable of directing and guiding themselves in resolving
problems, thus developing every learner to be independent.
➢ The learners are prepared to assume their civic responsibilities through direct
participation in different activities.
➢ The curriculum leads the learners in the recognition of concerns and
problems in seeking solutions. Learners are problem solvers themselves.
Example of Problem-Centered Approach:
School Z believes that a learner should be trained to solve real life
problems that come about because of the needs, interests and abilities of
the learners. Problems persistent in life and society that affect daily living
are also considered. Most of the school activities revolve around finding
solutions to problems like poverty, drug problems, climate change, natural
calamities and many more. Since the school is using a problem-based
design, the same approach is used. Case study and practical work are the
teaching strategies that are utilized. Problem-centered approach has
become popular in many schools.
DISCUSSION BOARD
We will now try to interact with each other in a two way
Module 4. The Teacher as a Curriculum Designer 61
process at a least possible way! I will post a question/s and try to answer it on
your own.
1. What are the fundamentals in curriculum designing?
2. How can you describe the components of a curriculum design?
3. What are the different models for a curriculum design?
4. How can you describe the different approach in curriculum designing?
POST COMPETENCY CHECKLISTS
Let us try to determine if you learned something from our topic. Answer the
following Self-Assessment Question.
SELF – ASSESSMENT QUESTION 4
1. Create a concept map depicting the fundamentals of curriculum designing.
2. Make a checklist of the components of a curriculum design together with some
relevant information.
3. Make a diagram showing the similarities and differences between and among
the different curriculum design models.
4. Make an advance organizer/diagram showing the similarities and differences
of the different approach to curriculum design together with some relevant
details.