Unit 4

Curriculum Development Stages

Stage 3-Part I
Format & Presentation
Stage 3: Format & Presentation /
Implementing
In the context of curriculum development, "format and presentation"
refers to the way in which educational content is organized,
structured, and delivered to learners. This encompasses various
elements such as the design of instructional materials, the
sequencing of content, the methods of delivery, and the visual and
textual layout. The goal of effective format and presentation is to
enhance understanding, engagement, and retention of information by
making it accessible and appealing to learners.
In the curriculum design process, the format and presentation
stage is crucial as it integrates data from needs and environment
analysis with chosen learning principles.

This stage involves creating activities for learners.

Potential Issues: Ineffective design may result in a course that

doesn't suit the learning environment or doesn't apply effective
teaching and learning methods.
Guidelines for designing a format
Factors to consider

When deciding on the format and presentation of a curriculum, factors such as

the learning environment, learner needs, and teaching principles must be
considered.

Communication of Lesson Goals: A challenge for curriculum designers is

effectively communicating the reasons behind each lesson's structure. It is
essential that both teachers and learners understand the goals of each activity.
Format and presentation must take account of the environment in which the
course will be used, the needs of the learners, and principles of teaching and
learning.
Format guidelines based on environment and needs (Nation 2010, p. 89)
Principles for designing a format (Nation 2010, pp. 89-90)

1. Motivation: As much as possible, the learners should be interested and excited about
learning the language and they should come to value this learning.
2. Four strands: A course should include a roughly even balance of meaning-focused input,
language-focused learning, meaning- focused output and fluency activities.
3. Comprehensible input: There should be substantial quantities of interesting comprehensible
receptive activity in both listening and reading.
4. Fluency: A language course should provide activities aimed at increasing the fluency with
which learners can use the language they already know, both receptively and productively.
5. Output: The learners should be pushed to produce the language in both speaking and writing
over a range of discourse types.
6. Deliberate learning: The course should include language- focused learning on the sound
system, spelling, vocabulary, grammar and discourse areas.
7. Time on task: As much time as possible should be spent using and focusing on the second
language.
8. Depth of processing: Learners should process the items to be learned as deeply and as
thoughtfully as possible.
9. Integrative motivation: A course should be presented so that the learners have the most
favorable attitudes to the language, to users of the language, to the teacher’s skill in teaching
the language, and to their chance of success in learning the language.
10. Learning style: There should be opportunity for learners to work with the learning material
The Four Strands
It is important that a language course provides a balanced range of opportunities for
learning.
One way of trying to check this balance of opportunities is to see a course as
consisting of four strands which are each given a roughly equal amount of time
(Nation, 2007).
These four strands are meaning-focused input, meaning-focused output, language-
focused learning, & fluency development.
Strand 1: Meaning-focused input
Main Goal
 Understanding, gaining knowledge, and enjoyment

 Involves learning through listening and reading (receptive language)

 Largely incidental learning because the learners’ attention should be focused on comprehending
what is being read or listened to.
 Relies on comprehensible input with low unknown language elements.

Conditions
 Content is mostly familiar
 Interesting content; desire to understand
 Support from context clues and background knowledge
 Large quantity of input

Activities

Extensive reading, shared reading, listening to stories, watching TV or films, interactive listening: listen to a

conversation, following instructions, receptive information transfer, Interactive engaging with spoken
Strand 2: Meaning-focused Output
Main Goal
 Communicating message with language that is mostly familiar

 "Communicative language teaching"

 Developing productive skills (Speaking & Writing)

Conditions
 Content is mostly familiar

 Main goal: conveying message

 Developing communication strategies & fluency

 Plenty of opportunities to speak / write

Activities
Conversation, presentations, storytelling, giving instructions, SMS chatting, writing letters
or emails, role plays, problem-solving, reading activities, etc.
Strand 3: Language-focused Learning

Main Goal

 Learning language features: grammar, vocabulary, spelling, pronunciation, and

discourse.

Conditions

 Deliberate attention given to language features = deliberate learning, NOT incidental.

 Relatively simple features; not dependent on prior knowledge learners do not have.

 Features should occur often in the other three strands.

