5.curriculum Development Training Manual

Module 1: Introduction
to
Curriculum Development
No Topic Description
1 Module Title Introduction to Curriculum Development
2 Prerequisites and Engage in teaching (e.g. conduct lessons in theory and practical) in a formal
Co-requisites higher education system
4 Module duration 12 hours (2 days)

5 Module Aim To impart an overview of the significance of a curriculum and its
development, so that the participants can utilize such knowledge to
appreciate the crucial role of a curriculum in the Higher Education
system
6 Objectives and 1. Define a curriculum and its components
Learning Outcomes 2. Explain the need for a curriculum in Higher Education
3. Explain the necessity to maintain flexibility in a curriculum to
address the societal requirements
4. Analyze a curriculum to determine its suitability for the current
needs; i.e. gap analysis
5. Discuss the factors contributing to the persistence of the gap and
suggestions for bridging the gap
7 Assessment Strategy Five contextual assignments
8 Syllabus 1. What is a curriculum?
2. Why do we need a curriculum?
3. Why is curriculum development and revision in focus now?
4. Resistance and barriers to change of curricula
5. How to overcome barriers: success factors in curriculum change
9 Suggested Reading  http://www.infed.org/biblio/b-curric.htm OR curriculum theory and practice -
Infed.org
 http://coefaculty.valdosta.edu/stgrubbs/Definitions%20of%20Curriculum.htm
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curriculum
 http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/ncihe/nr_087.htm
 http://crpit.com/confpapers/CRPITV30Gruba2.pdf
 http://www.nais.org/publications/ismagazinearticle.cfm?ItemNumber=148786
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Topic 01: What is a Curriculum?
`
1. Aim: To impart knowledge and understanding of the basic concepts and principles of a curriculum,
so that the participants are in a position to appreciate the interplay between their teaching and learning
activities and the educational goals of the institute as well as its impact on the society.
2. Learning Outcomes: Participants would be able to

1.1 Define a curriculum
1.2 Identify and list the components of a curriculum
1.3 Differentiate between a curriculum and syllabus
3. Learning Resources
 Corporate plan of the university and faculty
 Curriculum of a study program, to which they are contributing
 Sample of an assessment in the above curriculum
4. Lesson Plan
Teaching and Time
No. Content Outline
Learning Method (min)
1.1 The curriculum is a statutory document that instructs and guides Brainstorming 15
the institute, teachers/examiners, and learners how to organize (i.e.
Snowballing
how to identify, implement and monitor) its educational
experiences to achieve the educational goals of a study Buzz groups
program/module/course.
1.2 To operationalize the above definition, a curriculum should Discovery 30
include material that will facilitate the identification, learning
implementation and monitoring of the educational experiences. A
Brainstorming
curriculum is an inclusive term which describes the framework of
vision, mission, aims/goals, intended learning Snowballing
outcomes/instructional objectives, criteria for admission of Buzz groups
learners, content, teaching and learning methods, assessment
strategies, resource requirements, time allocations, and evaluation
strategies of a study program/module/course. In essence, the
curriculum comprises the entire learning environment in which a
study program/module/course is implemented.
1.3 A curriculum encompasses the entire gamut of educational Brainstorming 15
activities in a study program/module/course. In contrast, a syllabus
is merely a list of content. Thus, a syllabus is a part of the
curriculum. As professional educators it is unacceptable to use the
two terms interchangeably.
2
5. Guidance notes to instructors
1.1. Initially let the participants come up with a definition in small groups based on the curriculum
documents that they bring.
Develop the definition given under 4 (1.1) by putting together the definitions that the participants
come up with.
Discuss the implications of the curriculum being a statutory document.
Discuss what ‗educational experiences‘ are.
1.2 Let participants identify the main components of a curriculum using the documents that they have
brought.
List the components that the participants come up with.
Fill in the gaps: i.e. include the components that the participants have not included.
6. Activities
 Question and answer sessions
 Group activities
 Individual activities
 Panel discussions
7. Assessment
Assignment: Take a curriculum of your own and discuss its ―goodness-of-fit‖ in the light of topic 1.
3
Notes for Topic 1
What is a curriculum?
When discussing this topic, reading the following excerpt from the recommended reading by
Smith (2000) is essential.
The idea of curriculum is hardly new - but the way we understand and theorize it has altered over the years -
and there remains considerable dispute as to its meaning. It has its origins in the running/chariot tracks of
Greece. It was, literally, a course. In Latin curriculum was a racing chariot; currere was to run. A useful
starting point for us here might be the definition offered by John Kerr and taken up by Vic Kelly in his
standard work on the subject. Kerr defines curriculum as, 'All the learning which is planned and guided by the
school, whether it is carried on in groups or individually, inside or outside the school (quoted in Kelly 1983:
10; see also, Kelly 1999). This gives us some basis to move on - and for the moment all we need to do is
highlight two of the key features:
Learning is planned and guided. We have to specify in advance what we are seeking to achieve and how we
are to go about it.
The definition refers to schooling. We should recognize that our current appreciation of curriculum theory
and practice emerged in the school and in relation to other schooling ideas such as subject and lesson.
In what follows, we are going to look at four ways of approaching curriculum theory and practice:
1. Curriculum as a body of knowledge to be transmitted.
2. Curriculum as an attempt to achieve certain ends in students - product.
3. Curriculum as process.
4. Curriculum as praxis.
It is helpful to consider these ways of approaching curriculum theory and practice in the light of Aristotle's
influential categorization of knowledge into three disciplines: the theoretical, the productive and the practical.
4
Here we can see some clear links - the body of knowledge to be transmitted in the first is that
classically valued as 'the canon'; the process and praxis models come close to practical deliberation;
and the technical concerns of the outcome or product model mirror elements of Aristotle's
characterization of the productive. More of this will be revealed as we examine the theory
underpinning individual models.
Curriculum as a syllabus to be transmitted

Many people still equate a curriculum with a syllabus. Syllabus, naturally, originates from the Greek
(although there was some confusion in its usage due to early misprints). Basically it means a concise
statement or table of the heads of a discourse, the contents of a treatise, the subjects of a series of
lectures. In the form that many of us will have been familiar with it is connected with courses leading
to examinations - teachers talk of the syllabus associated with, say, the Cambridge Board French
GSCE exam. What we can see in such documents is a series of headings with some additional notes
which set out the areas that may be examined.
A syllabus will not generally indicate the relative importance of its topics or the order in which they
are to be studied. In some cases as Curzon (1985) points out, those who compile a syllabus tend to
follow the traditional textbook approach of an 'order of contents', or a pattern prescribed by a 'logical'
approach to the subject, or - consciously or unconsciously - the shape of a university course in which
they may have participated.
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Thus, an approach to curriculum theory and practice which focuses on syllabus is only really
concerned with content. Curriculum is a body of knowledge-content and/or subjects. Education in this
sense, is the process by which these are transmitted or 'delivered' to students by the most effective
methods that can be devised (Blenkin et al 1992: 23).
Where people still equate curriculum with a syllabus they are likely to limit their planning to a
consideration of the content or the body of knowledge that they wish to transmit. 'It is also because this
view of curriculum has been adopted that many teachers in primary schools', Kelly (1985: 7) claims,
'have regarded issues of curriculum as of no concern to them, since they have not regarded their task as
being to transmit bodies of knowledge in this manner'.
Curriculum as product
The dominant modes of describing and managing education are today couched in the productive form.
Education is most often seen as a technical exercise. Objectives are set, a plan drawn up, then applied,
and the outcomes (products) measured. It is a way of thinking about education that has grown in
influence in the United Kingdom since the late 1970s with the rise of vocationalism and the concern
with competencies. Thus, in the late 1980s and the 1990s many of the debates about the National
Curriculum for schools did not so much concern how the curriculum was thought about as to what its
objectives and content might be.
Source: Smith MK. (1996, 2000) 'Curriculum theory and practice' The Encyclopaedia of Informal
Education. Available at: www.infed.org/biblio/b-curric.htm (Accessed on 20 may 2012)
What is included in a curriculum?
The following excerpt from Wikipedia underscores the breadth and scope of the ingredients of a
curriculum. Although the material that is described in this document as ingredients of a
curriculum is not concrete, it gives the broad outline of the components of a curriculum.
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In The Curriculum, the first textbook published on the subject, in 1918, John Franklin Bobbitt said
that curriculum, as an idea, has its roots in the Latin word for race-course, explaining the curriculum
as the course of deeds and experiences through which children become the adults they should be, for
success in adult society. Furthermore, the curriculum encompasses the entire scope of formative
deed and experience occurring in and out of school, and not only experiences occurring in school;
experiences that are unplanned and undirected, and experiences intentionally directed for the
purposeful formation of adult members of society.
To Bobbitt, the curriculum is a social engineering arena. Per his cultural presumptions and social
definitions, his curricular formulation has two notable features: (i) that scientific experts would best
be qualified to and justified in designing curricula based upon their expert knowledge of what
qualities are desirable in adult members of society, and which experiences would generate said
qualities; and (ii) curriculum defined as the deeds-experiences the student ought to have to become
the adult he or she ought to become.
Hence, he defined the curriculum as an ideal, rather than as the concrete reality of the deeds and
experiences that form people to who and what they are. Contemporary views of curriculum reject
these features of Bobbitt's postulates, but retain the basis of curriculum as the course of
experience(s) that forms human beings into persons. Personal formation via curricula is studied at
the personal level and at the group level, i.e. cultures and societies (e.g. professional formation,
academic discipline via historical experience). The formation of a group is reciprocal, with the
formation of its individual participants.
Although it formally appeared in Bobbitt's definition, curriculum as a course of formative

experience also pervades John Dewey's work (who disagreed with Bobbitt on important matters).
Although Bobbitt's and Dewey's idealistic understanding of "curriculum" is different from current,
restricted uses of the word, curriculum writers and researchers generally share it as common,
substantive understanding of curriculum.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curriculum
7
Figure 1.1: Curricula Vector
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curriculum
8
Differences between a curriculum and syllabus
Task: Re-read the section on ‗curriculum as a syllabus to be transmitted‘
Task: Discuss whether such a description of a curriculum encompasses its true meaning in the
light of the reading above.
According to the aspects that should be included in the curriculum, as stated in the ‗curriculum
outline‘ (page 2), are there other components to a curriculum? How do these components
contribute to the successful implementation of a curriculum? Discuss how the following aspects
contribute to the successful implementation of a curriculum. This will give us the answers as to
why the aspects below should be components of a curriculum.
 Vision, mission, aims/goals: A curriculum is the document that translates the purpose of
an educational institute to action.
The vision broadly identifies the purpose of an institute
The mission describes how this purpose should be achieved.
Goals/Aims: The role of the trainer/teacher in the teaching/learning process. This would
be ―what‖ would be taught and ―why‖ it should be taught.
 Intended learning outcomes/instructional objectives: The role of the trainee in the

teaching/learning process. This should specify the performance, the standard and the
conditions under which the outcome is expected.
 Criteria for admission of learners: A curriculum would have the ILOs for different
―levels‖ of learning. Hence, it should specify the minimum criteria that a learner should
possess to be admitted to another ‗level‘/‖program‖ of learning
 Content: This should be a hierarchy of ILOs in a ―course‖/‖program‖ etc
 Teaching and learning methods: Different courses would require a variation in the
teaching/learning methods in order to bring about the ILOs. The curriculum could specify
which T/L methods would be used for the different courses/programs etc.
 Assessment strategies: It is imperative that with different ILOs the method of assessment
would differ. Hence the curriculum should specify the assessment strategy which would
encompass the criteria, methods, schedule of assessment etc.
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 Resource requirements: Each course/program would require resources specific to the
Course in order to achieve the ILOs. Hence the curriculum could specify the
requirements in order to achieve the ILOs satisfactorily.
 Time allocations: Each course/program would need specific number of hrs/days/months

for successful completion. The curriculum should specify the time allocations so that
stakeholders (students/faculty/administration) could optimally allocate time available
during semesters/years for fulfillment of the course requirements to achieve the ILOs.
 Evaluation strategies of a study program/module/course: It is important that stakeholders

feel/believe that the course/module/program was worth taking/studying/learning.
Therefore it is important that an evaluation strategy be worked out to measure whether
the course/program etc delivered what it should have. The stakeholders could be
students/faculty staff/administration/outside experts/alumni/employers.
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Topic 02: Why Do We Need a Curriculum?
1. Aim: To impart the understanding that the specific educational goals of the institute have to be
fulfilled within a specified time frame using a specified methodology, so that the participants are
empowered to use this understanding to guide their own educational practices in their setting.

