What is curriculum design?

Now that we’ve gone over curriculum development and planning, let’s
discuss curriculum design. Curriculum design is the deliberate organization
of curriculum within a course or classroom. When instructors design their
curriculums, they identity what will be done, who will do it and when, as
well as what the objective of each course is. Remember that the curriculum
contains the knowledge and skills that a student needs to master in order to
move to the next level. By thinking about how their curriculum is designed,
teachers ensure they’ve covered all the necessary requirements. From there,
they can start exploring various approaches and teaching methods that can
help them achieve their goals.

What are the types of curriculum design?

There are three basic types of curriculum design—subject-centered, learner-
centered, and problem-centered design.
Subject-centered curriculum design revolves around a particular subject
matter or discipline, such as mathematics, literature or biology. This type of
curriculum design tends to focus on the subject, rather than the student. It is
the most common type of standardized curriculum that can be found in K-12
public schools.

Teachers compile lists of subjects, and specific examples of how they

should be studied. In higher education, this methodology is typically found
in large university or college classes where teachers focus on a particular
subject or discipline.

Subject-centered curriculum design is not student-centered, and the model

is less concerned with individual learning styles compared to other forms of
curriculum design. This can lead to problems with student engagement and
motivation and may cause students who are not responsive to this model to
fall behind.

Learner-centered curriculum design, by contrast, revolves around student

needs, interests and goals. It acknowledges that students are not uniform but
individuals, and therefore should not, in all cases, be subject to a
standardized curriculum. This approach aims to empower learners to shape
their education through choices.

Differentiated instructional plans provide an opportunity to select

assignments, teaching and learning experiences, or activities. This form of
curriculum design has been shown to engage and motivate students. The
drawback to this form of curriculum design is that it can create pressure on
the educator to source materials specific to each student’s learning needs.
This can be challenging due to teaching time constraints. Balancing
individual student interests with the institution’s required outcomes could
prove to be a daunting task.

Problem-centered curriculum design teaches students how to look at a

problem and formulate a solution. Considered an authentic form of learning
because students are exposed to real-life issues, this model helps students
develop skills that are transferable to the real world. Problem-centered
curriculum design has been shown to increase the relevance of the
curriculum and encourages creativity, innovation and collaboration in the
classroom. The drawback to this format is that it does not always consider
individual learning styles.

By considering all three types of curriculum design before they begin

planning, instructors can choose the types that are best suited to both their
students and their course.

Conclusion
Developing, designing and implementing an education curriculum is no easy
task. With the rise of educational technology and the diverse types of
students attending higher educational institutions these days, instructors
have their work cut out for them. But by following the fundamental
guidelines and framework of curriculum development, educators will be
setting themselves — and their students — up for long-term success.

Purpose of Curriculum Design

Teachers design each curriculum with a specific educational purpose in mind. The
ultimate goal is to improve student learning, but there are other reasons to employ
curriculum design as well. For example, designing a curriculum for middle school
students with both elementary and high school curricula in mind helps to make
sure that learning goals are aligned and complement each other from one stage to
the next. If a middle school curriculum is designed without taking prior knowledge
from elementary school or future learning in high school into account it can create
real problems for the students. 

Subject-Centered Curriculum Design

Subject-centered curriculum design revolves around a particular subject matter or
discipline. For example, a subject-centered curriculum may focus on math or
biology. This type of curriculum design tends to focus on the subject rather than
the individual. It is the most common type of curriculum used in K-12 public
schools in states and local districts in the United States.
Subject-centered curriculum design describes what needs to be studied and how it
should be studied. Core curriculum is an example of a subject-centered design that
can be standardized across schools, states, and the country as a whole. In
standardized core curricula, teachers are provided a pre-determined list of things
that they need to teach their students, along with specific examples of how these
things should be taught. You can also find subject-centered designs in large
college classes in which teachers focus on a particular subject or discipline. 

The primary drawback of subject-centered curriculum design is that it is not

student-centered. In particular, this form of curriculum design is constructed
without taking into account the specific learning styles of the students. This can
cause problems with student engagement and motivation and may even cause
students to fall behind in class.

Learner-Centered Curriculum Design

In contrast, learner-centered curriculum design takes each individual's needs,
interests, and goals into consideration. In other words, it acknowledges that
students are not uniform and adjust to those student needs. Learner-centered
curriculum design is meant to empower learners and allow them to shape their
education through choices.

Instructional plans in a learner-centered curriculum are differentiated, giving

students the opportunity to choose assignments, learning experiences or activities.
This can motivate students and help them stay engaged in the material that they
are learning. 

The drawback to this form of curriculum design is that it is labor-intensive.

Developing differentiated instruction puts pressure on the teacher to create
instruction and/or find materials that are conducive to each student's learning
needs. Teachers may not have the time or may lack the experience or skills to
create such a plan. Learner-centered curriculum design also requires that teachers
balance student wants and interests with student needs and required outcomes,
which is not an easy balance to obtain.

