REPRESENTATIVE CURRICULUM DESIGNS

Curriculum design describes the purposeful, deliberate and systematic organization of curriculum
within a class or course. In simple terms, it refers to the manner in which teachers plan instruction.
They identify what will be done, who will do it, when, the objectives of each course as well as
what schedule to follow. This unit exposes you to different ways in which teachers design
curriculum, how they identify what will be done, who will do it, and what schedule to follow.

Unit Outcomes

 Using different types of design, demonstrate knowledge and understanding of curriculum

design models.
 Demonstrate knowledge of characteristics and limitations of each model.
 Compare and contrast between the design models.

Unit readings

1. Boud, D., & Feletti, G. (1997). The challenge of problem based learning. Psychology press.
2. Kridel, C. (2010). Encyclopedia of Curriculum Studies. University of South Carolina:
USA.
3. Savey, T.R., & Duffy, T. M. (1995). The challenge of problem based learning: An
instructional model and its constructivist framework. Educational technology. 35(5) 31-38.
4. Zais, R. (1976). Curriculum: Principles and Foundations. New York: Harper & Row
Publishers

4.1 Types of Curriculum Design

There are three basic types of Curriculum Design

 Subject centred design

 Learner centred design
 Problem centred design

4.1.1 Subject Centred Design

Subject centred designs are the most popular and widely used. Knowledge and content are well
accepted as integral parts of the curriculum.

Supporters of subject designs view society as hierarchical with individuals perceived as naturally
evil and requiring control. Learning is conceived as a mechanistic process. Subject content
overrides other curriculum components such as aims, goal, learning activities etc.

There are three kinds of Subject centered designs and these include:

 The Subject design

 The Discipline Design and
 The Broad Fields Design.

4.1.2 The Subject Design

This design encompasses all knowledge essential to the educated man. The subjects represent
knowledge in its most logical, economical, useful, real and easily digestible form and those who
possess it are best equipped to deal with life.

4.1.3 Characteristics of the Subject Design

 This design encourages content coverage with emphasis on memorization and acquisition
of information.
 It uses procedures such as lecture, discussion, exposition, explanation, recitation,
questioning, written exercises, oral reports, term papers etc.
 It is most logical and systematic in organisation.
 It is suited to take advantage of the teacher’s subject matter expertise.
 It focuses on the curriculum and corresponds mostly with the textbook and it is written for
the specific subject.
 It is easy to administer in terms of time tabling, staffing, allocating venues etc.
 Most schools using this kind of structure aim for excellence in the subject matter content.

4.1.3 Limitations of Subject Design

 - It is criticized for fragmenting knowledge and neglecting relationship between subjects.
- It isolates subjects and makes understanding difficult and utility confined to the
passing of assignments and tests.
- It is detached from the concerns and events of the real world.
- It stresses so much on the content that it gives little consideration to needs, interests
and experiences of students. This design holds a passive concept of learning.
- Learning is compartmentalised.

4.2 The Discipline Design

The Subject Design has been predicted on the inherent organization of content as in the subject
design. It differs from the Subject Design in that it clearly specifies the criteria by which a
body of knowledge is determined to be a discipline. For example, English would be replaced
by grammar, rhetoric and literature; Science would be replaced by physics, chemistry and
biology; and social studies by history, geography and economics.

4.2.1 Characteristics of Discipline Design

- Student are encouraged to see the basic logic or structure of the discipline – the
relationships of key concepts, ideas and principles and to understand its characteristic
mode of inquiry.
- The passive memorization character of the subject design is replaced by the discovery
approach to learning.
- It accommodates individual differences, student activities and thinking.
- It purports to produce the intellectually liberated person.
- A discipline based curriculum approach characterizes teaching practice within one
subject and encourages teachers for specialization, depth of content knowledge and
integrity to the conventions of their discipline.

4.2.2 Limitations levelled against Discipline Design

 N.B – Discipline design shares the same limitations as the subject design.

