MODULE 3- CURRICULUM DESIGN

CURRICULUM DESIGN

OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:
1. Define what curriculum design is;
2. Identify different examples of curriculum designs;
3. Discuss the things to consider in designing a curriculum; and
4. Identify the features of a good curriculum design

INTRODUCTION:
Curriculum design is a complex but systematic process. This unit describes a variety of models
of curriculum design to make this complex activity understandable and manageable. It is
important for you as a teacher to understand how the curriculum you are using in your school
was designed. In curriculum designing, the overall framework must be integrated and congruent
with the four elements of the curriculum: goals (intent), content, learning experiences, and
evaluation.

WHAT IS CURRICULUM DESIGN 

Curriculum design is primarily concerned with issues such as what to include in the curriculum
and how to present it in such a way that the curriculum can be implemented with understanding
and success (Barlow et al., 1984). Therefore, curriculum design refers to how the components of
the curriculum have been arranged to facilitate learning (Shiundu & Omulando, 1992).
Curriculum design is also concerned with issues of choosing what the organizational basis or
structural framework of the curriculum is. The choice of a design often implies a value position.
As with other curriculum-related concepts, curriculum design has a variety of definitions,
depending on the scholars involved. For example, Doll (1992) says that curriculum design is a
way of organizing that permits curriculum ideas to function. She also adds that curriculum
design refers to the structure or pattern of the organization of the curriculum.
The curriculum design process results in a curriculum document that contains the following:
 a statement of purpose(s),
 an instructional guide that displays behavioral objectives and content organization in
harmony with school organization,
 a set of guidelines (or rules) governing the use of the curriculum, and
 an evaluation plan.
Thus, the curriculum is designed to fit the organizational pattern of the school/institution for
which it is intended. The way on how a curriculum is conceptualized, organized, developed, and
implemented depends on a particular country's educational objectives. Whatever design is
adopted depends also on the philosophy of education.
There are several ways of designing a school curriculum. Print (1988) classified the different
designs into four groups: subject-centered, learner-centered, problem-centered, and core learning
designs, e.g., language arts combine the separate but related subjects of reading, writing,
speaking, listening, comprehension, and spelling into a core curriculum).

DIFFERENT CURRICULUM DESIGNS

Educ 3- The Teacher and The School Curriculum
1st Semester 2021-2022
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 MODULE 3- CURRICULUM DESIGN

1. Subject-centered Designs 
This model focuses on the content of the curriculum. The subject-centered design corresponds
mostly to the textbook written for the specific subject. It can be focused on traditional areas in
the traditional disciplines interdisciplinary topics that touch on a wide variety of fields on
processes such as problem-solving with the goal of teaching students to be critical consumers of
information. A curriculum can also be organized around a subject center by focusing on certain
processes, strategies, or life skills, such as problem-solving, decision making, or teamwork. 
1. Subject Design. The curriculum is organized in terms of the subject like Mathematics,
Science, Filipino, English, and other subjects, and most of these are offered in the
elementary level. The drawback of this design is that sometimes learning is so
compartmentalized. It stresses so much the content that it forgets about students’
natural tendencies, interests, and experiences. 
2. Academic Discipline Design. Unlike the subject design, the content of the discipline
design is highly specialized, particularly at the college level. Discipline refers to
specific knowledge and through a method which the scholars use to study a specific
content of their fields. This comes from a core, correlated curriculum design that links
separate subject designs to reduce fragmentation. E.g., Biology, Algebra, Earth
Science, and Economics. 
3. Integrated Design. It derives from the principle that learners learn in an integrated
manner. It has three types of integration that basically try to merge two or more
related subjects.
a. Interdisciplinary- includes the merging of two related disciplines or subjects
(E.g., Science and Health)
b. Multidisciplinary or broad fields - includes the integration of three or more
related disciplines (E.g., Civics, History, Culture, Economics & Geography in
Social Studies Curriculum)
c. Core- requires that all subjects or disciplines in the school curriculum be put
together using a single theme.  
2. Learner-centered Designs. Another form is individualized or personalized learning. In this
design, the curriculum is organized around the needs, interests, abilities, and aspirations of
learners. 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.
1. Activity/Experience Design. The design activities are meaningful and interesting to
the learners and develop various skills like process skills, communication skills,
problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity. 
2. Humanistic Design. 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, and the main goal is to develop a well-rounded individual.
3. Problem-centered Designs. Problem-centered or problem-based design organizes subject
matter around a problem, real or hypothetical, that needs to be solved, it is inherently engaging
and authentic because the students have a real purpose to their inquiry -- solving the problem.
1. Thematic Design. The thematic approach to integration focuses on the theme. Themes
can either be concepts, guided questions, activities, or standards and skills but the