2.1 Explain the necessity for a curriculum in education
2.2 The advantages and disadvantages of having a curriculum as opposed to not having one
 The documentation of a ‗needs analysis‘ of a study program
4. Lesson Plan
Teaching and Time
No. Content Outline
2.1 Curriculum is needed as a planning tool to implement the Brainstorming 60
educational goals of the institute. Some of the reasons why a
Snowballing
curriculum is necessary are:
Buzz groups
- To maintain uniformity of the product
- To offer a structured, well-sequenced and easy to assimilate
study material
- To offer a ‗unique‘ teaching and learning experience based on
unique strengths and opportunities of the institute
The above reasons should guide both the students and teachers
when selecting a particular educational institute to pursue their
careers.
2.2 - A list of topics (i.e. a syllabus) will not specify the depth and the Discovery 60
breadth that a topic has to be dealt with. As a result the learning
uniformity of the product will not be able to be maintained.
Brainstorming
- At a planning stage a curriculum will force the planners to
consider logistics; e.g. the time available, the human and Snowballing
physical resources, the sequence of topics, etc. Buzz groups
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Teaching and Time
No. Content Outline
2.2
- The curriculum defines the character of the institute and the As above As above
study program. It should guide the stakeholders to make
decisions about the institute/study program based on the
curriculum; e.g. should I select this institute/study program to
further my career, should I recruit an employee from this
institute/study program.
Provide example scenarios to highlight the key points. For example, discuss the situation where
- a teacher retires and a new teacher takes over, in the absence of a curriculum.
- a student wants to know which is the best institute that will meet his/her requirements (these
requirements may be educational, social, career, etc.)
6. Activities
7. Assessment
Assignment: To analyze whether one‘s own curriculum meets the needs and goals of the institution
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Notes for Topic 2
Why a curriculum?
A study program without a curriculum would be like a ‗ship without a rudder‘. Different teachers
will teach different content, depending on the importance that they attach to the content that they
teach. As a result, within the same study program, different material that the different teachers
teach may not lead to a common goal.
Further, the students may not know what exactly they should study and how their learning will
direct them to achieve the intended learning outcomes of the study program.
Also, when it comes to assessment, both the students and examiners will not know the relative
importance of the content that should be assessed and how to tailor the assessment to ensure that
those who pass can be certified to have achieved the overall goals of the program.
Thus, rather than letting individual teachers decide what and how they should teach and assess, it
is imperative that there should be a collective decision by, not only teachers but all stakeholders
(e.g. teachers, examiners, education experts, employers of the graduates, funders of education,
etc.), as to what and how lessons should be taught and assessed. Curriculum is the document that
encapsulates such a collective decision.
Task: Take a curriculum that you have been involved in and analyse its contents to determine to
what extent its contents reflect the combined decisions of all the stakeholders. Give reasons as to
why you think so.
Advantages and disadvantages

i. Advantages of a curriculum
Following are some of the advantages of a curriculum. These advantages, you may reckon, are
somewhat inter-related.
A curriculum:
(a) offers a uniform framework to base all educational activities
(b) provides clarity of direction to learning for students, teachers and assessors
(c) directs and assists students when selecting a particular study program
(d) makes it easy to compare between comparable courses
(e) promotes assessment of learning outcomes; i.e. the suitability of the product
(f) sets the standard against which a study program can be evaluated
(g) provides a framework to assure quality
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(h) facilitates student transfer between institutes/study programs
(i) provides a blueprint on which further improvements to the teaching and learning, and
assessment can be made
(j) guides an employer or a postgraduate program to select a suitable candidate
Task: Take the curriculum that you selected and discuss with reasons as to how well the above
advantages are applicable to it.
ii. Disadvantages of a curriculum

The disadvantages of a curriculum are few and far between. The main disadvantage that is often
directed against curricula is that the curriculum curtails academic freedom. The proponents of
such criticism argue that the learner and teacher autonomy as to what and how to learn, teach and
assess is undermined by a curriculum.
This certainly will happen if the curriculum is too prescriptive. So, a balance should be achieved,
by the curriculum writer, between what and how to be taught and assessed and the opportunities
offered to the individual learners and teachers to apply their own creativity in achieving the
learning outcomes as stipulated by the curriculum. This balance is usually achieved by providing
only the broad outline of the content and by providing a menu of methods, where applicable, for
the individual teachers and learners to select depending on their likes and dislikes, teaching and
learning styles, and available resources.
Task: Look at the curriculum outline for this topic in this manual; i.e. the table under topic 2.
Explore how the above disadvantage has been countered here.
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Topic 03: Why is Curriculum Development and
Revision in Focus Now?
1. Aim: To sensitize the participants to the dynamic nature of the needs of the society that the emerging
graduate is expected to fulfill, so that the participants are empowered to cater to those demands
through appropriate development and revision of curricula.

3.1 Discuss the fluidity of the focus of Higher Education from a historical and a socio economic
standpoint
3.2 Appreciate the dynamic nature of information explosion
3.3 Recognize and acknowledge the essentiality of the curriculum to reflect the competencies that
the labor market requires
4. Lesson Plan
Teaching and Time

No. Content Outline
3.1  Simplicity of the value-based society in the past Brainstorming 60
 Ease with which the graduates in the past could fulfill the needs of
Snowballing
simplistic, value-based society
 Complex and dynamic nature of the current societal needs, driven Buzz groups
by consumerism
 The increasing and complex demands placed by the modern Flow charts
society on the graduate
 The necessity of the curriculum to prepare the graduate to meet the
above demands
3.2  On the one hand, information that the graduate needs to fulfill the Brainstorming 60
complex societal needs cannot be assimilated within the
undergraduate study period Snowballing
 On the other hand, even the information imparted during the Buzz groups
undergraduate period may become obsolete
 Hence, the graduate needs to keep on learning, and the curriculum Flow charts
should ensure that the graduate is capable of lifelong learning
15
Teaching and Time
No. Content Outline
3.2  Pressure to change As above As
- National relevance and benefit above
- Stakeholder expectations
- Changes in Institutions
- Changes in students
- Research in teaching and learning
 For such lifelong learning the pivotal role that IT plays.
3.3  The industry needs to fulfill the expectations of the society Brainstorming 60
 Thus, the industry will seek employees who have an appropriate
Flow charts
graduate profile to fulfill the societal needs
 As a result, the labor market can only accommodate individuals
with the appropriate graduate profile that will meet the needs of
the society.
Impress upon the participant the fluidity and dynamicity of the industry and labor market need to be
matched by the higher education system to produce graduates with appropriate graduate profiles.
Flow charts can be used to display the links between industry, labor market, graduate profile and the
curriculum.
6. Activities
7. Assessment
Assignment: Select a subject that you teach and analyze how this subject has evolved over the past
three decades. Discuss whether the study program has been revised to accommodate this evolution.
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Notes for Topic 3
Below is a section from a national report on higher education in the UK published in 1996.
Although it is highly recommended to read the entire publication, we consider it mandatory for
you to read the following excerpt, which explains the key concepts discussed under this topic.
While reading reflect on the extent to which the content of this document is relevant to the Sri
Lankan Higher Education system.
Further Demand for Higher Education

6.3 In considering the future demand for higher education we looked at a range of evidence which
enabled us to address:
 the economic factors affecting demand for those with higher education qualifications;
 possible scenarios of demand for higher education;
 how the demand for higher education should best be reflected in determining the size and
shape of higher education.1
Economic factors affecting demand for those with higher education qualifications
6.4 The future demand for those with higher education qualifications will be shaped by the
changing structure of the national economy and the labour market, which in turn will be responding
to changes in the world economy and the associated competitive challenges. These forces will find
their response in the choices made by individuals about participation in higher education and in
employer demand for lifelong learning opportunities on behalf of their employees.
The changing structure of the national economy

6.5 The introduction of state education more than a century ago was fundamentally a response to
the developing needs of the economy. The history of the last century has been marked by the
progressive extension of state education not only as something which is socially desirable and good
in its own right, but in response to the needs of an economy which, to sustain its markets, has had
progressively to provide more advanced goods and services. The 20th century has seen a
remarkable change in the structure of the national economy away from the extractive and basic
industries and towards activities characterized by the intensive use of human capital, including
advanced manufacture, the creative development of new products, and major new services.
17
6.6 Powerful world economic forces inescapably tie the United Kingdom (UK) more fully into the
world economy. One phenomenon is the emergence of the global corporation locating and relocating
its operations to wherever there is greatest relative advantage, whether in accessing markets or in
accessing the factors affecting production, including in particular the quality of the labor force.
6.7 The UK, in seeking to provide its people with a high and improving standard of living, will be
able to do so and remain a major economy only if its people are highly educated and well trained.
It must match proportionately the investments made in their people by other nations, and the volume
and the quality of their outputs from such education and training. A decade ago we had fallen well
behind many other countries of Western Europe in the provision of higher education. Even now, after
participation rates by young people have doubled, and the target set by the last Government for a
third of young people to participate in full-time higher education by the year 2000 has been largely
met, our levels of participation remain behind the United States and Japan. However the stock of
graduates in the labor market compares well with many European countries in part because of high
graduation rates.2 There is a long term expectation of growth in higher education in many countries,
especially those of the Pacific Rim. Our degree programs, whilst of high quality and comparable
standards, are in the main shorter (other than in Scotland) than those of almost all other nations,
largely because of the very specialized nature of the A level examination system.
6.8 There is international consensus that higher level skills are crucial to future economic
competitiveness:
‘The direction is universal participation: 100 per cent participation with fair and equal opportunities
to study; in some form of tertiary education; at some stage in the life cycle and not necessarily end
on to secondary education; in a wide variety of structures, forms and types of delivery; undertaken
on equal terms either part-time or full-time; publicly subsidized but with shared client contributions;
closely involving partners in the community; serving multiple purposes – educational, social,
cultural and economic’3
6.9 Our visits overseas suggest that, in the long term, other nations will increase their investment in
higher education to sustain their economies. There is some emerging economic evidence to support
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such an approach. First, that countries which are the first to develop new research and technology
capabilities gain a long term advantage over their competitors.
Secondly, that ‘the weight of evidence is increasingly that education is positively associated with
income growth and higher education seems to be the most relevant educational variable in more
developed countries’. As a matter of economic strategy, we must match international levels of
investment to anticipate and respond to the changing structure of the international and national
economy.
The changing requirements of the labor market