Activities

 Intensive reading/listening, pronunciation practice, grammar rules, substitution tables

and drills, vocabulary from word cards, translation exercises.

Strand 4: Fluency Development
Main Goal
 Improve fluency across all four skills (L, R, S, W)
 Developing speed and reinforcing learning (processing language in real-
time).

Conditions
 Content is mostly familiar.
 Some pressure or encouragement to perform faster than usual.
 Lots of input and output.
 Focus on receiving or conveying meaning.

Activities
 Speed reading, repeated retelling, ten-minute writing, and listening to
stories.
Balancing the four strands
Each strand should receive roughly equal attention in a well-
balanced course.
Activities & Conditions for the Four Strands (Nation 2010, p. 94)
Block vs Thread Lesson Planning
In a very interesting book entitled Planning from Lesson to Lesson (1995), Woodward and
Lindstromberg describe two ways of planning a lesson:

One way is called a "block” lesson where the lesson has a set format and is a separate
block largely complete within itself.
Block Lesson Plan Example:
Science Lesson on the Water Cycle
1. Objective: Students will understand the stages of the water cycle (evaporation,
condensation, precipitation, collection).
2. Materials: Diagram of the water cycle, interactive whiteboard, water cycle song.
3. Activities:
 Introduction to the water cycle with a diagram.
 Group activity: Create a water cycle model.
 Interactive activity: Water cycle song and dance.
 Assessment: Quiz on the stages of the water cycle.

4. Assessment: Quiz results, class participation.

Block vs Thread Lesson Planning (Cont’d …)

The other way of planning a lesson is by making use of “threads”. Threads are
activities that run through a series of lessons. Threads are activities that can be
used again and again with minimal planning and only small changes.

Thread Lesson Plan Example:

Thematic Unit on Water

1. Objective: Students will understand the importance and role of water in various contexts
(science, social studies, literature).

2. Materials: Books on water, access to internet for research, art supplies.

3. Activities:
 Science: Study the water cycle and conduct experiments.
 Social Studies: Research water rights and issues around the world.
 Literature: Read and analyze poems and stories about water.
 Art: Create a mural depicting different aspects of water.

4. Assessment: Ongoing projects, presentations, reflective essays.

Techniques & Activities
When designing lessons, there is a large variety of techniques and activities to
draw on. These can be divided into four major types, each type has its own cycle
of activities, favored learning goals, and principles of learning.

1. Activities drawing on learners’ previous knowledge & Experiences

 The teacher, curriculum designer or materials writer carefully controls the language, ideas,
skills, etc. so that learners are largely already familiar with them, simplified or graded
reading texts/stories are like this.

 The knowledge needed to do the activity is provided through previous lessons or previous
activities within a lesson. Speaking activities near the end of a lesson, or the listening
activities at the beginning of a lesson may be like this.

 The teacher helps the learners to share and recall previous experience to make the following
activity easier. This results in a lesson format that may begin with teacher-led discussion or
group work and ends with what otherwise may have been quite a demanding task.
2. Shared activities involve the learners achieving through group work
what they could not achieve by working alone.

Nation (1989) describes four major kinds of group work:

 The learners in a group have equal access to the same info;

 Each learner has a different piece of information essential to the completion of

the task;

 One or more learners have all the information that the others need;

 The learners share the same information, but each has a different task to do.
3. Guided activities involve the learners doing already partly completed
tasks.

A very common format for learning spoken language is as follows:

 Tasks where part of the task is provided to make it easier for learners.
(matching activities)

 The learners do guided tasks on parts of the model to prepare for the next
section of the lesson.

 The learners do activities like role plays or discussions resulting in meaning-

focused production of language that is like the model.
4. The fourth kind of activity, independent activities, is the ultimate goal of
the other three. In independent activities the learners work with no
assistance or preparation.

The fourth kind of activity, independent activities, is the ultimate goal of

the other three. In independent activities the learners work with no
assistance or preparation.
SUMMARY

In the curriculum design process, the format and presentation of

lessons play a crucial role, emphasizing the balance of learning
opportunities across meaning-focused input, meaning-focused
output, language-focused learning, and fluency development
strands.

Planning lessons involves selecting appropriate activities,

considering principles of learning, and adapting to the classroom
environment.