HIGHER EDUCATION COMMISSION
Concept Paper and Plan for
Symposium on devising the
appropriate method of Curriculum
Development in Higher Education
Prepared by the core committee members
2|Concept Paper and Plan for Symposium
Contents
Symposium on devising the appropriate method of Curriculum Development in Higher Education ... 3
Background:........................................................................................................................................ 3
Models adopted for Curriculum Development .................................................................................. 4
Product Model of Curriculum Development .................................................................................. 5
Process Model of Curriculum Development: ................................................................................. 6
Oliva Model .................................................................................................................................... 7
The Symposium .................................................................................................................................. 8
Objectives ....................................................................................................................................... 8
Dimensions to be included during discussion ................................................................................ 9
Expected Outcome ....................................................................................................................... 10
Format .......................................................................................................................................... 10
Guidelines for Focus Group Discussion ........................................................................................ 10
PROGRAM ..................................................................................................................................... 12
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Symposium on devising appropriate methods of Curriculum Development in Higher
Education
Background:
Higher education system enables individuals and societies in large to define goals, establish
corresponding learning experiences, develop expertise to have a cumulative effects, research for
a better tomorrow and evaluate outcomes for improvement.
Today’s graduates are entering a world of greater uncertainty, risk, complexity and
interdisciplinary demands. University education and the mode of learning at university have to
meet the challenge of preparing students for entry to the world of employment and to equip
them with appropriate skills, knowledge, values and attributes to survive in it. Higher education
should set learning situations to reformulate and create knowledge with an understanding of the
demands of the work.
Universities have to find ways of establishing their worth not only in the preparation of
students, but also how they are linked to business and industry. Higher education has to produce
the workers with those cognitive skills that are required by the labor market. Relevance of
curricula must be considered particularly in terms of the role of higher education as a system and
of each of its institutions towards society. It must, thus include matters like broader opportunities
for participation during various stages of life, links to the world of work and. participation of the
higher education community in the search for up graded knowledge and generation of
employment opportunities and solutions to devastating problems.
The higher education system has played a pivotal role in the improvement of the whole
education system in Pakistan. It has devoted determined efforts to improve general and
professional education as well as to ensure that graduates of this level of education master the
essential competencies needed for life, including those necessary for the pursuit of higher
education endeavor. Higher education institutions are now actively participating in the efforts
leading to the improvement. Now is the time, to assume a leading role to meet the challenges of
curriculum planning and continuous improvement in order to meet sustainable development
requirements.
Our curriculum must be capable of meeting the challenges of sweeping societal,
environmental, industrial and anthropological changes. Higher education institutions should
promote continuous and interactive partnerships with the productive sector using both reactive
and proactive approaches. They must adjust the curriculum to meet the needs of the workplace
and ensure that new disciplines and specializations are incorporated into its content. On the one
hand there is a need of identifying new local and regional needs as well as global trends, and on
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the other hand it is also required to design mechanisms for bringing in flexible models of
retraining and career-switching. This requires flexible initiatives, oriented innovations e and
interdisciplinary approaches’ which allows for the harmonization needed between the trends of
the world of work, and higher education policies and programs.
In the simplest terms curriculum is a combination of all those activities which are planned by
the institutions and provided under the guidance of the teachers. The higher education
institutions are trying their level best to help the learners become informed citizens of the
society, who are equipped with recent knowledge, skills and relevant dispositions; and providing
best possible resources to meet the challenges of the 21st century. But despite of valuable efforts
put by the institutions of higher education, minimum outputs have been observed, and the
students who are graduating from the universities of Pakistan are unable to reach the level which
is the demand of the time in global perspective.
This is no more a hidden reality that the curricula we have are just collections of some
published materials (the content) and limited activities are designed to suit that content generally
and the textbook particularly. In other words, the curriculum is just the content and the content
is just a written textbook and not more than that; although many efforts have been made at
national level to shift the concept of curriculum from delivery of content to planned learning
experiences. The elements of learning objectives, activities, and evaluation are also introduced
in curriculum at various levels but still this seems to be a piecemeal approach. Whatever type of
reviews in the curriculum are made, at one point of time they are done at one specified level and
area, and no efforts have been made for the whole curriculum development. In short the
curricula do not present a coherent picture, and most of the concepts are fragmented.
