Lesson 3.

2 Approaches to Curriculum Designing

Desired Learning Outcomes

 Identify some familiar curriculum designs and approaches the designs

 Analyze the approaches in the light of how these are applied in the school setting

Take Off

You have been familiarized with the preliminaries of making your design through
lesson plan components. You will further enrich your knowledge by looking into how
other curricularists approach to curriculum design. In this lesson, we will see how
several examples of Curriculum designs are used in the schools and classrooms.

Content Focus

Types of Curriculum Design Models

There are many ways of looking at curriculum and designing one For our own
purposes, let us focus on the most widely used examples,

1. Subject-Centered Design

This is a curriculum design that focuses on the content of the curriculum. The
subject-centered design corresponds mostly to the textbook because textbooks are
usually written based the specific subject or course. Henry Morrison and William Harris
are the few curricularists who firmly believed in this design. As practised, school hours
are allocated to different school subjects such as Science, Mathematics, Language,
Social Studies, Physical Education, and others. This is also practised in the Philippines,
because a school day is divided into class period, a school year into quarters or
semester. Most of the schools using this kind of structure and curriculum design aim for
excellence in the specific subject discipline content.
Subject-centered curriculum design has also some variations which are focused
on the individual subject, specific discipline and a combination of subjects or
disciplines which are a broad field of interdisciplinary.
1.1. Subject design. What subject are you teaching? What subject are you taking?
These are two simple questions that the teacher and the learner can easily answer. It is
because they are familiar with the subject design curriculum.

Subject design curriculum is the oldest and so far the most familiar design for teachers,
parents and other laymen. According to the advocates, subject design has an
advantage because it is easy to deliver. Textbooks are written and support instructional
materials are commercially available. Teachers are familiar with the format, because
they were educated using also the design. In the Philippine educational system, the
number of subjects in the elementary education is fewer than in the secondary level. In
college, the number of subjects also differs according to the degree programs being
pursued. For each subject, a curriculum is being designed.

However, the drawback of this design is that sometimes, learning is so

compartmentalized. It stresses so much the content and forgets about students’ natural
tendencies, interests and experiences. The teacher becomes the dispenser of
knowledge and the learners are the simply the empty vessel to receive the information
or content from the teacher. This is a traditional approach to teaching and learning.

1.2 Discipline design. This curriculum design model is related to the subject design.
However, while subject design centers only on the cluster of content, discipline design
focuses on academic disciplines. Discipline refers to specific knowledge learned through
a method which the scholars use to study content of their fields. Students in history
should learn the subject matter like historians, students in biology should learn how the
biologists learn, and so with students in mathematics, who should learn how
mathematicians learn. In the same specific manner, teachers should teach how the
scholars in the discipline will convey the particular knowledge. Discipline design model
of curriculum is often used in college, but not in the elementary or secondary levels. So
from the subject-centered curriculum, curriculum moves higher to a discipline when the
students are more mature and are already moving towards their career path or
disciplines as science, mathematics, psychology, humanities, history and others.

1.3 Correlation design. Coming from a core, correlated curriculum design links separate
subject designs in order to reduce fragmentation. Subjects are related to one another
and still maintain their identity. For example, English literature and social studies
correlate well in the elementary level. In the two subjects, while history is being
studied, different literary pieces during the historical period are also being studied. The
same is true when science becomes the core, mathematics is related to it, as they are
taken in chemistry, physics, and biology. Another example is literature as the core with
art, music, history, geography related to it. To use correlated design and teachers
should come together plan their lessons cooperatively.

1.4 Broad field design/interdisciplinary. Broad field design or interdisciplinary is a

variation or the subject-centered design. This design was made to cure the
compartmentalization of the separate subjects and integrate the contents that are
related to one another. Thus subjects such as geography, economics, political science,
anthropology, sociology and history are fused into one subject called social studies.
Language arts will include grammar, literature, linguistics, spelling, and composition.

Sometimes called holistic curriculum, broad fields draw around themes and integration.
Interdisciplinary design is similar to thematic design, where a specific theme is
identified, and allother subject areas revolve around the theme.
1. Learner-Centered Design
Among progressive educational psychologısts, the learner is the center of the
educative process. This emphasis is very strong in the elementary level, however, more
concern has been placed on the secondary and even the tertiary levels. Although in
high school, the subject or content has become the focus and in the college level, the
discipline is the center, both levels still recognize the importance of the learner in the
curriculum.

