Curriculum Development - Free Essay Example

In education, a curriculum is defined as the entirety of the student experience that occurs in the educational course. The term often refers specifically to a planned procedure of order, or to a view of the students experiences in terms of the educator's or schools instructional goals (Swales & Feak, 2004). This definition does not say much about the methodology of the delivery of the knowledge.

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Other people have the opinion that a curriculum is simply the aggregate of courses of study given in a school. The definition narrowly brings us to think that the curriculum does not need any methodology of delivery. According to the definition, a student does not need a teacher a good definition of a curriculum as should consider the methodology of delivery, which is a very integrals part of the curriculum.

The term curriculum refers to the schooling and educational content trained in a school or a discipline course or syllabus. According to the dictionary curriculum has been defined as the disciplines offered by an educational institution, but it is seldom used in such an all-purpose wisdom in schools(Swale& Feak, 2004). Depending on how generally educators define or use the term, curriculum normally refers to the facts and skills students are expected to gain knowledge of which includes learning objectives or learning standards they are anticipated to meet; lessons and units that tutors teach; the homework and projects given to learners ; the presentations, books, videos materials, and readings used in a module; and the tests, assessments, and other methodology used to appraise student learning. An individual instructors curriculum, for example, would be the learning definite standards, assignments, lessons, and materials used to systematize and coach a precise module.

Other scholars believe that in a good definition of curriculum the following concepts must be included there must be a selection of the aggregate of special courses to be done (Lattuca, Stark, 2007). There must be the methodology of the delivery of the knowledge, and lastly the objective must be to achieve a certain outcome.

Curriculum development is an organized procedure where all the contents that are going to be taught in school and a given time and year are prepared. The material knowledge is made into an official document which acts as guides for instructors, and are obligatory through the entrusted by provincial and territorial departments. In order to decide what to teach the children and what the rubrics should be a teacher uses a curriculum. The teacher then decides how the rubrics are made. Though there is no definite way to choose and claim the right methodology to deliver a curriculum, it has been proved that the methodology used to deliver curriculum is very important because it affects the curriculum as whole (Lattuca, Stark, 2007). Hence, the difference between the planned and official curriculum. The formal curriculum is the one that is taught in schools.

Due the very many defamations of the curriculum and lack of understanding the curriculum was defined as an academic plan to minimize this very many discussions. The goal was to identify the critical decision that if implemented will successfully enhance the academic experience of students. A plan means a total blueprint to be followed when taking actions (Tanner, Tanner, 2007). A plan involves both intentional and informed choices to achieve the objective. The objective of any academic plan is to foster childrens academic development. A plan is developed by a group of experts to look at the childrens education needs and the objective of the academic planning in mind. Academic plan definition involves intentional organizing process that concentrate attention on important considerations on education that might be different on the following instructors, the field of study, institutional goals and so on. Every curriculum addresses each element of the plan according to this definition (Lattuca, Stark, 2007). Thinking of curriculum as plan increase the consideration of all the elements despite the attention to singular aspects, such as specific content and particular instrumental strategies. When we think of curriculum as an academic plan, it will have the following elements

Purpose; This involves the skills, knowledge and attitude to be learned

Content; This what is used to communicate the specific knowledge

Sequence; An arrangement of all the subject matter

Learners; A Specific group that the plan is intended for

Instructional process; directional activities by which learning is done

Instructional resources; instruments used in the learning process in totality

Evaluation; This is how the level not objective achievement is tested

Adjustments; strengthening the plan based on experience

There are two groups of scholars, those who look at a curriculum as a process and those who look at curriculum as a product. Those who see the curriculum as a process they have a rather open ended where the continuous development is emphasized, and the outcome is perceived to embody what the model is about (Connelly, Clandinn, 2003). The model kind of the curriculum development process has been described to be leading to some kind of desirable end product some of the examples of the end product are mastery of certain skills and knowledge of certain facts.

Curriculum development, though an important thing in the education sector, there are other problems that are associated with the curriculum development. The problem of organizing an integrated and effective is not a simple task. A noble curriculum would involve intelligence and an out of hand dedication and work repeatedly done with a lot of dedication and passion.