6.10 Labor market requirements for those with higher education qualifications are changing
dramatically. Many of the employer organizations which gave evidence to us support this view.
This will affect overall demand. The Confederation of British Industry told us:
‘as the economy and organizations change, the areas in which graduate skill and qualities add
value will multiply...large numbers of graduates are adding value not just in expanding numbers of
traditional graduate jobs but also in a widening range of previously non-graduate roles’.4
6.11 There is room for debate as to whether, following the major expansion in higher education
that has taken place over recent years, there is need in the immediate future for further expansion
and whether the labor market could absorb further increases in the numbers of conventional
graduates. A study of the likely future labor market needs for highly skilled workers by the
Institute for Employment Research (IER) at the University of Warwick looks ahead to the year
2000.5 It considers in some detail the likely changes to occupational structures, based on changes
in the recent past. The IER research concludes that, up to the year 2000, labor market requirements
will largely be met by the current level of higher education participation.
6.12 Another view put to us is that the UK‘s chief economic need is not for more people with
graduate qualifications but rather for more people with lower level post-school qualifications. This
view draws on evidence that graduates are now being employed in jobs which were traditionally
done by non-graduates, raising the possibility of their under-utilization, and on the longstanding
perception that the UK‘s comparative international weakness lies at the technician rather than
degree level.
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6.13 It would indeed be surprising if the labor market did not need time to respond fully to the
increased supply of those with higher level qualifications. We are persuaded that jobs are being
progressively redefined to utilize graduate skills:
 a recent study for the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) showed that,
even when graduates were recruited into traditionally ‗non-graduate‘ jobs, a large majority
(65 per cent) of managers who had taken on increased numbers of graduates thought that
the jobs had improved because they were being undertaken by a graduate;6
 research by the National Institute of Economic and Social and Research shows that some
sectors of the economy have been able to deal more flexibly with additional graduates than
others and that redesigning jobs can enable graduates to add value in traditionally non-
graduate jobs;7
 respondents to our employer questionnaire suggest that ‘graduates, as a proportion of total
employees, will continue to grow’ and that ‘there is scope to increase the proportion of
those with first degrees in some industries, although this will partly depend on the response
of higher education to employers’;8
 Swedish research shows that flexible organizations are more likely to thrive in the
international marketplace and that the key to their flexibility is the extent to which they
employ highly skilled workers;9
 Japanese and USA experience demonstrates an ability to make good use of much higher
numbers and proportions of graduates in the economy than is traditionally the case in the
UK. Even in the USA, where some 60 per cent of the population has some experience of
higher education, graduates attract significantly higher salaries than non-graduates,
suggesting that their employers continue to regard them as bringing extra value;10
 a survey of graduates by the University of Central England points to strong demand from
employers for graduates with the right qualities, notwithstanding recent increases in the
flow of graduates to the labor market;11
 public policy decisions are transforming certain professions. For example, we were told
that in a health service with a new focus on primary care, nurses and those in professions
allied to medicine will need the knowledge, skills and aptitudes typically acquired in
higher education.12
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6.14 As to the demand for more people with advanced technical training, we agree that this is an
area of national need. We believe that much of the further growth of higher education, at least in the
short term, should be in the Higher National Certificate, the Higher National Diploma and other
analogous awards. We reflect this in our proposals for the structure of qualifications in Chapter 10
and for the pattern of institutions in Chapter 16. It is expansion at this level that has particularly
characterized recent Scottish experience, where participation by young people has reached almost
45 per cent, significantly ahead of England and Wales.
6.15 Chapter 9 also explores in more detail the views of employers about the range of skills and
attributes which they require from graduates; and how those views can better be reflected in higher
education, based in part on the questionnaire which we sent to a sample of employers. 13 We
emphasize in Chapter 12 the importance of higher education institutions ensuring that they are well-
informed about local and regional employers‘ requirements.
Economic benefits to individuals from participating in higher education

6.16 An assessment of the economic benefits to individuals from participating in higher education
has been central to our work. These benefits are probably the most significant economic factor
affecting demand. They are substantial and consist of:
 employment rates which are, on average, above those for people who were qualified to enter
higher education but did not do so;
 pay levels which are, on average, above those for people who were qualified to enter higher
education but did not do so.
6.17 We drew on three important studies to assess these benefits and their possible impact on
demand:14
 research by Analytical Services within the Department for Education and Employment. This
studies graduates across a number of economic cycles, from those graduating in 1971 to
those graduating in 1995. The 1989 to 1995 results are shown in Report 7, ‗Rates of return
to higher education‘;
 research by the Policy Studies Institute (PSI) which looks at young graduates (at ages 23 to
24);15
21
 research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) which uses data for those born in 1958
recorded in the National Child Development Study and examines those who were graduates
at the age of 33.16
6.18 These three studies show evidence of strong and persistent economic benefits to those with
higher education qualifications. First, the Analytical Services research shows that employment rates
are higher for those with such qualifications than for those without, particularly for women (Chart
6.1). Employment benefits are apparent for men with higher education qualifications in their mid-
30s onwards, and rather earlier for women. The IFS and PSI reports broadly support these findings
Source: Adapted from http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/ncihe/nr_087.htm
for the particular ages they study.
22
Topic 04: Resistance and Barriers to
Change of Curricula
1. Aim: To enable the participants to be self-critical and reflective, so that they are able to figure out
their standing in the current higher educational context.

4.1 Analyze and identify why the Sri Lankan Higher Education sector is yet not abreast with the
global trends
4.2 Perform a gap analysis in one‘s own discipline by comparing the current curriculum with that
of a high ranking program in the world/University (gold standard)
 A curriculum of a high ranking study program of their discipline
4. Lesson Plan
Teaching and Time

No. Content Outline
4.1  The factors that make change essential Brainstorming 60
 Why the Sri Lankan HE sector is not abreast with the global
Snowballing
trends can be attributed to two main groups of reasons:
(a) Lack of physical resources Buzz groups
(b) Lack of the internal drive and motivation of the
stakeholders Flow charts
 Resistance to curriculum change

- Time investment
- No recognition
- No tracer studies
- Low knowledge about stakeholders and expectations
- No training needs analysis
- ―All is well‖ syndrome
- Norm referenced assessment – hide changes in student
performance, hide declining standards
 How have successful study programs both local and

international overcome the above impediments?
23
Teaching and Time
No. Content Outline
4.2  What are the attributes of the current product of the study Perform a gap 120
program? analysis for one‘s
 What should be the attributes of the program outcome own study
(graduate profile) of the study program? The participants program either
should generate a suitable graduate profile (if not already individually or in
available) of the study program using the participants‘ a small group
contextual understanding of the Sri Lankan situation and the
global standards
 What is the gap? The participants should use the findings of
the above two steps to identify the gap that they need to
bridge if they are to uplift their study program to the required
standard
 What are the factors that have given rise to this gap?
 What factors prevents this gap being bridged; i.e. barriers and
resistance to change?
At the end of this topic make sure that each participant has adequately analyzed their study program
and identified the gaps. They should also be able to identify the reasons for the persistence of these
gaps.
6. Activities
7. Assessment
Assignment: Select a study program that you are involved in and perform a gap analysis. Identify why
these gaps have arisen and the reasons why these gaps are not bridged.
24
Notes for Topic 4
Though many acknowledge a need for curriculum change only a few succeed in implementing a
curriculum. The reasons are multi-factorial. Arguably the three reasons described below play a
greater role.
Why Curriculum Change Is Difficult — and Necessary

Planning for Instructional Improvement in Independent Schools
Olaf Jorgenson
Summer 2006
A speaker I once heard at a conference on curriculum development, compared instructional change

to moving graveyards; nobody pays much attention until you try to do it! Years later, after serving
in several independent and public schools that collectively embrace a long tradition of academic
freedom, this metaphor rings true. But I've discovered that faculty resistance to formalized
instructional improvement and curricular change builds not because teachers lack desire or capacity
to improve, but because, collectively, teachers value their autonomy, worry about their ever-
increasing workload and time constraints, and are, by nature, averse to risk and change.
Why is instructional change necessary in our schools? First, because in the past decade there has
been an upwelling of developments featuring research-based, classroom-proven "best practice"
teaching strategies — accompanied by pioneering discoveries about learning and learners — which
are simply too compelling to ignore. The stand-and-deliver model of teaching and learning, with the
teacher at the center of instruction, is increasingly incompatible with today's youth; in some schools,
it is giving way to more varied methods founded on research about how children learn.
Secondly, the students who attend independent and public schools alike come with more learning
challenges than ever before, and the trend shows no sign of reversing (Evans, 2004). The changing
needs of children demand that teachers expand their role beyond purveyors of information, to
become facilitators, co-investigators, guides, and coordinators. Independent school educators need
to evolve with the emerging research on teaching and learning, and adapt their craft to the changing
needs of students. Academic freedom has its place, of course; but, frankly, we know too much to
25
ignore what is possible for our students. And, thirdly, these changes are taking place rapidly, against a
backdrop of the shift from an industrial economy to one based on the instantaneous, global traffic of
information. Today's schools are not designed to prepare children for our explosive knowledge
economy or its demand for outcomes over process; the traditional model of teachers dispensing
discrete, disconnected bodies of information (curricula) presented in isolation from the other subject
areas, is increasingly obsolete as a way to prepare children for our world. But for educators to
simultaneously recognize these shifting dynamics, figure out how to address them through
instructional change, and then implement meaningful, sustainable changes, is a daunting task.
Teachers and school leaders today must, as Tony Wagner puts it, "rebuild the airplane while they're
flying it" (Wagner, 2006).
Source: http://www.nais.org/publications/ismagazinearticle.cfm?ItemNumber=148786
Task: Discuss to what extent that the above three reasons are applicable to your situation. Are
there other reasons that are applicable to your situation?
Below are a few more factors that have been identified after a survey in Australasia that make
curriculum change difficult.
The following are the factors affecting curriculum change:

A. Influential or outspoken individuals.
B. Financial pressures, including resource availability.
C. Staff availability or workload.
D. Employer or industry viewpoints.
E. Current or prospective student viewpoints.
F. Student abilities or limitations, or intake considerations.
G. Pedagogical argument or academic merit.
H. University or Government requirement or regulation.
I. Professional accreditation needs, or syllabi set by professional bodies.
J. Academic ―fashion‖, including the desire to remain in step with other institutions.
Source: Grubay P, Moffaty A, Søndergaardy H, Zobelz J. (2004). What drives curriculum change? A paper
presented at the Sixth Australasian Computing Education Conference, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Available at: http://crpit.com/confpapers/CRPITV30Gruba2.pdf (Accessed on: 29 May 2012).
26
So, are these arguments against curriculum change tenable?
Task: Read the following excerpt and discuss how acceptable these arguments are?
By comparison, children in independent schools are more homogeneous: in prep schools, highly
competent and motivated with involved parents; in therapeutic schools, uniformly grouped and
heavily resourced; and so forth. This might explain why training in instructional methods —
beyond subject area expertise and a pedigree from a top-tier university — has not customarily been
expected of independent school teachers. Added to this is the appeal of "academic freedom," the
mantra and cherished rallying cry especially among teachers at the secondary level in independent
schools, where teacher licensing, prescribed curricula, lesson planning, an articulated scope and
sequence of instruction, and other such perceived bureaucratic confinements have not been the
norm.
But times, and children, are changing. Students come to independent and public schools alike less
prepared to learn, contending with more (and more complex) personal challenges (learning
differences dyslexia, for example), and with less intact family support than in any previous era in
our nation's history (Evans, 2004). At the same time, we know more about teaching and learning
than ever before. Consequently, the militant call for academic freedom in independent schools is
less and less defensible as a reason not to actively pursue strategies for instructional improvement.
FADS THEY ARE NOT:

ADVANCES IN WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT TEACHING AND LEARNING
As Tony Wagner (2001) observes, teachers are like crafts persons: the profession "attracts people
who enjoy working alone and take great pride in developing a degree of expertise and perfecting
'handcrafted products'" — their special units and courses — whose identity may be threatened by
attempts to impose structure on what they love to do. "The educational 'fads of the month' that have
swept through schools for the past 30 years have served to reinforce the belief of many teachers that
innovations are the fleeting fancy of leaders who are here today and gone tomorrow — and so are
not to be believed" (Wagner, 2001, 378).
But research on teaching and learning has advanced in the last decade perhaps more than in the
previous half-century combined, and the resulting discoveries contribute to a growing foundation
27
for "best practices of instruction," most of which find their way into teacher certification programs
for public school educators and eventually into the national education conference circuit. However,
unless veteran independent school educators actively pursue innovative advances in the profession,
they may be unaware of an array of research-based "best practice" methods that are transforming
teaching and learning in classrooms nationwide, in public and private schools alike.
Among those research-supported advances in teaching and learning that have proven their value in
the classroom are the theory of multiple intelligences, differentiated instruction, formative and
"backwards design" assessment, opportunity to learn (OTL), cognitive neuroscience ("brain
research"), demographics and learning, and inquiry science methods (Please see the full article
using the URL below). This sampling is a fraction of the work completed and underway to assist
teachers in better serving children and families in our schools — and it's important to acknowledge
that many independent educators are already employing updated research-based best practices in
their work today, and that numerous independent schools are in fact pushing for instructional
change. Still, many are not.
Source: Adapted from:

http://www.nais.org/publications/ismagazinearticle.cfm?ItemNumber=148786
28
Topic 05: How to Overcome Barriers:
Success Factors in Curriculum Change
1. Aim: To enable the participants to be self-critical and reflective, so that they are able to figure out
their standing in the current higher educational context.