Educ 3- The Teacher and The School Curriculum

1st Semester 2021-2022
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 MODULE 3- CURRICULUM DESIGN

purposes and goals are intended to provide education that is holistic, meaningful, and
relevant to the life of the learner. 
2. Problem Design. The learners are exposed to different lessons in problem-solving
real-life problems. 
4. Core Learning Designs. These curriculum designs focus on learning a set of common subjects,
disciplines, courses skills, or knowledge that is necessary for students to master. It aims to
provide an education that is transformative and relevant to all types of learners. In addition, it
aims to develop a habit of mind cultivate the critical and creative thinking of students that they
can employ in their everyday life.
1. Core Design. This is a set of common subjects, disciplines, or courses that are
required for students to study before they graduate or more to a different level.
2. National Core Curriculum Design. This is a set of subjects or courses that are
required to be taught to all students across the country. The national core curriculum
is prescribed by the state through DepEd or CHED. E.g., K to 12 Curriculum for
Basic Education and the BEED/BSED Curriculum for the college of education.

TWO MAJOR FORCES IN DESIGNING CURRICULUM

1. Horizontal Organization- is often referred to as the scope and horizontal integration that
is concerned with the arrangement of curriculum components at any point in time. 
2. Vertical Organization- focuses on the spiral progression of curriculum contents. Spiral
progression curriculum focuses on developing students’ mastery of the content by
examining prerequisite knowledge and skills in learning different subjects. 

SEQUENCING CURRICULUM CONTENT

After you develop the objectives, it is time to decide on sequence for the instruction.
Sequencing is defined as the efficient ordering of the content to improve the learners’
understanding, and help them achieve the objectives (Morrison, Ross & Kemp, 2007). While
some contents may be sequenced in several ways, some should be sequenced in one way for
better presentation of the content. For example, when teaching someone how to write a research
paper does not have an obvious sequence. It can be sequenced in several ways. On the other
hand, before teaching how to calculate standard deviation, you need to teach some concepts (e.g.,
mean) first. Additionally, while some content requires learners to become an expert in a specific
topic such as mathematics or accounting, others may require learners to be expert in a specific
task such as managing a project, writing a conference paper, etc. The sequencing depends on the
content that you teach.
Print (1993) identified the following design principle that are most used to sequence the
curriculum contents.
a) Simple to Complex- topics are arranged in progressive spiral sequence.
b) Prerequisite Learning- basic prerequisite knowledge and concepts are needed
to understand the laws and principles of courses like Geometry, Algebra and
Physics
c) Chronology- this design principle suggests sequencing of content according to
chronology of events.
d) Whole-to-Part Learning- this is a deductive approach to designing content,
one must see the big picture of ideas to understand the specific concepts and
skills.

Educ 3- The Teacher and The School Curriculum

1st Semester 2021-2022
FHRL
 MODULE 3- CURRICULUM DESIGN

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.

CRITERIA FOR THE SELECTION OF SUBJECT MATTER OR CONTENT OF THE

CURRICULUM
The 7 criteria below can be utilized in the selection of subject matter for micro
curriculum, and for the content, subjects needed for the curricular program or course, of the
macro curriculum.

