The word Curriculum has the meaning of educational path and describes the learning process in a much more comprehensive and complex fashion than is possible with Plans of learning content or learning material. These days, curriculum development is oriented towards the learner – the student/trainee and his learning process than towards the content of learning. Unfortunately, there is no precise definition of just what a Curriculum is? The increasing amount of research and literature in this field has been accompanied by an increasing fuzziness in the term “curriculum”. For this reason, one adopts the term curriculum instead of teaching plan. In such an approach, not only teaching material and its organisation are analyzed, but also several interconnected areas of curricular decision-making, namely the goals, subjects and organisation of learning are stressed and new comprehensive trades researched (UNESCO 1993). Curriculum is a document of some sort, and its purpose is to focus and connect the work of classroom teachers in schools or university.
Curriculum simply means `a course of study.’ Curriculum development is the process of designing a course of study according to a set of requirements. In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content .The set of courses, coursework, and their content, offered at a school or university. The word curriculum is variously defined as a strategy, an action plan or a detailed course of study. It has been misinterpreted by many as the syllabus. Curriculum is a set of guidelines prepared with regard to the principles of effective teaching-learning to enable students to achieve the instructional objectives (Kumar,1996).

General concepts and design principles of curriculum

Alignment and Coherence – all parts of the curriculum must be logically consistent with each other. There must be a “match” or a fit between parts.
Scope – the range or extent of “content” (whether information to be learned, skills to be acquired etc.) that will be included in a course or program. It must be sufficient to lead learners to achieve the program or course outcomes. However, there is a constant tension between breadth and depth when considering scope. In general, when deep learning is required, “lean” is best.
Sequence – is the ordering of learning experiences so that learners build on previous experiences and move to broader, deeper or more complex understandings and applications. Common ways of sequencing content within courses include simple to complex, wholes to parts (or part to wholes), prerequisite abilities, and chronological.
Continuity – refers to the vertical repetition of major curriculum elements in different courses over time (also known as vertical organization or articulation). It is important to identify the themes or skills that need to run through a program and to map how they will be addressed at each level.
Integration – refers to the horizontal relationship among major curriculum components at any given point in time (also known as horizontal organization). Integration fosters reinforcement of key learning and is needed to promote application of learning across course boundaries.

The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) offered these principles to guide course planning ( Gordon Cawelt 1990).
1. Offer a balanced core of learning in each course.
2. Adopt the belief that in-depth study of a limited number of important topics will have a more lasting effect than a course that tries to cover too many disconnected bits and pieces of information.
3. Design course outcomes to focus on results, with multiple indicators (assessments) of performance.
4. Design authentic assessments that will encourage originality, insightfulness, and problem-solving, along with master of important information.
5. Design courses to encourage active involvement.
6. Get students “doing” early in the course rather than studying all the principles and basics prior to performing.

Some Common Curriculum Frameworks

There are several different patterns frequently used to organize programs. Some of those more commonly found in college programs are as follows.
Subject or Discipline-Centered – the curriculum is organized around separate, specific subjects or disciplines. For example anatomy (subject) or life sciences (discipline)
Broad Fields – the curriculum is organized to cut across subject lines and to emphasize relationships between subjects. It usually if organized into a 3 to 5 fields. For example, fields for technical career learning, professional and personal growth, supporting sciences, etc.
Spiral – the curriculum is organized around key concepts/skills that are introduced and revisited for deeper understanding as the learner moves through the program of study
Inquiry or Problem-Based – the curriculum is organized around a set of problems or areas of inquiry.
Experiential – learners engage is a set of experiences and then are helped to process and draw meaning from them.

Outcome-Based Curriculum

The High Success Network (1992) defines Outcomes-Based Education as “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.

Some Key Concepts and Principles of Curriculum in an OBE Context

• The focus is on results of learning. What learners are expected to learn is clearly identified, expressed as learning outcomes and known to all. Expectations are clear and public.
  Curriculum and instruction maintains a clear focus on culminating outcomes—the performances learners must demonstrate to graduate. These are significant performances critical for success in life and work.
• Design down (from the performances expected of graduates) and deliver up. Courses and learning experiences are focused and built to help learners achieve the learning outcomes.
  Create learning opportunities to help different learners achieve learning outcomes. Learning experiences are activity-based and allow learners to apply and practise what they learn. There can be multiple paths to the achievement of the learning outcomes. OBE suggests that expanded opportunity and flexible paths promote success.
• Assessment is standards-referenced and matches the learning outcomes. Learners show that they can perform the learning outcome. Learner progress and the earning of credit is based in a demonstration of the achievement of learning outcomes.
  

An Inquiry Approach to Curriculum Development

Those who adopt an inquiry approach to curriculum recognize that there is no single recipe for developing an effective curriculum. They realize that curricula are living, dynamic entities in constant flux. They use strategic questions and a variety of people and other data sources to collect information that will help them make curriculum decisions that are best for the learners, for the context and for the curriculum purpose. They investigate curriculum options then critically explore and assess their findings.
Here are examples of some questions that might be asked when developing or revising a program. These are simply examples—not a comprehensive list of questions to be asked.

• Why is this program needed? What is the rationale for the program?
• What are graduates of this program expected to know and to be able to do?
• Are there standards or expectations from professional associations that need to be considered in this curriculum?
• What credential is appropriate for this program?
• How does this program relate to others in this college? Elsewhere?
• Who are the learners likely to be attracted to this program?
• What abilities will students entering the program need to be successful?
• Who are the groups and individuals that should be consulted as we develop/revise this program?