This situation is not specific to any one particular stratum of education but with little
exceptions all the strata are facing the same situation. Agriculture, engineering, social sciences,
humanities and no other type of education can be excluded from this situation.
Models adopted for Curriculum Development
Most of curriculum development in higher education has to do with the knowledge that is
transmitted and the manner of doing so as well as creation of new knowledge as a result of
research.
Models help us to conceptualize a process by showing certain principles and procedures.
There are several models that served as concrete basis for curriculum development but the
challenges posed by this century have given rise to new dimensions of curriculum mapping and
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designing. Most of the faculty work hard to develop a course that may provide effective learning
experience to students.. They learn in each semester and make revisions based on what worked
and where the course get stumbled. If done correctly, it’s a continuous improvement process
that runs like a well-oiled machine. But no matter how good their individual courses are, it’s easy
for faculty to end up in a silo–unsure of what’s happening in other courses throughout their
discipline or department.
Generally there are two approaches to curriculum development.
1. Inductive approach
Starts with the actual development of curriculum materials and leads to generalization
2. Deductive approach
Proceed from the general to the specific
There are two broader classifications of models of curriculum development
1. Linear models
Propose a certain order or sequence of progression through the various steps
2. Non-Linear models
Enter at various points, skip
components simultaneously
components, reverse the order, and work on two or more
Most of the models adopted so far can be placed in two broader classifications or in other
two polarized simplistic version of curriculum can be described as the “Product curriculum
model” and The “Process curriculum model”.
Product Model of Curriculum Development
It emphasizes on plans and intentions (what?) whereas the product model emphasizes
activities and effects. In the product model student have less control and teacher has more
control. And in the process model the student has higher priority than the content.
In product model behavioral language is used, and evaluation is done in order to see the
efficiency and effectiveness of the curriculum. This model is considered to be more precise and
structured. In this model the means-to-end approach is focused and social and life skills get the
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least priority.
According to this model, there are five major stages in curriculum development.
1. Stating General Aims, Goals and Objectives:
2. Selection of Content:
3. Selection of learning experience:
4. Organisation and matching of learning experience with context:
5. Evaluation
This five staged objective model is cyclic in nature.
Process Model of Curriculum Development:
In contrast to the product model, in the process model the student has more control than the
teacher in devising the activities and plans. The activities are more student-oriented and greater
choice is given to the students. Instead of the structure the environment is considered more
important. Social and life skills are preferred more than the content. The stages are:
1. Selection of Content
2. Selection of Principles of procedures (learning strategies)
3. Devising teaching methods and materials
4. Evaluation by criteria inherent in the field of knowledge
The product models can be terraced to the work of Tyler who greatly influenced curriculum
development in America, the models inspired by the Tyler’s work are criticized very much due to
over emphasis on learning objectives and more rigid in their nature.
In today’sworld the process models are more appreciated as they are more experiential,
learner oriented and they shift the emphasis from content to the learners.
Another classification of models is Technical/scientific Models and Non-Technical models
1. Technical/scientific Models:
In the technical scientific approach the curriculum is a useful blueprint for structuring the
learning environment. This is described as logical, efficient and effective in terms of dealing
education.
2. Non-Technical models
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Non-technical models can be described as subjective, personal, and focusing on learner.
Technical/scientific model can be assumed as product model in some way; whereas nontechnical model is closer to the process model. In technical/scientific model the curriculum is
considered as a plan, a definable process, means-ends analysis, focusing on predetermined
objectives, and too linear in its nature. The Tyler model, and Backward Design Model of Wiggins
& McTighe are example of this approach.
The non-technical model questions the assumptions of the technical/scientific approach. It
also questions the universality or objectivity of the curriculum. It focuses more on learner and
learning. Both learner and learning are not taken in pieces but as a holistic process. The nontechnical approach is more humanistic and the students are considered the participants.
Deliberative model of Ornstein and Hunkin’s, and Post-positivism model are examples of nontechnical approach.
Oliva Model
The curriculum development model proposed by Oliva (1992) can be considered as the
combination of product and process models. Here the needs of society, the learners are focused
along with the basic principles suggested by Tyler or other product models. This is the most
comprehensive model which includes almost all the aspects required to serve the needs of
curriculum development at higher education today.
