Session Six Components of Curriculum Design • There is not one way to design a curriculum • As we saw over the last weeks, educators and educational organizations approach curriculum and education with different philosophies • With each philosophy, there are different methods, approaches and a different way to approach objectives Components of Curriculum Design • Even though educators have different philosophies and goals, curriculum design has some common elements • No matter what your approach, curriculum design is concerned with – Objectives – Content – Learning experiences – evaluation Components of Curriculum Design • Which of the four components you focus on will differ based on the philosophy Activity • In your groups • Design a unit of study based on the philosophy assigned • Include an – Objectives – Content – Learning experiences – evaluation Activity • Spades- Idealism philosophy- concerned with knowledge and truth • Clubs- Realism- Concerned with truth, but used senses • Diamonds- Pragmatist- focus on change and solving problems • Hearts- Existentialist, believe students need to be free to choose what they want to study • Content Area • Government Feedback Curriculum Design • As you can see from the philosophy as a curricularist designs a curriculum the political, philosophical and social surface • There are four Sources that guide curricularist – Science – Society – External truth – Society and the learner The Science Source • Curricularist that rely on science foundation prioritize problem solving and are very concerned with observable, quantifiable elements Society • If You believe society is your source you draw information for your curriculum from ideas related to social situations • The goal is to meet the needs of the diverse social groups while teaching aspects of the common culture Moral Doctrine • If you use Moral Doctrine as a your guide , you look to lasting truths put forward by great thinkers of the past • Not used much anymore • Some private and parochial schools rely on this as a source Knowledge • This is where most curricula come from • There are two types of knowledge – Discipline is when when there is a specific structure, particular methods which scholars in the field recognize, examples – physics, algebra – Undisciplined- when the knowledge is drawn from other fields, environmental education draws from different sciences Knowledge • The problem is that when you use knowledge as your source, it is always growing, it is difficult to keep up with. • So you must ask, what knowledge must be possessed by the majority The Learner • When you use the learner as the source your curriculum is driven by all of those educational psychology concepts we spoke about – Behaviorism – Developmental stages The Learner • When you use the learner as the source your curriculum is driven by all of those educational psychology concepts we spoke about – Behaviorism – Developmental stages Conceptual Framework • Once you decide on what your source of information is, you need to decide on your conceptual framework- How will you organize your curriculum • There are many ways and most of them can be grouped in two different ways – Vertical and Horizontal Conceptual Framework • Horizontal- when curriculum elements are blended – And example would be Contemporary studies which combines math and science content – Has several advantages Conceptual Framework • Vertical- is when you sequence the curriculum. In one year you cover a subject, your revisit it the next year in more detail and with increasing difficulty. Dimensions of the Curriculum Scope • Scope- a concept used often when discussing curriculum • Refers to the breath and depth of the content • Could be as complicated as- all of the content, topics, learning experiences and organizing thread of the educational plan • Could be as simple as a list of key concepts Dimensions of the Curriculum Scope • a curriculum’s full scope can extend for more than a year • When the scope covers just weeks it is a Unit • Units are divide into lesson plans • The current knowledge explosion can sometimes make the scope unmanageable, then the focus of the curriculum write is prioritizing and deciding what not to include Dimensions of the Curriculum Sequence • Usually goes together with Scope like Peanut butter and Jelly • Sequence is the design that will foster cumulative learning, the decision is how do you organize material and experiences so they build on what came before Activity • Discuss in your local groups, what educational psychological elements must be considered when dealing with sequence? Dimensions of the Curriculum Sequence • Organized in a way that information is assimilated • You must consider developmental stages and make sure the information is presented at developmentally appropriate times Dimensions of the Curriculum Sequence • There are several ways to sequence the curriculum – Simple to more complex – reading is done this way – Prerequisite learning- math is often done this way – Whole to part- Physical education is done this way – Chronological- history is often done this way Dimensions of the Curriculum Continuity • Often called the Spiral Curriculum • IS a vertical representation of curriculum components• Skills are recurring and practiced Dimensions of the Curriculum Integration • Integration is the linking all types of knowledge and experiences contained within the curriculum plan • It links all knowledge so it is unified and Not “Atomized” • It is a design dimension as well as a philosophy • Many great reasons to use this Dimensions of the Curriculum Articulation • Articulation is the vertical and horizontal interrelatedness of the curriculum – Horizontal- when teachers discuss with each other in the same grade level and sequence information to support each others subjects – Vertical is when teachers discuss how the present information to support the teacher the next year Activity Local Groups • Identify examples of Vertical and horizontal articulation • Have you seen it done? • How? Basic Designs • There are three basic Design models – Subject Centered – Learner Centered – Problem Centered Basic Designs • There are a number of common problems that curricularist wrestle with when designing curriculum • Some include: – Fragmentation – Depth – Scope – Growing Knowledge base Subject Centered • Subject Design – This is the most traditional model, the oldest design model – Most text books are designed around this mode3l – Stress standards Subject Centered • Subject Design – It is organized according to essential knowledge – With the growing knowledge base, this is a major problem • History is some places is divided intro cultural, economic and geographic history • English can be divided into literature, writing, speech, reading, linguistics and grammar Subject Centered • Subject Design – Proceeds from simple to complex – It emphasizes verbal learning – Con • It tends to be compartmentalized and stress mnemonic • Students interests and experiential learning tends to be ignored. Discipline Centered • Stresses