Curriculum Design

Abstract

Curriculum design (also curriculum organization) refers to the ways in which we arrange the curriculum components. Regardless of the underpinning curriculum model, all curriculum designs endeavor to address four curriculum components: Why do we initiate instruction or aims? What should we teach to realize our set aims and objectives (content or subject matter)? How can we communicate target learning experiences (pedagogy, instruction)? What have we realized and what actions should we take accordingly in relation to the instructional program, learners, and teachers (evaluation)? Although most, if not all, curriculum designs include these four components, they significantly differ in how they address these elements, because of the curriculum philosophy and model on which a design is based. For example, subject-matter-based designs, which overemphasize the logical organization of content, and the learner-centered ones, which focus on the learners and their needs, entail different treatments of the four curriculum components. The following sections very briefly highlight the process of curriculum design. This will involve general overviews of major related sources, curriculum conceptualization and curriculum design stages, in addition to recent issues of classroom-level teacher curriculum design and classroom-level teacher professional development.