Structuring the curriculum

Structuring the curriculum focuses to a greater or lesser degree on the relationship between the content and the needs of the student. Increasingly students are provided with opportunities to choose what subject matter they would like to learn. The following are some strategies.
Lecture-based learning
Subject matter is largely determined by text books or chapters that need to be learned. Lecturers explain and clarify the content in lectures. Tutorials are used to deepen the knowledge aquired, clarify problems and provide feedback on assignments. An examination at the end of the semester assesses students understanding of the lecture material.
Resource-based learning
Guided self-study through assignments. Assignments are discussed in small groups
Mastery based learning
Students regulate their own learning to achieve pre-determined learning goals. Professional development planning.
Problem-based learning
Students work in small groups to understand, explain and solve problems. A tutorial group analyses the problem and identifies learning objectives. A period of independent study after which students report their learning. Students are guided by a tutor who assist with group processes.
Project-centred learning
Authentic, real-life tasks are derived from professional practice. Students work on the project in small groups or in parallel. Regular meetings with teacher. Outcomes of the process are reported back to the whole group of students.
Work-based learning
Students combine university learning with learning from practice
Self-directed learning
Students set their own topic areas and undertake a project with teacher supervision.

Curriculum development

Every curriculum has three levels:
Level 1: Planned : what is intended by designers
Level 2: Delivered :what is organised by institution and what is taught by teachers?
Level 3: Experienced: what is learned by students?
Four stages of curriculum development
1) Problem definition
2) Curriculum synthesis
3) Curriculum validation
4) Implementation and improvement
The four stages are mutually linked through inter stage evaluations and feed backs in small and large loops-


Stage -1: Problem definition
This stage is concerned with the establishment of the exit profile of the qualified student, with due regard to the industrial, professional and societal needs in the given environment. The process of arriving at the objectives may consist of the following:
a) Job description and job analysis
b) Technology forecasting
c) Task analysis and task detailing
d) Formulation of general objectives
e) Statement of specific objectives
The first step would be to conduct surveys on the basis of comprehensive questionnaires and structured response formats. The exit profile is assessed and reconsidered if necessary. The agreed exit profile provides the objectives for the curriculum synthesis.

Stage-2: Curriculum synthesis
To prepare a curriculum proposal the following elements are to be considered:

• Teaching-learning methods
• Resources
• Constraints (the student entry profile, academic accredition and time standards , technological, financial and societal values)
• Criteria (concepts of continuity, sequence and integration).
  The steps involved are-
• Structuring the curriculum by arranging the major elements, pre-requisites, extent of laboratory and project work etc. Outlines of courses are thus prepared. Curricula in fundamental subjects should be prepared jointly by the subject expert with the discipline experts.
• Tuning the curriculum by closely referring to the objectives, specifying the teaching strategies and learning experiences with reference to the principles of learning. Arrangement of the precepts, concepts and applications in proper sequence is effected
• Topic precedence/ orderly diagrams may be drawn in order to decide the sequencing of different topics within a course.
  For example: A, B and C can be structured in 12 possible ways depending upon their precedence.

Stage-3: Curriculum validation
This stage is concerned with the critical assessment of the curriculum by interaction with qualified and experienced personnel. The validated curriculum is an improved version for acceptance.

Stage-4: Implementation and improvement
This stage consists of trying out the curriculum on a sample and/or implementing it while monitoring it carefully. Feedback from the advisory committees and course boards, e.g. ex-students, industrialists, experts and external examiners and moderators would provide modifications, which when incorporated, result in further improvements.

Evaluation of curricula

A curriculum must be evaluated in terms of its clarity, appropriateness and validity.

• Clarity– adequacy of information for different users (e.g. teachers, students, examiners and employers). Clarity is measured in terms of Clarity Index or Percent Clarity.
• Appropriateness– it’s suitability for the level, particularly with regard to the instructional objectives and the strategy of teaching-learning evaluation.
• Validity– adequacy of curriculum vis-à-vis the needs in the country. A curriculum may have high clarity index but low appropriateness and validity and vice versa.
  It is therefore, necessary to establish clarity, appropriateness and validity from time to time. It is indeed the validity and appropriateness criteria which determine the life-span of a curriculum.

Reference cited

• Bovill, C., Cook‐Sather, A., Felten, P. 2011. Students as co‐creators of teaching approaches, course design, and curricula: implications for academic developers. International Journal for Academic Development. 16(2): 133-145.
• Bovill, C.,Bulley, C.J.,Morss, K. 2011. Engaging and empowering first-year students through curriculum design: perspectives from the literature. Teaching in Higher Education. 16(2): 197-209.
• Bovill, C. 2009. Influences on the nature of active student participation in curriculum design: An investigation of three case studies from higher education (Unpublished Master’s dissertation). University of Glasgow, UK
• Kumar, K.L. 1996. Educational Technology(1st edition),New Age International (P) Ltd. New Delhi. 89-93.
• Rao, V.K. 2009. Teacher Education (1st edition), APH Publishing Corporation. New Delhi.pp-46.

Assignment

1. Make an in depth analysis of OBE through literature survey and compare with Home Science and Community Science curriculum design.