Here are some examples of curriculum designs which are learner-centered.

1.1 Child-centered design. This design is often attributed to the influence of John
Dewey, Rouseau, Pestallozi and Froebel. This curriculum design is anchored on the
needs and interests of the child. The learner is not considered a passive individual but
one who engages with his/her environment. One learns by doing. Learners actively
create, construct meanings and understanding as viewed by the constructivists. In the
child-centered design, learners interact with the teachers and the environment, thus
there is a collaborative effort on both sides to plan lessons, select content and do
activities together. Learning is a product of the child's interaction with the environment.

1.2 Experience-centered design. This design is similar to the child-centered design.

Although the focus remains to be the child, experience-centered design believes that
the interests and needs of 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 the different
opportunities given by the teacher. In a school where experience-centered curriculum is
provided, different learning centers are found, time is flexible and children are free to
make options. Activities revolve around different emphasis has touching, feeling,
Imagining, Constructing, relating and others.
The emergence of multiple intelligence theory blends well with experience-centered
design curriculum.

1.3 Humanistic design. The key influence in this curriculum design is 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 the many others. The person can achieve this state
of self-actualization later in life but has to start the process while still in school. Carl
Rogers, on the other hand, believed that a person can enhance self-directed learning by
improving self-understanding, the basic attitude to guide behavior.

In a humanistic curriculum design, the development of self is the ultimate objective of

learning. It stresses the whole person and the integration of thinking, feeling and doing.
It considers the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains to be interconnected and
must be addressed in the curriculum. It stresses the development of positive self-
concept and interpersonal skills.

2. Problem-Centered Design

Generally, problem-centered design draws on social problems, needs, interest and

abilities of the learners. Various problems are given emphasis. There are those that
center on life situations, contemporary life problems, areas of living and many others.
In this curriculum, content cuts across subject boundaries and must be based on the
needs, concerns and abilities of the students. Two examples are given for the problem-
centered design curriculum.

2.1 Life-situations design. What makes the design unique is that the contents are
organized in ways that allow students to clearly view problem areas. It uses the past
and the present experiences of learners as a means to analyze the basic areas of living.
As a starting point, the pressing immediate problems of the society and the students'
existing concerns are utilized. Based on Herbert Spencer's curriculum writing, his
emphases were activities that sustain life, enhance life, aid in rearing children, maintain
the individual's social and political relations and enhance leisure, tasks and feelings. The
connection of Subject matter to real situations increases the relevance of the
curriculum.
1.1 Core problem design. Another example of problem-centered design is core
design. It centers on general education and the problems are based on the common
human activities. The central focus of the core design includes common needs,
problems, and concerns of the learners. Popularızed by Faunce and Bossing in 1959, it
presented ways on how to proceed using core design of a curriculum. These are the
steps.

Step 1. Make group consensus on important problems.

Step 2. Develop criteria for selection of important problem.

Step 3. State and define the problem.

Step 4. Decide on areas of study, including class grouping

Step 5. List the needed information for resources.

Step 6. Obtain and organize information.

Step 7. Analyze and interpret the information.

Step 8. State the tentative conclusions.

Step 9. Present a report to the class individually or by group.

Step 10. Evaluate the conclusions.

Step 11. Explore other avenues for further problem solving.

These are some examples of curriculum designs. There are many more which
are emerging and those that have evolved in the past. The example given may be
limited, however, for our purposes, they can very well represent curriculum designs.