understanding the conceptual structures and process of the discipline • They approach it as a professional in the field ( to some extent) they approach history as a historian would • They would investigate biology Discipline Centered • In a subject centered curriculum, it is successful if children learn information • In a discipline centered, children are expected comprehend the concepts of the discipline • Students use method to process information • It expects students to understand the basic logic of the field Discipline Centered • If students master this area, then the growing knowledge base is not a problem • Students will be able to independently apply their skills to learn about knew knowledge in the field Discipline Centered • People that disagree with the approach, feel that students are not developmentally ready at certain stages to approach learning in this manner • Other critics of this approach feel that it relies on one or a few learning styles and it will not be effective with many students Discipline Centered • Another criticism is the lack of breath that a child will experience in a course- they will get great depth at the expense of breadth- whole language • Believers in this area feel that students should at no point be trained for a job, they should learn a universal set of skills that will make them successful in many jobs Correlation Design • The goal of the Correlation design was to provide linkage between different subjects • It avoid Fragmentation • Most common is combining English and History- American Studies, European Studies – Read literature of the area and time period why the history teacher teaches about the history, culture and economics Correlation Design • Drawback is it requires coordination between the two teachers • Middle schools do this with their common planning addition to common planning, Scheduling is also a obstacle • Can be worked out often in smaller schools Process Design • Similar to the discipline approach, students learn a process by which students learn, • Unlike the discipline approach, the process approach teaches universal principals that can be applied to al subjects Example • A man from a small town in Ireland move to this country • Got a job in the maintenance department at ATT • One day when cleaning an area, came across someone that could get their printer to work • He approached as he would fixing a tractor at home- very logical( changed printers, cables…) and was able to find the problem • The word spread and he continued to use this technique, The company then gave him a job in tech support and gave him more training Process Design • The process design emphasizes procedures that allow students to analyze reality and create a schema by which arrange derived knowledge • As students learn, they share the process so other can learn from that as well • Does not have a great deal of use now • It is predicted that it will be the method of the future • Certainly allows you to deal with all the growing knowledge base Child-Centered Design • Students are active in the learning environment • The learning is connected to the students’ lives • Student’s interest are key to this method • Learners actively construct their own knowledge ( constructivism) Child-Centered Design • Supporters argue that it aligns itself with many Educational Psychological concepts • Some feel that it will reduce Behavior problems- If students are involved, then they will not misbehave- True in any design • Many approaches came out far this design – Quincy approach – Discovery Method Experience- Centered Design • Very Similar to the Child-centered design • However, this design feels that children’s needs can not be anticipated so nothing can be laid out ahead of time • Curriculum cannot be preplanned, everything must be done on the spot • It heavily emphasizes learner’s interest, creativity, and Self Direction Experience- Centered Design • Learning is a social activity• Believe in each child's uniqueness • They believe that an open free school environment will stimulate all students to excel • In an optimal school environment, students are self motivated • The teacher’s role is to facilitate the student to learn • The students are empowered to shape their own learning with the aide of the teacher Romantic Design Radical • Believes of this design believe that society is corrupt, repressive and unable to cure itselfThey believe Schools have used the curricula to control and indoctrinate students • The romantics believe that curricula should be designed to emancipate them • Curricula organized to foster a students’ belief and desire for a common culture, teach intolerance and accept differences in others Romantic Design Radical • Learning is reflective and not imposed by some authority • Radicals view society as deeply flawed Humanistic Design • The antithesis of Behaviorism- Learning is more than a response to a stimulus • Meaning is more important methods • Goals is for the students to become full functioning persons by actively involving them in their own growth Humanistic Design • Designed so students can reach Self Actualization eventually • Stresses knowledge relative to problem solving and deep thinking • Does not follow any discipline lines Humanistic Design • Confluence is an important concept to Humanist• Confluence blends the affective domain with the cognitive domains • Believe that cognitive, psychomotor and affective are all interrelated • Some feel that schools should address pleasures and desire as aesthetic pleasures, emphasizing human beauty Humanistic Design • Some critics of this design is that it focuses on students uniqueness yet pushes activities for all students • Also- it focuses on personal needs, and not on societies • Does not incorporate any cognitive or behaviorist principles Problem-Centered Designs • Focuses on Real- life problems for individuals and society • Problems are planned for the students • Some problems are persistent life problems – Life situations – Contemporary social issues – Areas of living Problem-Centered Designs Life-Situation Design • Life-situation design supporters believe: – Deals with persistent life situations that are crucial to society functioning successfully – Content is organized around the content or of aspects of the community – When students study these social issues, it will improve society Problem-Centered Designs Life-Situation Design • It focuses on the problem solving process • Critics feel that students do not learn the subject matter this way • It tries to integrate subject matter across the curriculum • Very challenging – difficult to organize a scope Problem-Centered Designs Reconstruction Design • This design fosters social action aimed at reconstruction society • It promotes society’s social, political and economic development • Wants to advance social justice • Believes children should be engaged in critical analysis of society in order to improve it • Improve the human condition at the local, national and international level
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