Stages of Curriculum Design

The Stages of Curriculum Design

Curriculum designing is a systematic process and every stage needs to be followed sequentially. Taba's outline  of the steps which a course designer must work through to develop subject matter courses has become the foundation for many other writers' suggestions. Her list of 'curriculum processes' includes the following:

Step 1. Diagnosis of needs

Step 2. Formulation of objectives 

Step 3. Selection of content

Step 4. Organization of content

Step 5. Selection of learning experiences

Step 6. Organization of learning experiences

Step 7. Determination of what to evaluate, and the means to evaluate

Cited in Yordanova Svetlana, 2000

According to Long & Richards [quoted by Johnson, 1989: IX] language curriculum design is regarded as a decision - making process and involves:

Policy making.

Needs assessment.

Design and development.

Teacher preparation and development.

Programme management and evaluation.

a) Policy making

Based on the information collected about learner's , educational objectives and strategies have to constructed.

According to Breen (1980) -"The communicative curriculum defines language learning as learning how to communicate as a member of a particular socio-cultural group. The social conventions governing language form and behavior within the group are, therefore, central to the process of language learning." For Nunan [1994] the aim of communicative language learning is achieving language proficiency based on the development of the four macro skills. The level of language proficiency therefore ,vary for different groups of learners and will depend on learners' needs.

Thus this a crucial stage of curriculum development as it spells out the scope of the curriculum as well as the strategy to be used for curriculum design and implementation.

b) Needs assessment

On the basis of the identified aim it is possible to make an analysis of the learners' both linguistic needs (expressed in structures or functions) and communicative needs expressed in communication situations. 

c) Curriculum design

With the aims of the curriculum identified and the needs of the learners analyzed, the specific learning goals can laid for the different levels of the course (year/term). These learning objectives can be categorized as follows:

Product objective- specifying the learners' target language proficiency and performance.

Process or pedagogic objectives- specifying the the learning process and methodology that shall be adopted to the learning outcomes.

While deciding the learning framework the following are usually ascertained:

Objectives or what is intended.

Means or what is to be done to achieve the objectives planned.

The results or evaluation of what is achieved.

It is important that there is a logical relationship between the ends and the means. If there is a gap or discrepancy between the objectives and the process adopted in the classroom language curriculum would fail to achieve the desired result. It is this problem that constantly challenges language planners and often results in failure of many well-conceived curriculum.

Just as there are product and process objectives there are product-oriented (summative evaluation) and/or process-oriented (formative evaluation) approaches to evaluation [Weir & Roberts, 1994]. Evaluation usually attempts to compare current performance with desired performance by means of testing. The evaluation can be quantitative (based on quantitative criteria) and/or qualitative (based on qualitative criteria). Sometimes a mix of both may also be adopted to obtain valid findings.

d) Teacher preparation and development

Teachers are a vital part of the jigsaw puzzle of curriculum development and the curriculum designing process would be incomplete without their active involvement during development and implementation stages. Moreover, they are the ones who experience the curriculum in the class and their inputs are invaluable in subsequent curriculum improvements and innovation.