CURRICULUM DESIGN MODELS


1.    Subject-Centered Design model - focuses on the content of the curriculum. Corresponds mostly to the textbook written for the specific subject. In this design, schools divided the school hours across different subjects.

 

·                    Subject Design - this is the oldest and so far the most familiar for teachers, parents and other layman. It is easy to deliver, has complementary books, written, and available support instructional materials. The drawback is that learning is so compartmentalized. It stresses the content so much that it forgets about student‘s natural tendencies, interests and experiences.

·                    Discipline Design. Related to the subject design, but focuses on academic discipline. It is often used in college.

·                    Correlation Design - This comes from a core, correlated curriculum designs that links separate subject‘s designs in order to reduce fragmentation. Subjects related to one another, but each subject maintains identity.

·                    Broad Field design/interdisciplinary - it is variation of the subject-centered design. This design was made to prevent the compartmentalization of subjects and integrate the contents that are related to each other. It sometimes called a holistic curriculum because it draws around themes and integration.

 

2.    Learner-Centered Design - Among the progressive educational psychologists, the learner is the center of the educative process. The emphasis is very strong in the elementary level. However, more concern has been placed on the secondary and even the tertiary level. In high school, the subject or content has become the focus and in the college level, the discipline is the center. Both levels, however still recognize the importance of the learner in the curriculum.

 

·                    Child-centered Design - attributed to the influence of John Dewey, Rouseau, Pestallozi, and Froebel. The curriculum is anchored on the needs and interest of the child. This is not considered as a passive individual, but as on, who engages with his/her environment. One learns by doing. Learners actively create and construct meaning and understanding as viewed by the constructivists. Learners interact with the teachers and environment. Thus, there is a collaborative effort on both sides of the plan lessons, select content, and do activities together. Learning is the product of the child‘s interaction with the environment.

 

·                    Experienced-Centered Design - This is similar to child-centered design. Although the child remains to be the focus, experience-centered design believes that the interests and needs of the learners cannot be pre-planned. Instead, experiences of the learners become the starting point of the curriculum. Thus, the school environment is left open and free. Learners are made to choose from various activities that the teacher provides. The learners are empowered to shape their own learning from different opportunities given by the teacher. The emergence of multiple intelligence blends well with experience-centered design curriculum.

 

·                    Humanistic Design - The key personalities in this curriculum design were Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. Maslow‘s theory of self-actualization explains that a person who achieves this level is accepting of self, others and nature; is simple, spontaneous and natural; is open to different experiences; possesses empathy and sympathy towards the less fortunate, among many others, Carl Rogers, on the other hand, believed that a person can enhance self-directed learning by improving self-understanding and basic attitudes to guide behavior. In the humanistic curriculum design, the development of self is the ultimate obje4ctice of learning. It stresses the development of positive self-concept and interpersonal skills.

 

3.    Problem – Centered Design- Generally, this design draws on social problems, needs, interests, and abilities of the learners. Various problems are given emphases. In this curriculum, content cuts across subject boundaries and must be based on the needs, concerns and abilities of the students.

 

·                    Life-Situation Design - The contents are organized in ways that allow the students to clarify view problem areas. It uses the past and the present experiences of learners as a means to analyze the basic areas of living.

 

·                    Core Design - It centers on general education, and the problems are based on common human activities. The central focus of the core design includes common needs, problems, and concerns of the learners.

 

  Dimensions of Principles of Curriculum design    

·                    SCOPE - Tyler and Ornstein (2004) define scopes as all the content, topics, learning experiences and organizing threads comprising the educational plan. It refers to the coverage of the curriculum. It is the depth and breadth of the curriculum. It includes time, diversity and maturity of the learners.

·                    BALANCE - Curriculum content should be fairly distributed in depth and breadth of the particular learning area of discipline. This will ensure that the level or are will not be overcrowded or less crowded.

·                    ARCTICULATION - When each subject matter is smoothly connected to the next, glaring gaps and wasteful overlaps in the subject matter will be avoided. Teamwork among the teachers will enhance articulation of contents in the curriculum.

·                    SEQUENCE - It is the logical arrangement of the subject matter. It refers to the deepening and broadening of the contest as it is taken up in the higher levels.

·                    INTEGRATION - the horizontal connections are needed in subject areas that are similar, so that learning will be related to one another. This will help the learner get a holistic or unified view of reality outlook in life.

·                    CONTINUITY - The content repetition, review and reinforcement of learning is what is referred to as continuity. Learning requires a continuing application of new knowledge, skills, and attitudes or values, so that these will be used in daily living.

 

  Curriculum Approaches

 

·                    Behavioral Approach - Anchored on the behaviorist principles, where approach to curriculum is usually based on a blueprint. In the blueprint, goals and objectives are specified, and contents and activities are also arranged to match with the learning objectives. The learning outcomes are evaluated in terms of goals and objectives set at the beginning. This approach begins with educational plans that start with the setting of goals or objectives. These are the important ingredients in curriculum implementation for evaluating the learning outcomes as a change of behavior. The change of behavior indicates the measure of accomplishment.

·                    Managerial Approach - The principal is the curriculum leader and at the same time instructional leader, who is supposed to be the general manager. The general manager sets the policies and priorities and establishes the direction of change and innovation, and plans and organizes curriculum and instruction. School administrators are less concerned about the content than about organization and implementation. They are less concerned about subject matter, methods and materials than improving the curriculum. Curriculum managers look at curriculum changes and innovations as they administer the resources and restructure the schools

·                    System Approach - This was influenced by systems theory, where the parts of the total school district or school are determined in terms of how they relate to each other. The organizational chart of the school represents s systems approach. It shows the line-staff relationships of personal and how decisions are made. The following are equal importance:

Administration, (2) counseling, (3) curriculum, (4) instruction and (5) evaluation.

·                    Humanistic Approach - This approach is rooted in the progressive philosophy and child- centered movement. It considers the formal or planned curriculum and the formal or hidden

curriculum. It considers the whole child and believes that in a curriculum, the total development of the individual is the prime consideration. The learner is at the center of the curriculum.

 

  The Six (6) Features of a Curriculum  

1.          Who teachers-The Teacher

2.          Who do Teachers Teach- The Learners

3.          What do the Teachers Teach- Knowledge Skills and Values

4.          How to the Teachers Teach- Strategies and Methods

5.          How much of the Teaching was Learned- Performance

6.          With whom do we Teach- Community Partners


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