5.1 Reflect on the continuing existence of the gap
5.2 Discuss the factors that contribute to the maintenance of status quo
5.3 How can the gap be bridged?
4. Lesson Plan
Teaching and Time

No. Content Outline
5.1  Why the gap is sustained? There may be various reasons like Brainstorming 60
the leadership, bureaucratic the way of thinking of the
& Snowballing
stakeholders or the lackadaisical attitude of the major
5.2 stakeholders of the curriculum. Buzz groups
 It is important to note that even if gaps are bridged, if the
factors that sustain the gaps are present, the change cannot be Flow charts
maintained.
5.3  What are the measures that can be taken to address the gaps? Brainstorming 120
Some common measures would be staff development to
inform the staff about the benefits of bridging the gaps, Snowballing
incentives for the staff to make the necessary changes to the Buzz groups
curriculum, institutionalizing the organizational structure to
effect and sustain change, changing the organizational Flow charts
culture, and making changes in the thought process of the
institutional leadership. Individual and
 Participants should identify the pros and cons of each of the Group work
above measures.
29
Teaching and Time
No. Content Outline
5.3  Success factors for change As above As above

- Establish a consensus of the need for change
- Foster openness to new and other people‘s ideas
- A clear purpose, appropriate development process and
appropriate team
- Have senior management and ownership
- Secure time and resources
- Acknowledge and manage conflicts of interest
- Support the staff to learn their new roles
- Help students adjust to new expectations
- Monitor progress and adjust
Impress upon the participants that there is no one way to overcome the barriers to change. The best
method(s) to overcome the barriers will depend on the context of a given situation.
6. Activities
7. Assessment
Assignment: Develop a strategy to overcome the gaps identified under topic 4.
30
Notes on Topic 5
You may have realized that the greatest resistance for change comes from within the individuals
of an academic institute. Fuelling such resistance is the feeling that curriculum upgrading
involves more work as exemplified in the following excerpt. How can we convince the teachers
that curriculum revision though involves more work is an activity that is mutually beneficial – to
teachers and students?
INSTRUCTIONAL IMPROVEMENT AS "MORE WORK"

How do independent school leaders help faculty colleagues develop a receptive attitude toward
curricular and pedagogical change? The most immediate — and most commonly reinforced —
perception of instructional improvement is that the process leading to it — consisting of reflection,
dialogue, research, experimentation, and ongoing repetition of each phase of the cycle — involves
"more work." In many ways, it is demanding and time-consuming to engage in self-evaluation, to
make time to meet and compare notes with colleagues, to try new approaches and continually work
to refine and improve them. Unfortunately, most schools (public and private) tend to launch into
ambitious instructional improvement programs by rallying teachers toward noble change initiatives
in "one-shot" in-services hosted the week before school starts, with little or no follow-up during the
year; or in grueling after-school committee work that usually generates a massive curriculum
document that few teachers actually ever consult again once the committees disband.
To the contrary, effective instructional improvement should focus on the process, rather than the
product. It is in the collaborative dialogue exploring, considering, and refining a school's methods —
the journey toward better teaching — by which teacher professional growth takes place; surely not
merely in following the outlines and maps in the final polished and articulated curriculum document.
It does take planning and a commitment among and between teachers to reflect on and share their
instructional practices, set goals, and seek resources to meet them. Once it's carefully planned and
strategically launched, however, instructional improvement can be both rejuvenating and
revolutionary. It can unify and support teachers in a way that, in the long run, makes the teaching life
easier and more rewarding.
31
THE REAL PROBLEM IS CHANGE ITSELF
Schools and educators are suited to slow change. Much more like clergy or families than
businesses — because teachers are charged with raising the young and cultivating values that
sustain — the work of schools and teachers is intensely personal and demands a degree of
continuity and posterity. In this way, resistance to change in schools is normal and, to a degree,
necessary; there needs to be a balance between a long-lasting, predictable ethos that transcends
generations and the healthy adaptations that acknowledge different needs from one generation to
the next. In this sense, change can be interpreted two ways: as a risk, insult, or threat to the
traditions and autonomy of teachers; and, simultaneously, as an opportunity for reflection and
improvement on the status quo (Evans, 2004).
If the resistance to change is so deep-rooted, then any change of a curriculum needs to be

carefully planned. What are the key ingredients that such as planning process should contain?
PLANNING FOR INSTRUCTIONAL IMPROVEMENT

While preparing to design and implement an instructional improvement program — planning
change — independent school educators need to acknowledge a faculty's right to have three
understandings made clear from the very start of the process: Why is a change necessary? What are
we changing to? How will we get there? (Evans, 2004) The answers to these questions will vary
from school to school, but in addressing the first one, Lois Hetland of the Harvard Graduate School
of Education puts it compellingly as follows: ―
―Learning something new means questioning those things we do well automatically. It means
questioning our tacit expertise....It is the willingness to risk some clumsy movements that allows us
to become explicit and intentional about what we do. And that, as far as I can tell, is how we can
best honour the mystery of learning in our teaching (1996).‖
In this spirit, the goal for faculty members is to create conversations about what students and
teachers (in that order) need from instructional design and delivery, and how they can best be
enriched and challenged throughout the course of their experience at the school through
32
structuring and delivering curriculum and instruction. Administrators and teacher leaders charged
with facilitating successful change measures will necessarily strive to remain relentlessly
optimistic about the outcomes of the reflective review process, while both anticipating and
respecting some mistakes and frustration, which are natural aspects of the change experience.
It is clear that any effective strategy for changing a curriculum should be sufficiently attractive to
the teachers, so that they are convinced that the work that they do is mutually beneficial. Thus,
any strategy to changing a curriculum should be accompanied by a strong staff development
process.
Task: Discuss how well the following strategy will be appealing to the staff.
FIVE STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTING INSTRUCTIONAL CHANGE

Contingent upon adequate time (weeks, months, even years) for preparation, communication, and
planning, here are strategies that the school leaders I interviewed and I have used in different school
settings to enable effective changes in curriculum and instruction.
 Aim for "subtle shifts." Changing curriculum and instruction should be a gradual process, a matter
of modifying single lessons rather than entire units. Successful instructional change is a matter of
reflecting, planning, communicating, planning some more, making a "subtle shift" in practice,
reflecting some more, and then repeating the process. 1 At Hawaii Prep, preparing to expand our kit-
based science program at our K-8 campus, we sent a team of teachers, administrators, and
community members to a weeklong training program (Leadership Assistance for Science Education
Reform at the Smithsonian Institute). Rather than purchasing kits for science instruction in every
classroom in grades K-8, we're inviting teachers to try individual units on a pilot basis, and, so far,
several teachers have plunged into the program on their own initiative. In time, we believe others
will be drawn to kit-based science by the infectious enthusiasm and by the success they witness in
their colleagues' experiences — but it won't be a curriculum program that's forced upon everyone all
at once, which would have a low threshold for buy-in among our talented and accomplished (and
autonomous) faculty.
 Start small. Work with individual teachers at first, or with small clusters of motivated individuals
who buy into a proposed change and are excited to become experts in the new process and practices.
33
 Enthusiasm fuelled by early successes and spread by word of mouth among students and teachers is
contagious! This strategy shortcuts all the energy and time spent trying to convince skeptical,
reluctant, and resistant faculty members to jump aboard an "untested" change. Build it — with "it"
meaning an instructional innovation that works — and they will eventually come.
 Be patient. Instructional change agents should anticipate anxiety. Individuals respond uniquely (at
times unpredictably) to new ways of doing things, no matter how sensible or appealing the new ways
might be. Expecting colleagues to hold to the same levels of performance and pliability one has for
oneself leads to repeated frustrations and slows the process on a number of levels. Over time,
favorable changes unite a critical mass of teachers whose collective enthusiasm overcomes initial
resistance and gently diffuses the pervasive this-isn't-how-we've-always-done-it attitude. It takes time
— often years — to successfully implement instructional change across a department, division, or
entire school.
 Make time for instructional review within the school day. Schools that place a high value on
curriculum review and professional dialogue about instruction build it into the workday, rather than
adding more meetings during the afternoons, evenings, or weekends when many teachers are
involved in co-curricular activities or wish to enjoy precious family time or time alone. This is a vital
consideration. Above all else, teachers need time to realize meaningful instructional improvement.
The simplest way to create more time is to extend the length of the school year and add periodic in-
service days for articulation; but, in some independent schools, this order of change could provoke a
battle that might then undermine the good intentions of a curriculum review before it even gets
underway. At other schools where I've worked, faculty members were afforded opportunities for
collaboration on a regular basis when the school redistributed instructional time incrementally. For
instance, adding two minutes to the beginning and end of the school day, and one minute less at the
beginning and end of lunch, is hardly noticed, but it adds 30 minutes per week of instructional time in
schools with a five-day week. This would allow for 60 minutes of instructional review every two
weeks to be built into the regular workday, with a minimal disruption to the existing schedule.
 Provide ready access to the resources necessary for change. For example, a number of excellent
organizations host websites and conferences dedicated to instructional improvement, including the
superb resources provided by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
34
(www.ascd.org). It's important to anticipate increased needs that will emerge as a consequence of
instructional change. At Hawaii Prep's K–8 campus, for example, with the move to more kit-based
science instruction this year, we provided a part-time resource teacher to assist with setup and
materials support to facilitate the new program's implementation. While the new position is a strain
on the budget, we see it as a resource essential to the success of the initiative — and balanced against
the big picture of potential benefits for children and teachers across the years ahead, plus considering
the hundreds of hours already invested in the instructional change, a part-time resource teacher is a
small price to pay. Plan ahead and make sure your new programs (and teachers) aren't starved for
support.
Following these core strategies, curriculum change and instructional improvement may not be quite as
complex or contentious as moving graveyards. But it will certainly safely bury a lot of fears.
Ultimately, we are obliged to find ways to teach so that opportunities to learn are maximized. The
children and families we serve deserve no less.
Source: Adapted from http://www.nais.org/publications/ismagazinearticle.cfm?ItemNumber=148786
35
Module 2: Principles
of
Curriculum Development
No Topic Description
1 Module Title Principles of Curriculum Development
2 Prerequisites and Engage in teaching (e.g. conduct lessons in theory and practical) in a formal
Co-requisites higher education system and has followed Module 1 above

5 Module Aim To teach the types of curricula and the concepts of curriculum
development, so that this knowledge could be utilized to
develop/revise a curriculum in one‘s own context
6 Objectives and 1. Explain and differentiate the types of curricula
Learning Outcomes 2. Define and apply constructive alignment to one‘s own situation
3. Explain the process of introducing/maintaining integration in a
curriculum
4. Discuss and differentiate outcome and input based curriculum
development
7 Assessment Two contextual assignments

Strategy
8 Syllabus 1. Types of curricula
2. Concepts of curriculum development
9 Suggested reading  http://www.assessment.uconn.edu/primer/taxonomies1.html
 http://www.acu.edu/academics/adamscenter/course_design/taxonomy/
instructional/taxonomies.htm
 http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/103011/chapters/What-Is-
Integrated-Curriculum%C2%A2.aspx
 http://www.amdin.org/documents/d00104/SAMDI_TOT_Module_3.pdf
36
Topic 06: Types of Curriculum
1. Aim: To impart the knowledge on the principles of curriculum development, so that the participants
are able to utilize this knowledge to develop, design, and revise curricula, to suit their setting in order
to meet the societal demands.