This model can be broken into following steps.
1. Specify the needs of students in general
2. Specify the needs of society.
3. Write a statement of philosophy and aims of education.
4. Specify the needs of students in your school(s).
5. Specify the needs of the particular community.
6. Specify the needs of the subject matter.
7. Specify the curriculum goals of your school(s).
8. Specify the curriculum objectives of your school(s).
9. Organize and implement the curriculum.
10. Specify instructional goals.
11. Specify instructional objectives.
12. Select instructional strategies.
13. Begin selection of evaluation techniques.
14. Implement instructional strategies.
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15. Make final selection of evaluation techniques.
16. Evaluate instruction and modify instructional components.
17. Evaluate the curriculum and modify curricular components.
Looking at this much comprehensive and holistic model we can not only see the gaps we have
in our current practices of curriculum development but also that how the curriculum needs to be
developed further with a futuristic approach.
The Symposium
Changes in a society immediately require corresponding changes in the curriculum of higher
education institutions presumably because it is the end of formal education and the last
opportunity for entry into the world of work. Besides, higher education has the capacity to
constantly investigate itself in order to make adjustment to improve both its internal and external
efficiency. Also, new developments in various fields and new thinking and visions necessitate
changes in the curriculum in higher education.
This is the time and this is the scenario that calls for the joint efforts to improve the curriculum
by mutually sharing the problems, finding the gaps , looking for some acceptable mechanisms or
models for curriculum development. It will be a comprehensive process of mutually agreeing
upon some points to be tackled, and then devising strategies for reviewing the curriculum, and
finally bringing the curriculum at the level where its objectives, content, learning activities, and
evaluation procedures are aligned well and consequently help the institutions to meet their
strategic goals and achieving the desired outcomes.
With the explosion of knowledge and increasing sophistication of technology, higher
education programs need to be frequently reviewed and developed to keep pace with the needs
of society and the learners. This symposium is an initiative to brainstorm the most suitable
procedure to be adopted as a guide to undertaking curriculum review and development at the
higher education level. The participants, who are invited from relevant fields in academia as well
as the industry, will review the current practices of curriculum development in higher education
and will have focus group discussions to recommend changes for improving the current practices.
Objectives
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Advances in knowledge and technology also make curriculum revision necessary so as to
incorporate the new and relevant developments to keep pace with the needs of society and
industry. In some cases, a new subject may need to be added to the existing program and this
new subject should be developed using existing materials in similar programs elsewhere as
resources.
This activity is initiated with a set of objectives in view:
1. Placing higher education in its local milieu from the international context that is kept in
view when transplanting educational practices.
2. Identifying and filling the gaps that currently exist in higher education curriculum
planning.
3. Responding to the needs of society.
4. Responding to the needs of related industries.
5. Fulfilling the curriculum development needs with regards to coordination and
alignment.
6. Improving horizontal and vertical relationship in curriculum
7. Responding to research evidence from internal and external efficiency studies of the
higher education sub-sector.
8. Reviewing and revising the curriculum on regular bases for continuous improvement
9. Development of an appropriate format for the construction of interdisciplinary
curriculum for different disciplines
Dimensions to be included during discussion
1. The concept of curriculum in its broader sense that may incorporate the learning process
outside the classroom
2. The basic components of curriculum
a. Aims/goals and objectives and their relevance with foundations of education and
also with the world of work.
b. Multi-resource Content and its selection criteria
c. Learning activities, their relationship with learning experiences and selection
criteria.
d. evaluation of curriculum
3. Current approaches of curriculum development in the advanced countries.
4. Approaches of curriculum development in different fields of education including
medicine, engineering, agriculture etc.
5. Horizontal and vertical relationship of curriculum.
6. Discussing the problems related to curriculum development specific to different fields of
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education
7. Devising a mechanism for curriculum review and revision of curriculum on periodic bases
while maintaining the specificity of each field of education.
Expected Outcome
A white paper highlighting specific recommendations on the theme and the objective of this
symposium, including views of participants, will be issued after the symposium. The outcome will
serve as a guideline to improve the process of preparing the curriculum development
document/s at HEC. A web link for the symposium will be created, and the registration form,
documentation, statements and presentations will be posted there. A separate page for
comments and suggestions will also be there to get inputs from those who cannot attend the
symposium personally.
