Module Components

• Overview
• Assignments

Topics

• Curriculum Overview
• Curriculum Development
• Organizing Curriculum
• Syllabus/Lesson Development

NURS 787 - Theoretical Foundations of Teaching and Learning Course

Module 6: Introduction to Curriculum and Frameworks

Curriculum Development

The curriculum is usually delivered in series of courses, units, or modules that are offered in a logical format or sequence. Each course has a purpose or goal and each course adds value to the overall curriculum.

One of the founding fathers of curriculum is Ralph Tyler. In the Tyler model, each course has objectives. The content that is taught is based on objectives and are taught by a method that is appropriate for meeting the objectives.

The objectives are evaluated in order to measure achievement. This is called outcome or summative evaluation. The process of learning while the learning is occurring can also be evaluated and this is called formative evaluation. Evaluating the process of learning after learning has occurred is called summative evaluation.

Here is a simple example of formative vs. summative evaluation. A chef making a delicious soup may taste it at several times during the process. Is the broth complex and distinctive, is the seasoning just right, are the herbs at their peak of freshness? This is formative evaluation. When the same chef asks his or her diners later that evening how they enjoyed the soup, this is summative evaluation. The chef will use this feedback to improve for next time.

Similarly, individual courses, programs, and overall curricula are evaluated regularly by faculty curriculum committees and regulatory bodies, to ensure timeliness, relevance, fit, quality, and other aspects of academic standards.

Each course, module, or unit in the curriculum has a goal. Goal is defined by Webster as the final purpose or aim the end to which a design tends, or which a person aims to reach or attain. The goal is broad and describes how this learning unit fits into the curriculum. Once the goal is articulated, what is in the course can be organized through a syllabus. The final section in this module explores the development of a syllabus.

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Ralph Tyler wrote Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction in 1949. It was an eighty-three page book that made an indelible mark on curriculum development. He divided the book into five sections and each was based on a question. The section questions are:

1. What educational purposes should the school seek to attain?
2. How can learning experiences be selected which are likely to be useful in attaining these objectives?
3. How can learning experiences be organized for effective instruction?
4. How can the effectiveness of learning experiences be evaluated?
5. How can a school or college staff work on building curriculum?

He based his book on an eight-year national study. Thus, his approach to curriculum development is called a ‘scientific approach’ to curriculum development. He suggests four basic principles in the development of any curriculum and they are:

1. Defining appropriate learning objectives
2. Establishing useful learning experiences
3. Organizing learning experiences to have a maximum cumulative effect
4. Evaluating the curriculum and revising those aspects that did not prove to be effective

(Information courtesy of: Instructional Technology Global Resource Network)