6.1Explain the meanings of Planned, Taught, Learnt, Assessed and Hidden curriculum
6.2 Explain why the above should be aligned
6.3 Analyze one‘s own curriculum and determine the extent of alignment
 Current literature on subject specifics
 Completed assignment for topic 4
 A list of stakeholders for the specific curriculum
4. Lesson Plan
Teaching and Time

No. Content Outline
6.1  Planned curriculum is the curriculum that has been Brainstorming 120
developed and documented by a curriculum development Snowballing
committee (CDC) of a study program, and approved by the Buzz groups
Faculty Board(s), the Senate and the Council of the Flow charts
University, and the Standing Committee of the University Individual and
Grants Commission. This is the curriculum on paper. Ideally, Group work
this should be this, and only this, that should be taught,
learnt, and assessed.
 However, the other terms that describe curricula (e.g. taught,
learnt, hidden, assessed curricula) have come into being
because the planned curriculum is not the only curriculum
that is taught, learnt and assessed.
 Taught curriculum comprises the learning outcomes, subject
content, and teaching/learning methods that are used to
deliver the curriculum.
37
Teaching and Time
No. Content Outline
6.1  Learnt curriculum is the curriculum that the students learn As above As above
irrespective of whether this is planned or taught.
 Learnt curriculum is the most crucial curriculum, as that is
what the students would have achieved through the study
program.
 Why is there a ‗learnt curriculum‘? Reasons are many. Poor
teaching, poor assessment, and in the eyes of the students
there may be more important subject matter that is not taught
in the course.
 Hidden curriculum is the learning that the student achieves
that is not either planned or taught by the specific study
program. Hence, the hidden curriculum is a part of the learnt
curriculum.
 Thus, the ‗learnt curriculum‘ has two parts: the part that is
learnt through the curriculum that is delivered and the part
learnt that is not delivered; i.e. the hidden curriculum.
 Assessed curriculum is the curriculum that the students are
assessed on throughout the curriculum, to certify that they
have achieved the learning outcomes of the study program
and if necessary ranked. It is likely that only the assessed
curriculum will be learnt by the students.
6.2  The planned, taught, and assessed curricula should overlap Brainstorming 120
(or could be superimposed) with each other; i.e. they should Snowballing
be identically the same. In this situation the curriculum is Buzz groups
said to be 100% aligned. Since this has been achieved Flow charts
through meticulous planning, the term ‗constructive Individual and
alignment‘ is used to denote the degree of overlap among the Group work
above three curriculum components.
 Although, planned, taught, learnt and assessed curricula
should be present and overlapping with each other, ‗hidden
curriculum‘ should not be ideally present, if the curriculum is
well planned, taught and assessed. This said, it is extremely
difficult to eliminate the hidden curriculum as the student
aspirations vastly vary. Said differently, hidden curriculum
represents what is ‗caught‘ as opposed to what is ‗taught‘.
6.3  Planned curriculum should match with the needs that the Group and 120
study program should cater to. These needs should be individual work
identified ideally through a ‗needs analysis‘ conducted using
the stakeholders of the curriculum.
38
Teaching and Time
No. Content Outline
6.3  Then, the planned and taught curricula should be compared As above As above
for alignment.
 Next, taught and learnt curricula should be investigated for
alignment.
 Finally, taught and assessed curricula need to be compared
for alignment.
Make sure that the participants apply the principles learnt in this session to their own curriculum.
6. Activities
7. Assessment
Assignment: Analyze one’s own curriculum to determine the extent of alignment.
39
Notes on Topic 6
The content outline above provides the essence of the five types of curricula: planned, learnt,
taught, hidden, and assessed. We have included this as this classification of curriculum types are
the most suitable in our context. However, this is only one type of classification. For example,
below is another classification that is slightly different to the one above.
Although there may be only one formal curriculum published by an educational institution, there are,
in fact, other curricula students follow, including the Hidden Curriculum, Null Curriculum, Tested
Curriculum and Electronic Curriculum. Each curriculum disseminates various and sometimes
conflicting messages to students and affects their learning experience.
Written Curriculum
The Written Curriculum is the published curriculum that is part of the formal education. The Written
Curriculum includes course objectives, course guides, lesson plans, course material and grading
criteria. The Written Curriculum is supplemented by other types of curricula, such as the Electronic
Curriculum. Although this is the official curriculum, it is often subordinated by other more powerful
curricula.
Hidden Curriculum
The Hidden, or Covert, Curriculum refers to messages communicated by an organization that are
implied. The Hidden Curriculum may have more influence than the Written Curriculum because it is
based on the norms and values of the organization. The Hidden Curriculum includes ongoing school
activities and routines that are not documented and can indicate unofficial preferences for certain
subjects. The scheduling or prioritization of certain courses over others can point to a Hidden
Curriculum that some subjects are not as important as others.
Null Curriculum
The Null Curriculum represents the material or subjects that are not being taught as part of the
Written Curriculum. Due to limited resources or an emphasis on purely academic courses, not all
40
material or subjects will be taught. When subjects such as music or art are not included in the Written
Curriculum and thus form part of the Null Curriculum, students may believe these subjects have
minimal value.
Tested Curriculum
The Tested, or Assessed, Curriculum is the body of information on which students will be tested.
Teachers may prefer to teach material that will be tested on state or school tests to improve their
success rates. Teachers who put more emphasis on the Tested Curriculum may overlook the material
prescribed in the Written Curriculum
Electronic Curriculum
The Electronic Curriculum includes all learning activities that are Internet-based. By acknowledging
the existence of the issues to be considered with the electronic curriculum, educators must take into
consideration the credibility of information on the Internet. Students must develop critical-learning
skills to determine the quality of information they are researching.
Source: http://www.ehow.com/info_8013624_5-types-curricula-classroom.html#ixzz20ldfdlaO
In the above classification, considering this day and age, ‗electronic curriculum‘ may be
pertinent to consider. However, we do not think that a ‗null curriculum‘ should be present in
university education, as all that the study program wants to teach should be included in the
planned curriculum. This said, a ‗null curriculum‘ may also be prevalent sometimes due to
resource constraints.
Task: Identify the dominant curricula in your study program. Justify why they have been
included and should be sustained.
41
Topic 07: Concepts of Curriculum Development
1. Aim: To impart the knowledge on the principles of curriculum development, so that the participants
are able to utilize this knowledge to develop, design, and revise curricula, to suit their setting in order
to meet the societal demands.

7.1 Explain the three concepts – integration, outcome based and input based education
7.2 Discuss and apply the three concepts to a curriculum in one‘s own context
 A list of stakeholders for the specific curriculum
4. Lesson Plan
Teaching and Time

No. Content Outline
7.1  Traditionally the subjects are taught in isolation, so much so, that Brainstorming 240
the individual subjects could be considered as standalone
curricula/study programs. One of the main problems with this Snowballing
model is that when the student is required to apply the subject Buzz groups
content to a practical situation, they are unable to assimilate the
learning from different subjects to solve the problems related to Flow charts
the said situation. If, however, the subjects are taught in the way
that the material learnt can be put together to tackle a practical Group and
situation, this theory- practice gap can be bridged effectively. This individual work
is the reason why integration of learning, as opposed to
disintegrated learning, is preferred.
Integration can be horizontal or vertical integration.
Horizontal integration is teaching and learning of subjects that

are traditionally studied at the same time; e.g. biology is learnt
with mathematics during the same semester in parallel.
42
Teaching and Time
No. Content Outline
7.1 Vertical integration is teaching and learning of subjects that are As above As above
traditionally studied not at the same time; e.g. the fundamentals
learnt in first two years will be applied during the courses such as
internship and industrial training in the final year.
 Input-based education determines the teaching and learning

material solely based on the subjects; i.e. individual subjects
determine what is to be taught. This education model assumes that
when all the subject matter learnt this way is put together the
product (i.e. the graduate) envisaged by the study program can be
produced. Thus, it is a bottom-up process. This means that the
objectives of the different subjects will be collected to determine
the objectives of the study program.
 Outcome-based education (OBE), in contrast, determines the

subject level learning outcomes (or objectives) based on the
overall learning outcomes of the final product; i.e. the graduate.
Thus, individual subjects will have to select their study material to
fit into the specifications of the overall study program. In OBE,
these specifications are identified in terms of competencies that
the graduate requires, to tackle scenarios in the working world.
Hence, in OBE, the study program is more in control of the
product that it produces.
 In OBE identification of intended learning outcomes (ILOs) at

different stages of the study program including the outcomes for
the final product is a must. Also, it is essential to understand the
differences between learning outcomes and learning objectives,
and their inter-relationship. As such training in writing learning
outcomes and objectives using accepted taxonomies such as
Bloom‘s taxonomy is an essential competency that a university
teacher should acquire.
7.2  What are the pros and cons of integration and disintegration? How Group and 120
are these pros and cons applied to your study program? individual work
 What are the pros and cons of input-based and outcome-based

education? How are these pros and cons applied to your study
program?
43
Make sure that the participants apply the above concepts to their own study programs.
6. Activities
 Question and answer sessions  Individual activities
 Group activities  Panel discussions
7. Assessment
Assignment: Discuss how one‘s own study program can be improved to conform to an integrated and
outcome-based program.
44
Notes on Topic 7
Curriculum Integration
Integration is one of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted terms used in curriculum
development. Confusion surrounding integration can be largely avoided if one thinks clearly
about the purpose of integration.
In disintegrated, discipline-based curricula disciplines/subjects are taught as standalone entities.

