Basics of Developing
Curriculum
Marcy Alancraig, Cabrillo
College
Greg Burchett, Riverside City
College
Chris Sullivan, San Diego Mesa
College
Participant Learning Outcomes
After attending this session, participants
should be able to:
• Explain and employ various
contemporary models of curriculum
development;
• Distinguish between “objectives” and
“outcomes” as they appear in the COR;
More Participant Outcomes
• Develop curriculum at their campuses
that is both theoretically sound and
attentive to local population needs.
What the X?!& is an SLO?
•
•
•
•
Knowledge
Skills
Abilities
Attitudes
that a student can demonstrate by the end of a
course, program, certificate or degree
SLOs: The Big Picture
• Requires HIGHER LEVEL thinking skills
• Synthesizes many discreet skills
• Requires students to APPLY what they’ve
learned
• Results in a product
• Product must be evaluated or assessed by
faculty
Objective: Nuts and Bolts
• Describes small, discreet skills
• Requires basic thinking skills
• Do not necessarily result in a product
A comparison: English 1A
Objectives:
• Develop a main
idea
• Maintain a clear
command of tone
• Show control of
standard English
grammar
SLO
• Write essays,
including researchbased writing,
demonstrating
academic rhetorical
strategies and
documentation.
Other Sample Outcomes
• Biology: Apply concepts of chemistry to
physiological systems
• Speech: Deliver well-researched speeches
to inform and persuade
• Dental Hygiene: Demonstrate technique of
soft-tissue curettage on clinic patients
Clicker Quiz
• Answer the following questions.
• Push A if you think the statement is an
SLO.
• Push B if you think it’s an objective
SLO or Objective?
• (History course) Identify key dates in
American History to 1865.
• A. SLO
• B. Objective
SLO or Objective?
• (Engineering course) Functioning as a
member of a team, the student will
design and present a concrete structure
which complies with engineering
standards.
• A. SLO
• B. Objective
SLO or Objective?
• (Epidemiology course) Define and assess
an epidemic for a given population and
recommend factors influencing the use
of health services.
• A. SLO
• B. Objective
SLO or Objective?
• (Sociology course) Understand that
individuals (and their families) must be
regarded uniquely as individuals with
many contributing variables such as
multicultural issues.
• A. SLO
• B. Objective
SLO or Objective?
• (Math course) Given data students will
analyze information and create a graph
that is correctly titled and labeled,
appropriately designed, and accurately
emphasizes the most important data
content.
• A. SLO
• B. Objective
True or False?
• The college’s mission is peripheral to
program or departmental missions in
matters of curriculum development.
• A. True
• B. False
True or False?
• The course outline of record MUST
contain a reference to critical thinking.
• A. True
• B. False
True or False?
• There is a standard definition of
“critical thinking” in both the Ed.
Code and Title V that can be
applied to all courses and programs.
• A. True
• B. False
True or False?
• Formative and summative assessments
are mutually exclusive.
• A. True
• B. False
Value/Valor
• What do we value in a course of study?
• How do we demonstrate this?
• When do we apply these values to learning
in the classroom?
Formative and Summative
• How do we evaluate student assignments?
• Formative assessment:
Student self-assessment
Feedback (a la CAT)
• Summative assessment:
Unit tests
Mid-terms
Final
Resistance is Futile: The Taxa
Are Here
• Bloom (1956)
• Wiggins and McTighe (1996)
• Fink (2003)
The Promised Land
(a.k.a Critical Thinking)
• “Critical thinking skills are those diverse
cognitive processes and associated attitudes
critical to intelligent action in diverse
situations and fields that can be improved
by instruction or conscious effort.”
Nancy Glock, 1987
Thank You!
• Please fill out the evaluations.
• The presentations will be posted on
the ASCCC website under the
Curriculum Institute within 2
weeks.