Format
The Symposium will begin with an inaugural session, followed by a key note speaker session.
After the inaugural session one hour parallel focus group discussions of eight disciplines will be
held. Then after the lunch and prayer break there will be a further two hours focused group and
one hour activity to develop recommendation sheets. A moderator in each group with the help
of three panelists may record all the key points and develop the recommendation sheets.
The group discussions will focus on inventing the best way to develop curriculum in each
discipline. The goal of this interactive symposium is to enable participants to assess the options
from a policy as well as a practical and operational perspective, and to discuss proposals which
can serve as guidelines for HEC to set standards of curriculum development.
Second day of symposium will also begin with an opening keynote. Then the group
representatives will present the recommendations. There will open forum for questions and
answers with each group. During the break the core committee members with the help of group
moderators will draft the white paper to be presented at the closing session. This white paper
will serve as guidelines for HEC to set framework and standards of curriculum development.
Some Guiding Questions for Key Note Speakers

How do we integrate the local and international requirements in setting the final
outcomes of the discipline or program?
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


How do we identify the competencies required from the teachers to implement the
proposed curriculum?
How will the organization develop the required competencies of the teachers to
implement the curriculum?
How do we periodically review program learning objectives and improve them in the
light of latest researches and field experiences?
Guidelines for Focus Group Discussion
Discussion Session 1
The moderator may describe the objectives and mode of discussion. Then the process of curriculum
review may be shared by the NCRC member. Discussion will be around the following guiding questions:
 How much the stakeholders feel involved in the process?
 Who feels excluded from it?
 How can the involvement of all stakeholders be ensured?
 What organizational mechanism is required to construct and review curriculum at higher level?
 What need to be the focus area at different procedural levels in the construction and review of
the curriculum?
Discussion Session 2
Take a look at the guidelines and SOPs of HEC and discuss:
1. If we have explicitly defined what we want students who complete our program to know and be
able to do?
2. If we have explicitly defined what are the methods of content selection and organization?
3. How does the existing curriculum integrate needs of individual and society?
4. What is the mechanism to integrate curriculum with the needs of related industries?
5. How far these guidelines help/hinder in designing new and innovative courses?
6. How flexible /rigid do you find the national curriculum framework in bringing changes
periodically?
7. What do you find missing in it? (Keeping in view international trends)
Group Activity
Three documents may be developed during this activity that will then be presented next day:



Proposed improvements in the HEC guidelines & SOPs
Proposed feedback mechanism /proposal to involve and include all stakeholders (university
teachers, students, industry, civil society, policy makers…)
Proposed recommendations to improve the review process at institutional and National Level
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PROGRAM
DAY 1
8:30 AM to 9:30 AM
9:30 AM to 9: 40 AM
9:40 AM To 9:55 AM
9.55 AM - 10.10 AM
10:10 AM- 11: 10 AM
11.10 AM - 11.30 AM
11.30 AM - 1.00 PM
1.00 PM - 2.00 PM
2.00 PM – 4.00 PM
4.00 PM – 5.00 PM
7:30 PM- 10:00 PM
DAY 2
9.00 AM - 11.00 AM
11.00 AM - 11.20 AM
11.20 AM - 1.30 PM
1.30 PM - 2.30 PM
2.30 PM - 3.00 PM
3.00 PM - 3.15 PM
3:15 PM to 3:30 PM
3:30 PM
Registration and Seating
Recitation
Welcome Note by HEC
Address by Chief Guest
KEY NOTE BY DR. M. H. BUTT, QA Session
TEA BREAK
FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS ON CURRENT PRACTICES
NAMAZ AND LUNCH BREAK
FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS ON CURRENT PRACTICES
GROUP ACTIVITY TO DEVELOP RECOMMENDATIONS
PREPARING RECOMMENDATIONS SHEETS
Cultural Evening and Dinner
Panel Presentations (20 + 10) for each group
TEA BREAK
Panel Presentations (20 + 10) for each group
NAMAZ AND LUNCH BREAK
PRESENTATION OF WHITE PAPER
Closing Remarks by Chairman HEC
Vote of Thanks by VC AIOU
Tea/Refreshment