The students are not shown the links between these disciplines. However, in real practice (i.e. in
the workplace) these disciplines are applied together within a single task. Hence, in discipline-
based, traditional teaching and learning the learners are expected to learn the disciplines
individually and make the links between the disciplines on their own.
In contrast, in an integrated curriculum, the disciplines are taught such that the links between the
disciplines are made explicit, so that when it comes to application in the workplace the students
need not make much of an effort to figure out how the different disciplines should be combined
before application.
First and foremost, it should be understood that discipline boundaries are all manmade.
Disciplines boundaries or for that matter disciplines themselves never existed in nature. It is we
humans, for our own convenience to study nature, who compartmentalized nature and created
disciplines together with their boundaries. So, once understood, the content in the disciplines
need to be put together to appreciate nature and apply the content to real life settings. If,
however, the links between these disciplines are explicitly appreciated while learning, the later
application of the content will be that much easier.
Thus, the prime purpose of integration should be to make the learners understand and appreciate
how concepts taught and learnt by different disciplines are put together in real life applications.
Then, the theory-practice gap could be bridged to a greater extent.
The content outline provides the two basic concepts of curriculum integration: horizontal and
vertical integration. What approaches can be followed to implement these two basic concepts?
Task: Read ‗What is integrated curriculum?‘ by Susan M. Drake and Rebecca C. Burns, given
under suggested reading of this module
(http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/103011/chapters/What-Is-Integrated-
Curriculum%C2%A2.aspx)
45
This chapter discusses three approaches to integrate a curriculum: mutli-disciplinary,
interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary. They can be viewed as hierarchical with
multidisciplinary being the most basic and trans-disciplinary being the most advanced approach
to integration.
Task: Study the table in this chapter and relate the following to the level of integration of a
course that you are involved in.
 Organizing Center – This refers to how the knowledge is collated, arranged and presented
to the learner. In multidisciplinary integration the discipline boundaries are apparent,
while in trans-disciplinary integration the discipline boundaries are not apparent.
 Conception of Knowledge – While multidisciplinary integration believes that learning
individual subjects and their connections serves best, trans-disciplinary integration is
based on learning around real life tasks that do not specify disciplinary boundaries.
 Role of Disciplines – More prominent in multidisciplinary integration, and less prominent
in trans-disciplinary integration. However, the quantum of learning that is transferred
should be the same, whichever the approach of integration, although the learning is more
application-based in trans-disciplinary integration.
 Role of Teacher – Multidisciplinary integration would require more subject-based
specialists, while trans-disciplinary integration would require teachers who are not only
subject specialists but also understands the process of learning.
 Starting Place – In multidisciplinary integration the starting place is the subject matter,
while in trans-disciplinary integration it is usually the real life task.
 Degree of Integration – Basic in multidisciplinary and advanced in trans-disciplinary.
 Assessment – Reproduction of subject matter and procedures are stressed more in
multidisciplinary integration, while accomplishment of tasks or application of the subject
matter in real life context is stressed more in trans-disciplinary integration.
Here are three examples to exemplify the three approaches. Let us think about a study program
that contains history, archeology and geography as disciplinary subjects.
In multidisciplinary integration these three disciplines will be taught and learnt as distinct
subjects, but connections between the subjects will be explicitly made during individual lessons.
This integration can be either horizontal or vertical.
In interdisciplinary integration, the same subject disciplines will be taught around organizing
themes. The organizing theme in this example may be the different eras in Sri Lankan
civilization; e.g. Anuradhapura era, Polonnaruwa era, Kandyan era, etc. However, disciplinary
teaching and learning would still take place organized within the eras.
46
In trans-disciplinary integration, the disciplinary boundaries are blurred or not apparent. Thus,
the organizing theme may be more practice based, such as an excavation of a site belonging to
the Polonnaruwa era. Here history, geography and archeology are taught and learnt as they are
applied to this practical situation; i.e. not as individual disciplines.
Task: Determine which approach has been mostly followed by your course? Or has your course
not followed any approach?
Outcome-based education
What are outcomes?
Outcomes are broad competencies that the training program aims the graduate to achieve at the
end of the program. These competencies will define the final product. Thus, the competencies
need to be extracted by close envisioning the final product. For example, university of Sydney
defines the final product using the following competencies or graduate attributes (Figure 7.1).
Figure 7.1: The Graduate Attributes of the Sydney Graduate
Source: http://www.itl.usyd.edu.au/graduateattributes/
Task: Discuss how relevant are these outcomes or competencies for your study program?
47
Task: Can you develop such an outcome-framework for one of the study programs that you are
involved in?
How can outcomes be developed and used?
Outcomes should be developed using several sources. The diagram below (Figure 7.2) shows
some of the sources that can be used to derive outcomes of a study program. Not only this
diagram provides how outcomes can be developed, but it also shows what could be done with
these outcomes, once developed; i.e. how outcomes could be put to use? For example, program
outcomes can be used to determine module outcomes (including optional modules such as
electives), module teaching and learning content and their assessment. Finally outcomes could be
used as the framework to evaluate the module/study program; i.e. how well the study
program/module has achieved its outcomes?
Figure 7.2: Sources and Uses of Program Outcomes
48
When modules and other course units of a study program are developed the content of each of
the said modules or course units and their assessment need to be aligned with the overall
program outcomes. As shown in Figure 7.3 below, this is called ‗constructive alignment‘.
Figure 7.3: Constructive Alignment
Thus, in the above examples, the following Faculty Statements of University of Sydney have
been derived from the learning outcomes of the Sydney University, illustrated above in Figure
7.1.
49
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences – Contextualized Graduate Attributes
Research and Inquiry: Graduates of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences will be able to create
new knowledge and understanding through the process of research and inquiry.
 possess a body of knowledge relevant to their fields of study, and a firm grasp of the
principles, practices, and boundaries of their discipline;
 be able to acquire and evaluate new knowledge through independent research;
 be able to identify, define, investigate, and solve problems;
 think independently, analytically and creatively; and
 exercise critical judgment and critical thinking to create new modes of understanding.
Information Literacy: Graduates of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences will be able to use
information effectively in a range of contexts.
 recognize pertinent information needs;
 use appropriate media, tools and methodologies to locate, access and use information;
 critically evaluate the sources, values, validity and currency of information; and
 use information in critical and creative thinking.
Personal and Intellectual Autonomy: Graduates of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences will be
able to work independently and sustainably, in a way that is informed by openness, curiosity and a
desire to meet new challenges.
 be independent learners who take responsibility for their own learning;
 set appropriate goals for ongoing intellectual and professional development, and evaluate
their own performance effectively;
 be intellectually curious, open to new ideas, methods and ways of thinking, and able to
sustain intellectual interest;
 respond effectively to unfamiliar problems in unfamiliar contexts; and
 work effectively in teams and other collaborative contexts.
50
Ethical, Social and Professional Understanding: Graduates of the Faculty of Arts and Social
Sciences will hold personal values and beliefs consistent with their role as responsible members of
local, national, international and professional communities
 understand and practice the highest standards of ethical behavior associated with their
discipline or profession;
 be informed and open-minded about social, cultural and linguistic diversity in Australia and
the world;
 appreciate their ethical responsibilities towards colleagues, research subjects, the wider
community, and the environment;
 be aware that knowledge is not value-free.
Communication: Graduates of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences will recognize and value
communication as a tool for negotiating and creating new understanding, interacting with others,
and furthering their own learning.
 possess a high standard of oral, visual and written communication skills relevant to their
fields of study, including where applicable the possession of these skills in languages other
than English;
 recognize the importance of continuing to develop their oral, visual, and written
communication skills;
 be able to use appropriate communication technologies.
Source: http://www.itl.usyd.edu.au/graduateattributes/
51
What are objectives?
As opposed to outcomes, ‗objectives‘ focus on either the process of learning or at an
intermediate product. Examples of objectives may be:
At the end of the module the student should be able to define ‘democracy’
Knowing the definition of democracy does not adequately portray the final product. Rather it
describes an attribute of an intermediate product or the process of reaching the final product.
Being able to define a term, such as ‗democracy‘, signifies one milepost towards reaching the
final product. For example, if one of the competencies of this final product is ‗application of
knowledge‘ to practical situations, then it is necessary to know the meaning of certain important
terms such as ‗democracy‘ for instance, critique whether a given society is a true democracy or
not. Also, the above objective is focused on a minute and fragmented piece of knowledge, as
opposed to broad ability such as ‗application of knowledge‘, which is an outcome. Hence, the
above example constitutes an objective that will contribute to achieving and outcome.
The key for any objective is the verb that it contains. In the above example, this verb is ‗define‘.
This directs the students towards the action that he/she needs to master. Based on the action
verbs, objectives can be written at different levels. Bloom and colleagues classified all action
verbs in to six levels (Figure 7.4).
Figure 7.4: Bloom‘s Taxonomy
You may have realized that the above classification levels are hierarchical. The examples, that
was considered above belongs to the lowest level; i.e. ‗knowledge recall‘. The above example is
for the ‗cognitive‘ domain. Similarly there are hierarchical classifications for the ‗psychomotor‘
(i.e. skills) and ‗affective‘ (i.e. attitudes) domains available.
52
How to write objectives?
Writing objectives is a skill that one needs to master. There are, however, a few guidelines. First,
one needs to identify which aspects should be included an objectives. For this, the topic area or
the subject matter needs to be decomposed or broken down into small parts. In the above
example, ‗democracy‘ could be considered as a part of a curriculum that was derived after such a
decomposition of the larger subject area; e.g. methods of governance. Second, the curriculum
writer needs to decide on the level of the objective; i.e. the action verb. In the above example the
action verb is at the ‗recall‘ level of knowledge; i.e. ‗define‘.
Next, the writer must ensure that the objective conforms to the SMART criteria. SMART
acronym stands for Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. The first two
criteria (specific and measurable – the latter essentially means that the objective is assessable at
an examination) is automatically achieved when one selects and action verb from an established
classification such as Bloom‘s classification. Similarly, the criterion ‗relevant‘ is also achieved if
the content for the objective is chosen by decomposing or analyzing the subject matter of the
curriculum. The criterion ‗achievable‘ needs to be ensured by selecting an action verb which is
appropriate for the level of training that the student is at. Finally, ‗time-bound‘ is usually
achieved by any educational objective through a phrase such as ―at the end of the teaching and
learning activity/module/unit/course‖; i.e. time limitation that an objective is to be achieved is
usually considered as end of a teaching and learning session.
53
Module 3: Development, Implementation
and
Evaluation of a Curriculum
o Topic Description
1 Module Title Development, Implementation and Evaluation of a Curriculum
2 Prerequisites and Engage in teaching (e.g. conduct lessons in theory and practical) in a
Co-requisites formal higher education system and has followed Module 1 and Module 2
above
5 Module Aim To teach strategies and models of curriculum development,
implementation and evaluation, so that such knowledge could be
utilized for the successful conduct of study programs
6 Objectives and 1. Explain the strategies available for curriculum development
Learning Outcomes 2. Compare and contrast the different models of curriculum
development
3. Formulate an implementation and evaluation plan for a
curriculum
7 Assessment Strategy Three contextual assignments
8 Syllabus 1. Strategies for curriculum development
2. Curriculum development models
3. Curriculum implementation-evaluation cycle
9 Suggested Reading  http://www.amdin.org/documents/d00104/SAMDI_TOT_Module_3.pdf
 http://www.masterminds-ink.com/Evaluation.pdf
 http://www.oph.fi/english/sources_of_information/projects/wbl-
toi/tools_and_methods/swot_analysis
 http://www.itl.usyd.edu.au/graduateattributes/
54
Topic 08: Strategies for Curriculum Development
1. Aim: To introduce the strategies for formulating and planning, and implementing a curriculum,
so that the participants are able to determine the current status and project for the future to
achieve the expected outcome or to start anew a curriculum of their own.

8.1 Explain the strategies available to plan and implement a curriculum
8.2 Analyze the present curriculum and the ideal
8.3 Discuss how different strategies could be used to achieve the ideal
 A list of teaching and learning resources that could be made available in their setting
4. Lesson Plan
Teaching and Time

No. Content Outline
8.1  SPICES is a model for designing a curriculum. It depicts six Brainstorming 120
strategies which are in one extreme of six separate spectra.
These spectra are: Snowballing
1. Student-centered versus Teacher-centered Buzz groups
2. Problem-based versus Lecture-based
3. Integrated versus Discipline-based Flow charts
4. Community-based versus Classroom-based
5. Elective versus Uniform
6. Systemic versus Apprenticeship-based
 It is important to realize that each of the above strategies

represents a spectrum, where the left end strategies are
indicative of new approaches, while the right end strategies
are indicative of traditional approaches.
8.2  Using graphical overlays analyze their own curriculum using Group and 60
the above six spectra. individual work
55
Teaching and Time
No. Content Outline
8.3  All of the above six strategies will not be useful in all courses Brainstorming 60
and study programs; only a few of them may be useful.
Irrespective of whether all or a few are useful, however, Snowballing
different courses and study programs will require a unique Buzz groups
blend of these strategies, depending on their needs and
ground realities. Flow charts
6. Activities
7. Assessment
Assignment: Determine the ideal mix of strategies that can be used to improve the curriculum that has
been discussed under topic 7.
56
Notes on Topic 8
What are curriculum development strategies?
A ‗strategy‘ can be considered as a broad approach to setting about performing a given task. It is
not the performance itself, but how one approaches it. Performance itself will be specified by
more detailed steps of actions in terms of protocols, standard operating procedures (SOPs) and
models.
So, with regard to curriculum development, strategies imply how one sets about developing a
curriculum; i.e. which approach or approaches is/are adopted when developing a curriculum?
Based on these approach or approaches, how the curriculum is exactly developed, however, will
be specified by the curriculum development models (detailed later in this manual).
There are a number of approaches to curriculum development. Similarly, there are a number of
classifications of these strategies. One such classification is the SPICES model, initially
developed specifically for medical education, but later adapted to suit other disciplines. This
classification includes six strategies, based on the purpose (or the facet of orientation of the
curriculum) that each strategy serves in the curriculum development process. As illustrated in
Table 8.1, each strategy is modeled as a spectrum where one end represents the traditional
approaches while the other end represents the innovative/novel approach.
Table 8.1: The orientation of the six SPICES spectra
Purpose/Facet of Novel approach Traditional approach

