CURRICULUM MODELS

A Definition of Curriculum (Daniel Tanner, 1980)

“The planned and guided larning experiences and

intnded learning outcomes, formulated through the
systematic reconstructed of knowledge and
experiences, under the auspices of the school, for
the learner's continuous and willful growth in
personal social competence”
Subject-Centered Design Model

• focuses the content on the content of the curriculum

• corresponds mostly to the textbook written for the specific
subject
• 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,
on the goal of of teaching students to be critical
consumers of information
Examples of Subject-Centered Curriculum

• Subject Design
• Discipline Design
• Correlation Design
• Broad field design/ interdisciplinary
Learner-Centered Curriculum

• centered on certain aspects of the learners themselves

• instructional plans are differentiated, giving students the
opportunity to choose assignments, learning experiences
or activities
• takes each individual's needs, interest and goals into
cosideration
Learner-Centered Curriculum

1. Child-centered design
2. Experience-centered design
3. Humanistic design
Learner-Centered Curriculum
Advantages
• It gives power to the learners
• The constructivist element of
this approach honors the social
and cultural context of the
learner
• It creates a direct link between
in-class work and learners'
need for literacy outside the
classroom
Disadvantages
• It oftens relies on the teacher's
ability to create or select
materials appropriate to
learners' expresses needs
• Teachers may also find it
difficult to strike an acceptable
balance among the competing
needs and interests of students
Problem-Centered Curriculum

• organizes subject matter around a problem, real or

hypothetical, that needs to be solved
• is inherently engaging and authentic
Types of problems to be explored may be:
• Life situations involving real problems of practice
• Problems that revolve around life at a given school
• Problems selected from local issues
• Philosophical or moral problems
Problem-Centered Curriculum

1. Life-situations design
2. Core design
Curriculum Developments Models

• these are based on the body of theory about teaching and

learning
• these are targeted to needs and characteristics of a
particular group of learners
• outline approaches, methods and procedures ffor
implementation
• deductive models (Saylor and Alexander; Tyler's)
• inductive model (Taba's model)
The Taba Model

• Taba took what is known as a grass-roots approach to

curriculum development
• she believed that the curriculum should be designed by
the teachers rather than handed down by higher authority.
Further, she felt that teachers should begin the process
by creating teaching-learning units for their students in
their schools rather initially in creating a general
curriculum design
• an inductive approach to curriculum development, starting
with specifics and building up to a general design
7 major steps to grass-roots model

1. diagnosis o need
2. formulation off objectives
3. selection of content
4. organisation of content
5. selection of learning experiences
6. organisation of learning activities
7. evaluation and means of evaluation
The Saylor and Alexander Model
Galen Saylor and William Alexander (1974) viewed
curriculum development as consisting of four steps.
According to them, curriculum is “a plan for providing
sets of learning opportunities to achieve broad
educational goals and related specific objectives for
an identifiable population served by a single school
center”
Curriculum planners begin by specifying the major
educational goals and specific objectives they wish
to be accomplished.
Four steps of curriculum development accdg. to
Saylor and Alexander

1. Goals, Objectives and Domains

2. Curriculum Designing
3. Curriculum Implementation
4. Evaluation
The Tyler Model

• one of the best known curriculum model is the Tyler

Model introduced in 1949 by Ralph Tyler in his classic
book Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction
• In his book Tyler presented the concept that curriculum
should be: dynamic and a program under constant
evaluation and revision
• it is deductive for it proceeds from general (examining the
needs of society) to the specific (specifying instructional
objectives)
Tyler's Four Fundamental Questions:

1. What educational purposes should the school seek to

attain?
2. What educational learning experiences can be provided
that are likely to attain theses purposes?
3. How can these eduational experiences be effectively
organized?
4. How can we determine whether these purposes are
being attained?
 Tyler's Model
deductive
argues from the administrator approach
believes that admministration should design
the curriculum and the teachers implement it
lays the main stress on aims, evaluation and
control
This approach may be perfect, perhaps, for
market-oriented education, but inadequate for
the development of responsible and creative
individuals able to meet the challenges
Taba's Model
inductive
reflects the teacher's approach
believes that the teachers are aware of the
students needs; hence teachers should be the
ones to develop the curriculum and implement
in practice
her rationale does not start with objectives, as
she believes that the demand for education in
a particular society should be studied first
pays attention to the selection of the content
and its organization with an aim to provide
students with an opportunity to learn