Problem-Centered Curriculum Design

Like learner-centered curriculum design, problem-centered curriculum design is
also a form of student-centered design. Problem-centered curricula focus on
teaching students how to look at a problem and come up with a solution to the
problem. Students are thus exposed to real-life issues, which helps them develop
skills that are transferable to the real world. 

Problem-centered curriculum design increases the relevance of the curriculum and

allows students to be creative and innovate as they are learning. The drawback to
this form of curriculum design is that it does not always take learning styles into
consideration. 
7 Advantages Of A Learner Centered Approach In eLearning

1. Improves participation.
The first step towards the success of any eLearning program is
participation. A learner centered approach addresses all the essential
needs of learners, ensuring learners get a personalized and convenient
eLearning experience. For example, if a certain learner group prefers
games and exercises, the courses should be made more interactive.
Similarly, if learners are more likely to access the course content on
tablets or mobiles, the courses should be designed to support this need.
Due to the minute attention paid to learner’s needs, learner centered
courses ensure greater participation in eLearning.
2. Improves retention of knowledge.
Given that a learner centered approach places high emphasis on
relevance and engagement, it greatly influences learners’ interest levels.
The learner centered approach shifts the focus from traditional
eLearning, which emphasized only on graphs and PowerPoint slides, to
eLearning with more engaging and simulating content. For example, if
you are developing a course for engineers, the course should have real
life scenarios that are relevant to their day-to-day problems. Also, the
course will have certain elements, which will make them use the
knowledge they may have acquired previously. This way, learners will
retain the knowledge better as opposed to a plain eLearning course with
a lot of theoretical knowledge.
3. Boosts performance at work.
A typical learner centered eLearning course will have a lot of scenarios,
case studies, role plays, etc. For example, if an organization is training
its employees on quality guidelines or industry best practices, a learner
centered course with a lot of engaging and interactive content will help
learners grasp the content more effectively. This way, learners are more
likely to apply their learning at work, leading to improved on-the-job
performance.
4. Develops problem-solving skills.
A learner centered eLearning course has a lot of real life examples,
including games, quizzes, and challenges. For example, the course may
have challenges and games involving real life problems, which will
force learners to think of solutions. This kind of training develops
problem-solving skills, which is useful when learners encounter similar
problems at work.
5. Fosters collaborative learning.
Learner centered courses provide the opportunity to foster collaborative
learning. You should design eLearning courses in such a way that
learners have to involve their peers/superiors in completing the course.
Alternatively, the courses should have certain group exercises, which
makes learners come together to solve problems, and thereby share
learning. This approach not only encourages collaboration but also
fosters teamwork.
 6. Makes learning more fun.
Use of games and stories in eLearning makes learning more fun. A
learner centered approach provides a lot of choices to learners. For
example, if a particular course involves research, learners should be
given choices of topics for research. Likewise, learner centered
eLearning courses use lots of different mediums, such as videos,
podcasts, practical assignments, etc. With these elements, learning is no
longer perceived as boring and monotonous.
7. Facilitates personalized learning.
All learners do not have the same learning needs. Some may just like to
understand the basics of a concept, while some may like to understand a
course in detail. Also, some learners may already have some knowledge
about a topic, whereas some of them will be entirely new to the concept.
A traditional eLearning course will treat all learners the same way, and
may not respond to the needs of different types of learners. Things are
different with learner centered eLearning courses. In such courses,
developers may include supplementary material with messages like
“Click here to know more” or “Here’s a refresher course”. The
additional material makes learning more effective.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Student Centered Learning Advantages

1. Students develop learning and other skills and gain meaningful knowledge that will
help them throughout life.
2. It can help to build social skills and self-esteem.
3. And also students gain more emotional and cognitive support from their peers.

4. The relationship between rights and responsibilities islearned.

5. Students discover that learning is interesting and fun.

6. Teachers have less traditional work to do.

7. Students are more attentive and willing to participate in the class.

8. Complaints about irrelevance and unfairness decrease.

9. Reports and papers generated by students increase a teacher's collection of useful

information.

10. The pupil has more of an active role to play in their learning. 11. Students can
adapt the way they learn, to make their studies more effective.

12. The ideal situation for this type group work is that weaker students should be
placed with more able students to act as scaffolding.

13. Students work on projects or problems in teams with both personal and team
accountability for conceptual understanding.
 14. Students work together in achieving goals by upholding the norms of the group.

15. Students are actively helping and motivating spirit to succeed together.

16. Active role as peer tutors to further enhance the group’s success. 17. Interaction
between students with increasing their ability to argue.

In addition to these advantages of cooperative learning also have shortcomings,

according to Dees including the following:

Disadvantage

1. It requires a longer time for students so it is difficult to achieve curriculum targets.

2. Take a long time for teachers so that teachers in general do not want to use
cooperative learning.

3. It requires special skills of teachers so that not all teachers can do or use of
cooperative learning.

4. Specific nature of student demands, such as the nature likes to work together.