Orientation
Focus of teaching and Student-centered Teacher-centered
learning
Process of teaching and Problem-based Lecture-based
learning
How the teaching and Integrated Discipline-based
learning is organized
Where the teaching and Community-based (Field- Classroom-based
learning takes place based)
Options that the learner has Elective-based Compulsory(Uniform)
How practical training is Systematic Apprenticeship-based
organized
Student-centered versus Teacher-centered spectrum
The student-centered approach is favored by modern educational programs as the student is the
centre of the educational process. It is to facilitate the learning process and to make it more
57
meaningful. In contrast, in the teacher-centered approach, the entire educational process is in the
hands of the teacher. In such an approach it is the teacher who unilaterally decides where, when
and how to teach, paying little respect to differing educational needs and learning styles of the
learners.
Problem-based versus Lecture-based spectrum
The traditional approach is to provide the learner the necessary information through didactic
lectures. Then it is up to the learner to apply the information to practice. Thus, often the learner
has to re-orientate in a way that can be used in practice. Problem-based approach presents
information as problems. The students have to learn what they do not know while trying to solve
the problem. The advantage is that the students learn information in context, in a way that they
can readily use it in practice.
Integrated versus Discipline-based approach
Disciplines usually contain a mass of knowledge and skills amassed in a framework which may
be easy to study but not necessarily easy (in fact difficult) to apply to practical situations. One of
the main reasons for this is that when applying learning to practice, learning from different
disciplines has to be combined and applied. This cannot be learnt if the teaching and learning is
conducted in a purely discipline-based format. Then it is up to the learner to learn how to
combine different pieces of learning in a given situation. In contrast, in the integrated approach
the learning is taught in the same way as it is used in practice. Thus, the learner need not re-
orientate the learning to suit practice. Instead the learning can be readily put into practice. Hence,
the integrated approach bridges the gap between theory and practice.
Field-based versus Classroom-based
It is customary to deliver and acquire learning in the classroom or the laboratory. However, such
learning most of the time needs to be applied to practical situations in the field. If there are
opportunities for the students to apply what they have learnt in the classroom/laboratory in the
field then the learners can better appreciate and understand the practical implications of such
learning. Field-based approach offers such opportunities.
58
Elective versus Compulsory (Uniform)
Traditionally, all students in a given cohort learned the same material. Different students,
depending on their likes and dislikes, learning styles and career goals cannot then select material
within a broad framework of course specifications. Such an approach illustrates the uniform
strategy. The elective approach, however, provides students the opportunity to select related
learning material that are related to their learning either directly or indirectly depending on their
likes and dislikes, learning styles and career goals. Students can either select learning material of
their own choice or they can select from a menu of options offered by the program. The former is
called a classical ‗elective‘ while the latter is a variant of the same classical approach called
‗selective‘. Generally, modern curriculum guidelines recommend two-thirds of the learning
material to be organized as compulsory or uniform while the other one-third can be offered as
electives.
Systematic versus apprenticeship-based
In the past, before a formal education system was developed, learning occurred at the feet of a
guru, where the learner as an understudy followed the guru in his daily practice. Whatever
material that the guru came into contact in his daily practice became the learning material for the
students. So, the practice material of the guru became the curriculum of the learner. In other
words, there was no systematic identification and organization of the learning material for the
learner. This is called apprenticeship-based training. Modern curricula, however, favor the
systematic approach where learning material is judiciously pre-identified for the learner,
irrespective of the trainer‘s practice. Further the learning material is logically organized in a way
that can be easily assimilated, as opposed to receiving learning material in an ad hoc manner,
used by the trainer‘s practice. The advantages of this method are obvious. Irrespective of their
teacher/trainer, all students receive the same systematic training.
59
Topic 09: Curriculum Development Models
1. Aim: To impart the knowledge on different aspects considered in models of curriculum development,
so that the participants are able to consider these aspects holistically when developing or revising
their own curricula.

9.1 Explain the key considerations when developing a curriculum
9.2 Select and apply suitable model(s) to their situation
4. Lesson Plan
Teaching and Time

No. Content Outline
9.1  There are at least 10 questions that need to be asked when Brainstorming 120
developing an outcome-based curriculum anew (Harden,
1986). Snowballing
1. What are the needs of the society that the graduate will Buzz groups
work in?
2. What are the learning outcomes? Flow charts
3. What are the contents?
4. How to organize the contents?
5. What are the strategies used to deliver the content?
6. What are the teaching and learning methods?
7. What are the assessment methods?
8. How should the curriculum be communicated?
9. What is the learning environment?
10. How the curriculum should be managed?
In an outcome-based curriculum once the needs are

identified the required graduate profile to meet these needs
must be worked out. Then competencies required to
produce the said graduate profile needs to be identified.
Everything that the curriculum should include from content
through teaching and learning methods to assessment
60
Teaching and Time
No. Content Outline
9.1 methods will have to be focused on these competencies. The As above As above
examples of some common competencies used in higher
education are communication skills, IT skills, team work,
leadership, research and intellectual skills. An example from
University of Sydney, Australia (see suggested reading).
 A similar model (see suggested reading) has been put

forward by Coetzee (2006).
9.2  The above models need to be followed from A to Z when Group and 120
developing a curriculum anew. However, when revising a individual work,
curriculum one need not follow from A to Z, but consider all based on their
above aspects when making changes to an existing own curriculum
curriculum; i.e. one should not make ad hoc changes. Any
change should be ‗tested‘ for its alignment with the outcomes
of the program/course and with the rest of the aspects, based
on those outcomes.
6. Activities
7. Assessment
Assignment: Critically analyze a curriculum of one‘s own in comparison to a preferred model.
61
Notes on Topic 9
This lesson discusses two models that can be used for curriculum development. The first of
which is called 10 questions, originally developed by Harden (1986). This model sequentially
lists the questions that need to be asked when (or more precisely before) developing a
curriculum. These 10 questions revisit almost all of the principles discussed in the previous
topics such as outcome-based education, curriculum integration and curriculum development
strategies.
1. What are the needs of the society that the graduate will work in?
In this day and age, the prime need that the curriculum developer must think of is dominated by
the needs of the labor market. It is based on the requirements of the labor market, that the
competencies and the content in the curriculum should be selected. Then, there is greater
assurance that the employability of the graduate could be ensured. It should be also noted that the
needs of the labor market will be determined in turn by the needs of the society. The graduate
should be able to join the labor market either as an employee or as an employer starting their
own business; i.e. self-employment.
2. What are the learning outcomes?
As mentioned above, the learning outcomes or the competencies of the curriculum should be
determined by the needs of the labor market. If, however, one is developing a curriculum of one
of the component modules of a larger curriculum, then the larger curriculum would have
identified the learning outcomes based on the said needs of the labor market. In that case the
modular outcomes should be aligned with the learning outcomes of the larger curriculum (e.g.
curriculum of the study program).
3. What are the contents?
Similar to the learning outcomes, the contents should also be identified based on the needs that
the curriculum addresses.
4. How to organize the contents?
The organization of the contents should be based on the principles of integration. Thus, modern
curricula are not based on disciplines. Rather a combination of several disciplines contributes to
62
these curricula, so that the arrangement of the contents reflects more the tasks that the graduate
will come across in the workplace.
5. What are the strategies used to deliver the content?
The strategies that the curriculum developer should consider are encapsulated in the SPICES
model (please read SPICES model for further details). However, two points need emphasis. First,
not all the strategies may be needed for a single curriculum. So, the curriculum developer should
select carefully, based on the learning outcomes, scope and breadth of the contents, available
resources, and the needs of a given curriculum, the strategies that they need to use. Second, a
curriculum developer should not always attempt to adopt the strategies at the SPICES end of
each continuum. Rather, depending on the learning outcomes, scope and breadth of the contents,
available resources, and the needs of a given curriculum, one should select judiciously the
position that the curriculum should be placed along each continuum in the SPICES model.
6. What are the teaching and learning methods?
The teaching learning methods may be to an extent dictated by the strategies that the curriculum
may adopt. For example, the problem-based strategy would obviously warrant the use of
problem-based learning as a teaching and learning method. Modern curricula, which are student-
centered, more often use small group-based or task-based, interactive teaching and learning
methods, rather than didactic lectures. A good curriculum employs a variety of teaching and
learning methods, so that it caters to the learners with different learning styles.
7. What are the assessment methods?
Assessment methods are often an afterthought of a curriculum. This means that many curriculum
developers do not think about assessment during the planning stage of the curriculum. However,
as ‗assessment drives learning‘ it is crucial that assessment is aligned with the learning
outcomes, contents, and teaching and learning methods of the curriculum. Hence assessment
methods should be thought of and determined simultaneously with the rest of the curriculum
development.
8. What is the learning environment?

The learning environment encompasses all the facilities that the curriculum offers a learner. They
include classrooms, lecture halls, libraries, IT suites, hostels, gymnasia, and the general
63
ambiance that these facilities together with the personnel who man these facilities create.
9. How should the curriculum be communicated?
There are many ways of communicating a curriculum. The most traditional way is through a
timetable. However, modern curricula inform the learner about it even before the leaner enters a
study program.
This is by means of prospectuses, web pages, newsletters, etc. These sources help the learner to
select the study program that suits them best. Once the learner enrolls in the study program more
specific details of the curriculum (virtually details of all of the 10 questions in this model) are
communicated to the learner upfront through curriculum handbooks, study guides and manuals.
10. How the curriculum should be managed?
No matter how good it looks on paper, the worthiness of a curriculum is mainly determined by
its implementation. Thus, there should be a well-oiled system in place to ensure that the
curriculum is implemented as planned. The roles and responsibilities of the key members and
committees (e.g. module committees) should be clearly documented. Further the mechanism of
further curriculum change and improvement, based on a system of continuous curriculum
monitoring and evaluation should be in place.
Reference
Harden R. M. (1986). Ten questions to ask when planning a course or curriculum. Medical
Education 20(4): 356-365.
64
Topic 10: Curriculum Implementation-Evaluation
Cycle
1. Aim: To impart the knowledge of implementing, monitoring and evaluating a curriculum, so that
timely interventions can be made to bring about the desired outcomes.