Problems of planning an effective and integrated curriculum are not simple. A good curriculum involves out of hard dedicated and intelligent work conducted on a continuous basis. In that connection, the curriculum planners should know the qualification and the nature of those whom the curriculum is being planned for (Connelly, Clandinn, 2003). The student must be selected to fit the planned curriculum, or the curriculum must be planned to fit the level of the student enrolled.

Developing or reviewing a curriculum one encounters a number of challenges and issues. The curriculum is prearranged set of activities. The procedure of curriculum is a connection of moral and intelligent purposes and beliefs that finally explain the political economic and social arrangements of any society.

Since the society is very dynamic, the problems associated with the curriculum are very complex. The decisions will have to be made after input of the various groups that are represented in the society. The decision is about aim selection of courses, evaluation procedure and many others.

The parties involved in curriculum planning meeting without opposing points on the background. The ability of them working faster is not guaranteed if the parties have involved no agreement on the planning process (Lattuca, Stark, 2007). This would create confusion. Societal and ideological problems facing curriculum have broadened the cultural and philosophical dilemma. These may have indirect but powerful relevance of the curriculum.

Another problem with the curriculum development is that it is a very expensive venture once started. Curriculum development would cost the society of money if it were paid by the tax payer's money. Many people who have to be paid to offer their services in professional terms as curriculum developers.

Teachers should be involved in the curriculum development this is because the teachers that are involved in the implementation part of the curriculum. Since most of the curriculum are being handled by the teacher, they should be involved because the graded.

Curriculum implementation is the act of putting into practice the officially recommended courses of study, syllabuses, and subjects. It entails the act of assisting the student to gain knowledge, expertise, and experience. It is very essential to note that the curriculum implementation does not place without the learner. He is the central figure in curriculum implementation procedure. When the learner acquires the intended experience, knowledge, and skills, we say that implementation has taken place.

Other schools of thought have viewed the curriculum implementation as that stage education program me is put into effect as a curriculum. School of thinkers further claims that putting the curriculum into a functioning state and this process require an implementing agent and they go on and identify a teacher as that agent. They narrow implementation in a manner in which various aspects of knowledge are selected and mixed in the syllabus or curriculum document.

The teacher learning this is the act of teachers to continue with their higher education. In the recent years that have past teachers learning have become a very common phenomenon. The proponents have always assumed that teachers who knew more taught better. There are extremely radical views of knowing more and teaching better.

Acquiring this technical knowledge and coming up with a practice that is dissimilar from what tutors them experience as students require learning opportunity for tutors that are more strong than simply talking and reading about new pedagogical ideas (Lattuca, Stark, 2007). It is believed that teachers are good Learners when they are studying, reflecting, collaborating with other teachers, by looking at students slowly in their work.

This type of studying does not happen in the college classroom separated from practice or in institution classrooms separated from knowledge about how to interpret practice. A good

The environment for teacher learning in college and schools provides many opportunities for research and inquiry, and for testing and trying, for speaking about and evaluating the results of learning and teaching.

Curriculum development is a process that systematically plans what would be taught, who will be taught and the methodology of teaching. The components of curriculum development interact with each other example what will be taught will be affected by the stage of development and the maturity of who is being taught. The following will be the essential consideration of curriculum development, issues have to, be identified, characteristics and needs of learners, changes intended for learners, important and relevant content methods to accomplish intended outcomes and lastly the evaluation studies for methods.

Curriculum development model explains how the components of curriculum development relate to each other and the curriculum development process. The process commences when a problem is there in a curriculum, and it needs to be solved. If it is believed that education for the masses will solve the problem, the curriculum would be made to support the education whereby human and financial resources are allocated.

The stage would the formation of the curriculum development team. The team mandate would be making a systematic decision about the learners, the objective outcome, the content method, and the evaluation strategies. The team would then come up with a simple draft curriculum. The draft would be what would be followed to develop the actual curriculum. The draft is tested, evaluated, and re-designed in order to make sure that it can achieve the outcome objective. After getting the final product, conducting a volunteer training would be very essential because it would profit the necessary feedback making the curriculum development a circular process.

The concept of teachers working together, which is sometimes called the social capital, is a very important discussion; the proponents have sometimes discussed it as an improving...