4.3 The Broad Fields Design

The Board Fields Design also known as the Interdisciplinary design represents an effort to
overcome fragmentation and compartmentalization of the subject curriculum by combining
related subjects into a single broad field of study. Broad fields designers strove to give students
an integrated content that fit together logically. For example, Geography, Economics, Political
Science, Anthropology, Sociology and History were fused into Social Studies while
Linguistics, grammar, literature, composition and spelling were combined as Language Arts.
This provides students with a comprehensive view of broad related areas of general education.

4.3.1 Characteristics of Broad Field Design

- Broad Fields Design integrates separate subjects and enables the learner to see the
relationships of the curriculum.

4.3.2 Limitations of Broad Fields Design

- The design does not go deep and broad enough into the content.
- It also overstresses the goals of content coverage and acquisition of information over
the achievement of cognitive and affective process goals.

N.B – Broad Fields design also shares the same limitations as those of Subject and
Discipline designs.

4.3 Learner Centred Design

Supporters of Subject Centred Design view society in democratic terms and with the individual
as a naturally good, even sacred entity.

4.3.1 Characteristics of Learner Centred Designs

- The favoured learning theories are cognitive in character.

- They emphasise individual development and their organization grows out of students’
interests and purposes.
 - They are not pre-organised but evolve as the teacher and students interact. Their
organization depends upon the concerns, topics or problems arising.

4.3.2 Limitations of Learner Centred Designs

- They are difficult to implement as they require high teacher competence.

- It often relies on the teacher’s ability to create materials appropriate to learner’s
expressed needs.
- It is often difficult for teachers to make an acceptable balance among competing needs
and interests of students.

4.3.3 The Activity/Experience Design

One type of Learner Centred Design is the Activity/Experience Design. It includes the activity,
experience and child centred designs, the open, free, alternative and humanistic designs.

The teacher identifies students’ real needs and interests and helps them select the most significant
for study, to help them plan and carry out learning activities and also assist them appraise their
experiences.

4.3.4 Characteristics of the Activity/Experience Design

- The design focuses on problem solving procedures for learning which in turn represent
major values of this design e.g. realness, significance, vitality, relevance, etc.
- The learning activity component of the curriculum is given great consideration.
- Process objectives get more emphasis that subject centred curricula where focus is on
content objectives.
- The design enhances intrinsic motivation.
- What students learn is useful and important for real knowledge and understanding and
not just because it is going to be tested.
- Learning becomes real and meaningful – “relevant” as students gain skills they need in
real life situations.

4.3.5 Limitations of Activity/Experience Design

 - Critics challenge its educative efficacy and neglect for the critical social goals of
education, e.g. Culture.
- It lacks organizational principles or procedures of curriculum design.
- It may not be able to maintain continuity of learning (sequence) as students’ needs and
interests are varied and unpredictable. The design demands an extra ordinarily
competent teacher well versed in extensive liberal education as well as the intricacies
of child development and interpersonal relations.
- Textbooks are not geared towards its requirements. It also requires an abundance of all
types of materials.

4.4 Problem Centred Design

Problem Centred Designs focuses on real-life problems of individuals and society. These designs
are intended to reinforce cultural traditions and address unmet needs of the community and society.
Types of problems may include:

 Life problems involving real problems of practice

 Problems that revolve around life at a given school.
 Problems selected from local issues
 Philosophical or moral problems
 Problem centred curriculum

4.1 Characteristics

- Problem centred designs is a democratic view of society is basic their structure with
emphasis placed on group welfare.
- Problem centered designs teach students how to look at a problem and formulate a
solution.
- Students work as self-directed active investigators and as problem solvers in small
collaborative groups.
- Teachers adopt the role as facilitators of learning, guiding the learning process and
promoting an environment of enquiry.
 - Considered an authentic form of learning because students are exposed to real life
issues, this model helps students to develop skills that are transferable to the real world.
- Has been shown to increase the relevance of the curriculum and encourages creativity,
innovation and collaboration in the classroom.

4.2 Limitations Problem Centred designs

- The drawback to this format is that it does not always consider individual learning
styles.
- Problem centred designs are difficult to institutionalize
- Students cannot really know what might be important for them to learn especially in
areas which they have no prior experience.
- If supervising a problem based learning activity is a new experience, you may need to
prepare to adjust some teaching habits.
- Assessing a student’s performance throughout a problem based learning exercise
demands constant monitoring and note taking.