Table 1: Overview of the Major Curriculum Designs (Ornstein A & Hunkins, F, 2018)

Design Emphasis Underlying Source/ Spokesperso

Philosophy Focus n/ Champion

Subject-Centered

Subject Design Separate Essentialism, Science, Harris,

subject Perennialism
 Knowledge Hutchins

Broad-Fields Interdisciplina Essentialism, Science, Broudy, Dewey

design ry subjects, Progressivism
Knowledge
scholarly
discipline

Correlation Separate Progressivism, Knowledge Alberty, Alberty

design subject,
Essentialism
disciplines
linked but
identities

maintained

Learner-Centered

Child-centered Child’s needs Progressivism Child Dewey,

design and interest Kilpatrick,
Parker

Experience- Child’s Progressivism Child Dewey, Rugg,

centered experiences Shumaker
design and needs

Humanistic Experiences, Reconstructionis Psychology, Combs,

design interest, m, Existentialism child, Society Abraham
needs of a Maslow, Carl
person and Rogers
group

Problem-centered design

Life-situation Life (social Reconstructionis Society Spencer

design problem) m

Transformatory Child, focus Open system Society Slattery

 (or becoming on society and
change ) the world, all
Post modernism
reals of
culture

Reconstructioni Child, the Open system Post Roth

st design teacher, the modernism
world

Approaches to Curriculum Design Models

How will a particular design be approached by the teacher? After writing a

curriculum based on the specific design, let us see how a teacher will approach this. We
will find out the utilization of the example design.

Child or Learner-Centered Approach. This approach to Curriculum design is

based on the underlying philosophy that the child or the learner is the center of the
educational process. It means that the curriculum is constructed based on the needs,
interest, purposes and abilities of the learners. The curriculum is also built upon the
learners’ knowledge, skills, previous learnings and potentials.

From its design, how should a child-centered curriculum be approached? Let us

consider these principles.

Principles of Child-Centered Curriculum Approach

1. Acknowledge and respect the fundamental rights of the child.

2. Make all activities revolve around the overall development of the learner.
3. Consider the uniqueness of every learner in a multicultural classroom.
4. Consider using differentiated instruction or teaching
5. Provide a motivating supportive learning environment for all the learners

The child-centered approach is illustrated in the example below:

School X is anchored on the theory of multiple intelligences curricular and co-curricular

activities. Every classroom provides centers where children can learn on their Own with
the different learning resource materials. Learners can just choose which learning center
to engage in with different resources. This arrangement allows for the capacity of learner
to be honed. It also allows learning how to learn, hence, will develop independence. The
teacher acts as guide for every learner. The learner sets he goal that can be done within
the frame of time.
 Subject-Centered Approach. This is anchored on a curriculum design which
prescribes separate distinct subjects for every educational level: basic education, higher
education or vocational-technical education. This approach considers the following
principles:

1. The primary focus is the subject matter.

2. The emphasis is on bits and pieces of information which may be detached
from life.
3. The subject matter serves as a means of 1dentifying problems of living.
4. Learning means accumulation of content, or knowledge.
5. Teacher's role is to dispense the content.
Example of subject-centered approach is given below.
In another setting, School Y aims to produce the best graduates in the school district. Every
learner must excel in all academic subjects to be on top of every academic competition. The
higher the level of cognitive intelligence, the better the learner. Hence the focus of learning is
mastery of the subject matter in terms of content. Every student is expected to be always on
top terms of mastery of discipline. Memorization and drill are important learning skills. The
school gives emphasis to intellectual development, and sets aside emotional, psychomotor
and even value development. Success means mastery of the content.

Problem-Centered Approach. This approach is based on a design which

assumes that in the process of living, children experience problems. Thus, problem
solving enables the learners become increasingly able to achieve complete or total
development as individuals. This approach is characterized by the following views and
beliefs

1. The learners are capable of directing and guiding themselves in resolving

problems, thus developing every learner independent.
2. The learners are prepared to assume their civic responsibilities through direct
participation in different activities.
3. The curriculum leads the learners in the recognition or concerns and problems in
seeking solutions. Learners are problem solvers themselves.
An example of the problem-centered approach is presented below.

School Z believes that a learner should be trained to solve real life problems that come
about because of the needs, interests and abilities or the learners. Problems persistent in
life and society that affect daily living are also considered. Most of the school activities
We have given examples of curriculum design and the corresponding
revolve around finding solutions to problems like poverty, drug problems, climate change,
approaches.
natural calamities and many more. Since the school is using a problem-based design, the
same approach is used. Case study and practical work are the teaching strategies that are
utilized. Problem-centered approach has become popular in many schools.

Again, the choice of the design is influenced by philosophical and psychological

beliefs of the designer. It is very important that as a curricularist, you will be able to
understand the different design models and how to approach each one.