1. Self-sufficiency. To help learners attain maximum self-sufficiency most economically

is the main guiding principle for the subject matter or content selection (Scheffler, 1970)
as cited by Bilbao et al., (2008). The economy of learning refers to less teaching effort
and less use of educational resources, but students gain more results. They can cope up
with the learning outcomes effectively. This means that students should be given chance
to experiment, observe, and do field study. This allows them to learn independently. With
this principle in mind, I suggest that for a high school curriculum or preparatory year,
there should be a one-day independent learning activity each week. However, this should
be carefully planned by the teacher. When the students return, they should present
outputs from the activity.

2. Significance. The subject matter or content is significant if it is selected and organized

for the development of learning activities, skills, processes, and attitudes. It also develops
the three domains of learning namely the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor skills and
considers the cultural aspects of the learners. Particularly, if your students come from
different cultural backgrounds and races, the subject matter must be culture-sensitive. In
short, select a content or subject matter that can achieve the overall aim of the
curriculum.

3. Validity. Validity refers to the authenticity of the subject matter or content you
selected. Make sure that the topics are not obsolete. For example, do not include
typewriting as a skill to be learned by college students. It should be about the computer or
Information Technology (IT). Thus, there is a need to regularly check the subject matter
or contents of the curriculum and replace it if necessary. Do not wait for another 5 years
to change it. Modern curriculum experts are after current trends, relevance, and
authenticity of the curriculum; otherwise, your school or country will be left behind.

4. Interest. This criterion is true to a learner-centered curriculum. Students learn best if

the subject matter is meaningful to them. It becomes meaningful if they are interested in
it. But if the curriculum is subject-centered, teachers have no choice but to finish the
pacing schedule religiously and teach only what is in the book. This may somehow
explain why many fail in the subject.

5. Utility. Another criterion is the usefulness of the content or subject matter. Students
think that a subject matter or some subjects are not important to them. They view it as
useless. As a result, they don’t study. Here are the questions that students often ask: Will

Educ 3- The Teacher and The School Curriculum

1st Semester 2021-2022
FHRL
 MODULE 3- CURRICULUM DESIGN

I need the subject in my job? Will it give meaning to my life? Will it develop my
potentials? Will it solve my problem? Will it be part of the test? Will I have a passing
mark if I learn it? Students only value the subject matter or content if it is useful to them.

6. Learnability. The subject matter or content must be within the schema of the learners.
It should be within their experiences. Teachers should apply theories on the psychology
of learning to know how subjects are presented, sequenced, and organized to maximize
the learning capacity of the students.

7. Feasibility. It means that the subject matter can be fully implemented. It should
consider the real situation of the school, the government, and society, in general. Students
must learn within the allowable time and the use of resources available. Do not give them
a topic that is impossible to finish. For example, you have only one week to finish the
unit but then, the activities may take a month for the students to complete. This is not
feasible. Do not offer a computer subject if there is not even electricity in the area or are
no computers at all.

Think critically!
Study the Philippines curriculum standards in Basic Education, then compare it with
other countries like Singapore, UK, and Japan towards its development and implementation.
Suggest possible revision and or enhancement on our national curriculum to be abreast with the
international standard.
References:
The Teacher and the School Curriculum by Greg Tabios Pawilen
https://oer.pressbooks.pub/curriculumessentials/chapter/curriculum-design-development-and-m
http://oasis.col.org/bitstream/handle/11599/725/Module13.pdf

Educ 3- The Teacher and The School Curriculum

1st Semester 2021-2022
FHRL
 MODULE 3- CURRICULUM DESIGN

https://www.slideshare.net/PrincessLalwani/curriculum-design-and-models
https://www.slideshare.net/AminaTariq8/types-of-curriculum-design-1
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/7-criteria-selection-subject-matter-content-dr-mary-alvior/

Educ 3- The Teacher and The School Curriculum

1st Semester 2021-2022
FHRL