Curriculum Design: The Basics

25 September 2012

Nicolene Murdoch

Executive Director: Teaching, Learning & Quality

Monash South Africa

Student ‘images’ of curriculum

CURRICULUM• The race course in the Roman coliseum, much like the

race track in a modern stadium. • In Latin “curriculum” refers to a racing chariot; “currere”

was to run• THUS - a "running a course, race, or career”.• Modern definitions include: 1) A course / programme

2) A set of courses / modules3) A fixed series of studies required, at an institution leading to graduation, obtaining a qualification in a major field of study4) All of the courses, collectively, offered in a school, college, etc., or in a particular subject.

A curriculum can be viewed from three vantage points: •What is intended or planned; •what is delivered; and, •what is experienced

(Pideaux, 2003)

OBE (Outcomes-based education)

“…defining, organizing, focusing, and directing all aspects of a curriculum on the things we want all learners to demonstrate successfully when they complete the program”Outcomes-based education is a student-centered, results oriented design premised on the belief that all individuals can learn. The strategy of OBE implies the following:•What students are to learn is clearly identified•Each student’s progress is based on demonstrated achievement•Each student’s learning needs are addressed through multiple instructional strategies and assessment tools•Each student is provided time and assistance to realize his/her potential.

Boschee and Baron 1993

An OBE curriculum

Programme design

Framework for curriculum development

• Plan - scale, scope, goals, stakeholders, timelines• Vision - mission/purpose, ideal graduate, intended

learning outcomes, focus, pedagogy• Determine needs – stakeholder, industry, surveys,

benchmarking, mapping, analoguous programmes• Develop – design curriculum outline• Improve & Alignment – programme structure,

progression, educational experience• Monitor & Adapt - programme evaluation and

impact, achieved learning outcomes, multi-stakeholder feedback

Curriculum design

What needs to happen

Curriculum mapping

1. What methods of instruction do you use in your course? 2. What methods of assessment are used in your course? 3. Which program-level learning outcomes are developed in your course? 4. What level of complexity/depth is expected for each of the learning outcomes? 5. Please specify how each of the learning outcomes are taught and assessed in your course.

Credits and hours, year levels

The design of programmes makes assumptions about the volume of learning that is likely to be necessary to

achieve the intended outcomes. This measure of volume is expressed in terms of study time, e.g. the

number of notional hours of study expressed in credits.•1 credit = 10 notional hours (SA system)•Indicator of the volume of learning required for completion•Notional hour – any activity in which a student is involved that relates to their mastering an outcome

Level descriptors • Help to “peg” a qualification on a particular level• Purpose: coherence in learning achievement and to facilitate comparable

assessment and qualifications• Describe learning achievement linked to types of outcomes and assessment

criteria for the programme offered on that level• Levels of applied competence:

– Foundational – Practical– Reflexive

• Academic, vocational, professional & occupational qualifications• CCFOs are embedded in level descriptors• Descriptive nor prescriptive • They are not learning outcomes or assessment criteria

PROVIDE A BROAD FRAME WORK FOR ENSURING SUITABLE LEVEL OF COMPETENCE IS ACHIEVED

Bloom’s Taxonomy

• Benjamin Bloom (1950)• Classification for thinking behaviors / learning

expected from students:– The cognitive - knowledge based domain,

consisting of six levels– The affective - attitudinal based domain, consisting

of five levels, and– The psychomotor - skills based domain, consisting

of six levels.• Taxonomy with objectives• From LOTS to HOTS

Bloom vs. Revised Bloom

Associated verbs

Learning outcomes

Statement of what a student can expect to attain or achieve as a result of the learning process

THUS

What do we expect the students to know upon completion of…

At the end of this module / session / programme etc. students will be able to + VERB + substance

Categories of learning outcomes

• Demonstrating knowledge and understanding

• Thinking critically and making judgements

• Solving problems

• Performing procedures and demonstrating techniques

• Designing, creating, performing

• Managing and developing oneself

• Accessing and managing information

How do we manage the quality of Teaching & Learning?

• Strategy / Approach • Governance• Intention with curriculum • Methodology • Teaching and learning scholarship (informed by research)• Investment • Internal reviews• Annual monitoring • Peer observation of teaching • External examining • Student feedback