FUNDAMENTAL OF

CURRICULUM DESIGN
 BUILDING ON PETER OLIVIA’S 10 AXIOMS
FOR CURRICULUM DESIGNERS
• As we begin to discuss about curriculum designing all teachers need to know
the different axioms or theorems regarding curriculum as presented by
Gordon., Taylor R., and Olivia, P. in 2019. these axioms will be used to guide
curricularist in designing curriculum. Axioms are principles that practitioners
as curriculum designer can use as guidelines or a frame of reference.
 10 AXIOMS ABOUT CURRICULUM THAT
TEACHERS NEED AS REMINDERS

1. Curriculum change is inevitable, necessary, and desirable.

 Earlier it was stated that one of the characteristics of curriculum is its being
dynamic. Because of this, teachers should respond to the changes that
occur in schools and in their context. Societal development and knowledge
revolution come so fast that the need to address the changing condition
requires new curriculum designs.
 10 AXIOMS ABOUT CURRICULUM THAT
TEACHERS NEED AS REMINDERS

2. Curriculum is a product of its time

 A relevant curriculum should respond to changes brought about current
social forces, philosophical positions, psychological principles, new
knowledge, and educational reforms. This is also called timeliness.
 10 AXIOMS ABOUT CURRICULUM THAT
TEACHERS NEED AS REMINDERS

3. Curriculum changes made earlier can exist concurrently with newer

curriculum changes
 A revision in a curriculum starts and ends slowly. More often, curriculum is
gradually phased in and phased out, thus the changes that occur can
coexist and oftentimes overlap for long periods of time.
 10 AXIOMS ABOUT CURRICULUM THAT
TEACHERS NEED AS REMINDERS

4. Curriculum change depends on people who will implement the change

 Teachers who will implement the curriculum should be involved in its
development, hence should know how to design a curriculum. Because
the teachers are the implementers of the curriculum, it is best that they
should design and own the changes. This will ensure an effective and
long lasting change.
 10 AXIOMS ABOUT CURRICULUM THAT
TEACHERS NEED AS REMINDERS

5. Curriculum development is a cooperative group activity.

 Group decisions in some aspects of curriculum development are
suggested. Consultations with stakeholders when possible will add to a
sense of ownership. Even learners should participate in some aspect of
curriculum designing. Any significant change in the curriculum should
involve a broad range of stakeholders to gain their understanding, support,
and input.
 10 AXIOMS ABOUT CURRICULUM THAT
TEACHERS NEED AS REMINDERS

6. Curriculum development is a decision-making process made from choices

of alternative
 A curriculum developer or designer must decide what contents to teach,
philosophy or point of view to support, how to provide for multicultural
groups, what methods or strategies, and what type of evaluation to use.
 10 AXIOMS ABOUT CURRICULUM THAT
TEACHERS NEED AS REMINDERS

7. Curriculum development is an ongoing process

 Continuous monitoring, examination, evaluation, and improvement of
curricula are to be considered in the design of the curriculum. As the
needs of learners change, as society changes, and as new knowledge
and technology appear, the curriculum must change.
 10 AXIOMS ABOUT CURRICULUM THAT
TEACHERS NEED AS REMINDERS

8. Curriculum development is more effective if it is a comprehensive

process, rather than a “ piecemeal”
 A curriculum design should be based on a careful plan, should clearly
establish intended outcomes, support resources and needed time
available and should equip teaching staff pedagogically.
 10 AXIOMS ABOUT CURRICULUM THAT
TEACHERS NEED AS REMINDERS

9. Curriculum development is more effective when it follows a systematic

process
 It is composed of desired outcomes, subject matter content
complemented with references, set of procedures, needed materials,
and resources and evaluation procedure which can be placed in a
matrix.
 10 AXIOMS ABOUT CURRICULUM THAT
TEACHERS NEED AS REMINDERS

10. Curriculum development starts from where the curriculum

 Curriculum planners and designers should begin with existing
curriculum. An existing design is a good starting point for any teacher
who plans to enhance and enrich a curriculum.
Building upon the ideas of Oliva, let us continue learning how to design a
curriculum by identifying its components. For the most curricula the major
components or elements are answer to the following questions:

1. What learning outcomes need to be achieved ? ( Intended Learning outcomes )

2. What content should be included to achieve the learning outcomes ? ( Subject
Matter )
3. What learning experiences and resources should be employed? ( Teaching-
Learning Methods )
4. How will the achieved learning outcomes be measured? ( Assessment of
Achieved Learning Outcomes)
 ELEMENTS OR COMPONENTS OF A
CURRICULUM DESIGN
• There are many labels or names for curriculum design. Some
would call it a syllabus or a lesson plan. Some would call it a
unit plan or a course design. Whatever is the name of the
design, the common components for all of them are almost the
same. However some schools institutions or departments may
add other minor parts or trimmings to the design
 I. BEHAVIORAL OBJECTIVES OR
INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES

• The objectives or intended learning outcomes are the reasons for

undertaking the learning lesson from the student’s point of view; it
is desired learning outcome that is to be accomplished in a
particular learning episode, engaged in by the learners under the
guidance of the teacher.
• The behavioral objectives, intended learning
outcomes or desired learning outcomes are
expressed in action words found in the revised
Bloom’s Taxonomy of Objectives ( Anderson and
• The statement should be SMART: Specific,
Measurable, Attainable, Result-oriented and time
bound.
 II. CONTENT/ SUBJECT MATTER
• The content of the lesson or unit is the topic or subject matter that will be
covered. In selecting content, you should bear in mind the following principles
in addition to those mentioned about the content in previous lesson:
Subject matter should be relevant to the outcomes of the curriculum.
Subject matter should be appropriate to the level of the lesson or unit.
Subject matter should be up-to-date and, if possible reflect current knowledge
and concepts.
Subject matter should follow the principles of B A S I C S.
 III. REFERENCES

• The reference follows the content. It tells where the content or

subject matter has been taken.
• The reference may be a book, a module, or any publications. It
must bear the author of the material and if possible, the
publications
 IV. TEACHING AND LEARNING METHODS
• These are the activities where the learners derive experiences. This
method should allow cooperation, competition as well as individualism or
independent learning among the students. For example:
Cooperative learning activities allow students to work together. Students
are guided to learn on their own to find solutions to their problems.
Independent learning activities allow learners to develop personal
responsibility. The degree of independence to learn how to learn is
enhanced.
 IV. TEACHING AND LEARNING METHODS
Competitive activities, where students will test their competencies
against another in healthy manner, allow learners to perform to their
maximum.
The use of various delivery modes to provide learning experiences is
recommended. Online learning and similar modes are increasingly
important in many curricula, but these need to be planned carefully to be
effective.
 SOME BEHAVIORIST TEACHING LEARNING
METHODS
A. Direct Instructions: Barak Rosenshine Model ( in Ornstein & Hunkins 2018 )
Detailed Steps:
1) State Learning Objectives/ Outcomes. Begin lesson with a short statement of
objective or desired lesson learning outcomes.
2) Review. Introduce short review of previous or prerequisite learning.
3) Present new materials. Present materials in small, sequenced manner.
4) Explain. Give clear and detailed instructions and explanations.
5) Practice. Provide active practice for all students.
 SOME BEHAVIORIST TEACHING LEARNING METHODS

A. Direct Instructions: Barak Rosenshine Model ( in Ornstein & Hunkins 2018 )

Detailed Steps:
6.) Guide. Guide students during initial practice: or provide seatwork activities
7.) Check for understanding. Ask several questions, assess students comprehension.
8.) Provide feedback. Provide systematic feedback and correction.
9.) Assess performance. Obtain student success rate of 80 percent or more during
practice session.
10.) Review and test. Provide for spaced review and testing.
B. Guided Instructions: Madeline Hunter Model ( in Ornstein and
Hunkins, 2018)
1. Review
2. Anticipatory
3. Objective
4. Input
5. Modeling
6. Check for understanding
7. Guided practice
8. Independent practice
C. Mastery Learning; JH Block and Lorin Anderson
Model ( in Ornsteins and Hunkins, 2018)
1. Clarify
2. Inform
3. Pretest
4. Group
5. Enrich and correct
C. Mastery Learning; JH Block and Lorin Anderson
Model ( in Ornsteins and Hunkins, 2018)
6. Monitor
7. Posttest
8. Assess performance
9. Reteach
D. Systematic Instructions: Thomas Good and Jere Brophy ( in Ornstein
and Hunkins, 2018 )
1. Review
2. Development
3. Asses comprehension
4. Seatwork
5. Accountability
6. Homework
7. Special reviews
 TEACHING-LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

In the choice of the teaching learning methods, equally important

is the teaching learning environment. Brian Castaldi in 1987
suggested four criteria in the provision of the environment or
learning spaces in designing a curriculum. These criteria include
(1) adequacy (2) suitability (3) efficiency and (4) economy.
 TEACHING-LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

ADEQUACY
 This refers to the actual learning space or classrooms. Is
the classroom large enough for student’s mobility for class
interaction and collaborative work
 TEACHING-LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

SUSTAINABILITY
 This relates to planned activities. Suitability should
consider chronological and developmental ages of
learners. Also to be considered will be the socio-cultural,
economic even religious background of the learners.
 TEACHING-LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

EFFICIENCY
 This refers to operational and instructional effectiveness.

ECONOMY
This refers to cost effectiveness. How much is needed to provide
instructional materials?
 VI. ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION
Learning occurs most effectively when students receive
feedback, i,e. when they receive information on what they have
already ( and have not) learned. It has 3 main forms:
Self assessment, through which students learn to monitor and
evaluate their own learning.
Peer assessment, in which students provide feedback on each
other’s learning.
Teacher assessment, in which the teacher prepares and
administers tests and gives feedback on the student’s
performance.
 APPLICATION OF THE FUNDAMENTAL
COMPONENTS TO OTHER CURRICULUM DESIGNS
Based on the curriculum models we have learned, the fundamental
components include the following:
Major components of a course design or syllabus
1. Intended outcomes ( or Objectives )
2. Content/Subject Matter ( with References )
3. Method/Strategies ( with needed Resources)
4. Evaluation ( means of Assessment )
THANK YOU