10.1 Appreciate the importance of monitoring and evaluating the sustainability of a curriculum
10.2 Discuss the tools available for curriculum evaluation
10.3 Devise a method to monitor and evaluate the curriculum in one‘s own discipline
4. Lesson Plan
Teaching and Time

No. Content Outline
10.1  Monitoring and evaluation should be considered as a part of Brainstorming 60

the curriculum, rather than something additional to the
curriculum. Thus, curriculum development, implementation, Snowballing
monitoring, and evaluation should be considered as the Buzz groups
components of one cycle. In the said cycle results of
monitoring and evaluation should be fed back to the Flow charts
curriculum development process.
 It is through such monitoring and evaluation a curriculum
will be sustained without being outdated.
10.2  Two commonly used models for evaluation of a study Brainstorming 120
program are: SWOT and Kirkpatrick‘s Model.
Group and
 SWOT refers to identifying Strengths, Weaknesses,
individual work,
Opportunities and Threats related to a curriculum, in order to
based on their own
find gaps that could be bridged to achieve a more fit-for-
curriculum
purpose curriculum.
 Kirkpatrick‘s model considers an evaluation of a study
program in four levels: feedback from the stakeholders;
assessment of learning; evaluation of the transfer of learning
to real-life situations; and finally the evaluation of the
impact that the learning has made on the society at large.
65
Teaching and Time
No. Content outline
learning method (min)
10.2  There are many tools such as questionnaires, interviews, As above As

focus groups, examination results, external reviewer reports, above
market surveys and employment data that can be used to
evaluate each of the above levels of Kirkpatrick‘s model or
each of the above aspects in SWOT analysis.
10.3  Each of the above tools will have to be carefully selected Individual and group 60
depending on the ‗evaluation question‘ that one needs to work
answer.
Ensure that the participants apply the above concepts to their own study programs.
6. Activities
7. Assessment
Assignment: Design a program for implementing, monitoring and evaluating a curriculum of one‘s
own.
66
Notes on Topic 10
‗Monitoring‘ and ‗evaluation‘ are sometimes used interchangeably. However, technically
speaking, ‗monitoring‘ refers to an ongoing process to determine whether a program is on-track
in achieving its overall aims, goals and outcomes. ‗Evaluation‘, on the other hand, refers to a
time–limited effort to find out whether a program has achieved what it should have achieved at
given point in time. Thus, evaluation has a more summative function, as opposed to monitoring,
which has a more formative function. Table 10.1 outlines the basic differences and similarities of
monitoring and evaluation.
Table 10.1: A comparison between ‗monitoring‘ and ‗evaluation‘
Monitoring Evaluation
Timing Always during the program Can be during or at the end of

program
Aim Always, or at least mostly, Can be formative or summative

formative
Personnel involved Usually internal personnel Can be an internal or external

personnel
Purposes Same (efficiency, effectiveness, Same (efficiency, effectiveness, and

and impact) impact)
Reasons Same (review progress, identify Same (review progress, identify

problems, make adjustments) problems, make adjustments)
However, monitoring and evaluation should be a part of the same cycle; i.e. evaluation cycle.
Further, monitoring and evaluation should NOT be viewed as a process external to the
curriculum development process. Rather, monitoring and evaluation should be an integral part of
curriculum development. This means that at the time of a curriculum is designed, a monitoring
and evaluation system should be identified. Thus, a monitoring and evaluation cycle can be
illustrated as follows.
67
Figure 10.1 – Monitoring and evaluation cycle
The most important step in a monitoring or evaluation process is the identification of the
‗evaluation question(s)‘. It is to answer the said question(s) that the ensuing data collection and
data analysis efforts should be directed. Hence, once the evaluation question(s) is/are identified,
an evaluation program should decide on the evaluation model, the data collection tools and the
data analysis methods that should be used.
The models used to evaluate and monitor curricula are not specific to education. They have
mostly been borrowed from other disciplines (especially management), but has been suitably
modified to suit the educational program that is being monitored or evaluated. One such model is
SWOT analysis. Table 10.2 shows such an adaptation of the SWOT model to evaluate work-
based learning (WBL).
68
Table 10.2: An example of the SWOT analysis
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
List the positive characteristics of WBL List the negative characteristics of WBL
I  Versatile and active contacts with working life  Poor contacts with working life and
N  Good reputation as an innovative organization stakeholders
T  Highly qualified staff with long experience of  Poor communication between educational
E working life in the field organizations and working life concerning the
R  Motivated students qualification needs of enterprises
 Modern working environment at school  Lack of qualified staff (no close contacts with
N
 Responsible, innovative and open-minded working life)
A management  Weak management – not improvement-
L  Good counseling for students to support their oriented
decisions relating to on-the-job learning places  Poor resources of all kinds
 etc.  etc.
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
List of opportunities for WBL List of threats to WBL
 Losing contacts with working life and

 Looking after new contacts with working life and
stakeholders
E stakeholders
 Bad working climate in on-the-job learning
X  Creating an innovative working climate
places, but also within the VET organization
 Changing planning methods
T  Inadequate planning methods
 Modern working environment at workplaces
E  Technological equipment is not updated
 Technological progress
R  Staff losing motivation to support WBL and
 Integrating different stakeholders and target groups
N WBL students
into planning
 Not enough competent counseling for
A  Increasing the importance of WBL within the
students at workplaces because of possible
L curriculum
changes at workplaces
 etc.
 etc.
Source: http://www.oph.fi/english/sources_of_information/projects/wbl-
toi/tools_and_methods/swot_analysis
Task: Apply SWOT analysis for a module/course/study program of your choice.
Another famous model that is used frequently in education is Kirkpatrick‘s model. Originally
designed to evaluate business and management programs this model can be readily related to
evaluate educational programs. Below is an account of how to apply the four levels of this model
to an educational setting.
69
Level One-Reaction
Level one is the measurement of students' feelings of like or dislike for a class or program by
asking, listening, or using evaluation forms at the conclusion of a course. These evaluations provide
administrators and instructors with valuable insights for course improvement in areas where student
input is the best data. The results could include increased course popularity and enrollment, and
might help achieve higher ratings for educational programs among students and faculty alike.
Level Two-Learning
Midterm and final examinations, quizzes, and project or portfolio assessments are forms of level
two evaluations which are common in academics. These are used to determine the knowledge,
attitudes, and skills the learner has attained in a specific course. In business and industry, however,
level two evaluations are more rare. This difference is logical and expected because industry is
more focused toward on-the-job performance and often has constraints which prevent evaluation in
the classroom (Erickson, 1990).
Because business and industry tend to utilize level one instruments to evaluate classroom training
while universities conduct level two measurements, very different perceptions of a successful
program can potentially exist. How well a student likes a course (level one) does not necessarily
imply that he or she has learned what was intended (level two). Great care must be exercised when
assuming success on one level will equate to success on any other level of evaluation.
Level Three-Application
Level three evaluations determine how well students transfer the knowledge and skills they learned
into actual workplace performance.
A key to the success of this level is a clear determination of exactly what is to be evaluated and
where, how, and when this takes place. In business and industry, students can apply what is learned
and be measured for competency in actual job settings. At universities, most courses do not lend
themselves to this type of evaluation because there is a focus on providing a strong knowledge
foundation which will later be used for skills development. Practicums, co-op and work experience
programs, and internships, however, provide a powerful medium for evaluating students within the
context of real work settings.
70
Level Four-Results
Level four evaluations emphasize the contributions of training to the organizational mission and
objectives. Higher education faces different challenges than business and industry since its primary
mission is to meet the perceived and real needs of many stake holders (i.e., faculty, students,
employers, community groups, parents). Increasingly, administrators must prove that programs are
meeting these needs and that they are making an appropriate impact for the monetary expenditure.
When issues such as time, effort, resources, and the availability of data are considered, this
approach to evaluation can be very challenging.
Many programs in higher education have been eliminated because of low enrollment, outdated
equipment, or a lack of faculty skills. In other cases, good programs have been eliminated because
there was no data to prove what the program had accomplished. A well-conceived and
implemented level-four evaluation plan can reveal program weaknesses before they become
problematic, as well as providing a strong rationale for continuance.
Source: http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JITE/v34n3/AtIssue.html
Please read the whole article using the above link. This will provide a better overview of how to
use Kirkpatrick‘s model in an educational setting.
What are the methods/tools that can be used to collect data for evaluation at each of the
above four levels?
The following is a synopsis of the methods that can be used to collect data on each of the four
levels of Kirkpatrick‘s model, described in the context of business training. However, the same
methods and tools can be used or customized to many other training programs.
71
Table 10.3: Kirkpatrick‘s levels of evaluation
Level Evaluation Evaluation description Examples of evaluation Relevance and

type and characteristics tools and methods practicability
(what is
measured)
1 Reaction Reaction evaluation is 'Happy sheets', feedback Quick and very easy to
how the delegates felt forms. obtain.
about the training or Verbal reaction, post- Not expensive to gather or to
learning experience. training surveys or analyze.
questionnaires.
2 Learning Learning evaluation is Typically assessments or Relatively simple to set up;

the measurement of the tests before and after the clear-cut for quantifiable
increase in knowledge - training. skills.
before and after. Interview or observation Less easy for complex
can also be used. learning.
3 Behavior Behavior evaluation is Observation and Measurement of behavior

the extent of applied interview over time are change typically requires
learning back on the job required to assess cooperation and skill of line-
- implementation. change, relevance of managers.
change, and
sustainability of change.
4 Results Results evaluation is the Measures are already in Individually not difficult;
effect on the business or place via normal unlike whole organization.
environment by the management systems Process must attribute clear
trainee. and reporting - the accountabilities.
challenge is to relate to
the trainee.
Source: http://www.businessballs.com/kirkpatricklearningevaluationmodel.htm
Once the evaluation is complete, the results should not be an end in itself. Rather, the results
should be fed back to quality improvement process so that the necessary changes to the program
can be initiated.
This, in other words, would complete the evaluation cycle. Such a process, in light of the above
model (i.e. Kirkpatrick‘s model) is illustrated below.
72
Table 10.4: Revised evaluation model
Source: http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/isd/kirkpatrick.html
Task: Discuss whether the evaluation cycle in the above figure is complete? If not, how can it be
completed?
Task: Select a module/course/study/module of your choice and identify how you will apply the
Kirkpatrick‘s model to this module/course/study/module.
73
End-of-Program Assessment
The participants who need a certificate awarded by the

HETC/UGC should complete the End-of-Course
Assessment.
This assessment consists of:
(a) submission of the 10 assignments that they have

written during the course
(b) a 30-minute presentation based on the 10
assignments that they completed. This presentation
should be comprehensive and coherent, based on a
single curriculum that the participant has worked on
during the course.
Two examiners will examine each candidate, based on a

structured marking scheme and only those who attain a
‗PASS‘ grade will qualify to receive the certificate.
74

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Module 1: Introduction

4 Module duration 12 hours (2 days)

2. Learning Outcomes: Participants would be able to

List the components that the participants come up with.

1. Curriculum as a body of knowledge to be transmitted.

2. Curriculum as an attempt to achieve certain ends in students - product.

Curriculum as a syllabus to be transmitted

What is included in a curriculum?

Although it formally appeared in Bobbitt's definition, curriculum as a course of formative

Task: Re-read the section on ‗curriculum as a syllabus to be transmitted‘

The vision broadly identifies the purpose of an institute

The mission describes how this purpose should be achieved.

 Intended learning outcomes/instructional objectives: The role of the trainee in the

 Content: This should be a hierarchy of ILOs in a ―course‖/‖program‖ etc

 Time allocations: Each course/program would need specific number of hrs/days/months

 Evaluation strategies of a study program/module/course: It is important that stakeholders

2. Learning Outcomes: Participants would be able to

5. Guidance notes to instructors

Advantages and disadvantages

ii. Disadvantages of a curriculum

2. Learning Outcomes: Participants would be able to

Teaching and Time

 For such lifelong learning the pivotal role that IT plays.

5. Guidance notes to instructors

Further Demand for Higher Education

The changing structure of the national economy

The changing requirements of the labor market

Economic benefits to individuals from participating in higher education

2. Learning Outcomes: Participants would be able to

Teaching and Time

 Resistance to curriculum change

 How have successful study programs both local and

5. Guidance notes to instructors

Why Curriculum Change Is Difficult — and Necessary

A speaker I once heard at a conference on curriculum development, compared instructional change

The following are the factors affecting curriculum change:

FADS THEY ARE NOT:

Source: Adapted from:

2. Learning Outcomes: Participants would be able to

Teaching and Time

5.3  Success factors for change As above As above

5. Guidance notes to instructors

INSTRUCTIONAL IMPROVEMENT AS "MORE WORK"

If the resistance to change is so deep-rooted, then any change of a curriculum needs to be

PLANNING FOR INSTRUCTIONAL IMPROVEMENT

FIVE STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTING INSTRUCTIONAL CHANGE

Source: Adapted from http://www.nais.org/publications/ismagazinearticle.cfm?ItemNumber=148786

4 Module duration 12 hours (2 days)

7 Assessment Two contextual assignments

2. Learning Outcomes: Participants would be able to

Teaching and Time

5. Guidance notes to instructors

2. Learning Outcomes: Participants would be able to

Teaching and Time

Integration can be horizontal or vertical integration.

Horizontal integration is teaching and learning of subjects that

 Input-based education determines the teaching and learning

 Outcome-based education (OBE), in contrast, determines the

 In OBE identification of intended learning outcomes (ILOs) at