Curriculum
Development
What do we mean
by curriculum? The term means different
things to different people so perhaps it is most appropriate to think about
what curriculum means for the point of view of the learner. The curriculum is based on a set of values
and beliefs about what students should learn; it is the axis about which
learning and teaching revolve. In part
values and beliefs are set by external agencies or by internal deliberation. In any event the curriculum should be
inclusive and respond to the University's graduate capabilities framework.
Below is a
diagram of the curriculum from the students' perspective. At the centre of the
diagram is the student, looking out at the elements of the curriculum or the
things that impact on engagement with the curriculum. The elements and
influences include appropriate scope and sequence of content; student focused
teaching and learning; formative and summative assessment; explicit organisation;
student evaluation and feedback; the background, ability and experience of the
student relative to the situation at hand; and finally, the intention of the
curriculum as stated by aims, goals and outcomes.
Curriculum
design usually takes into account the expected learning outcomes, associated
learning and teaching tasks, assessment and evaluation. Curricula should be
inclusive and student centred, taking into account the needs of a diverse
student population. At present the main
guiding principle for curriculum design is known as constructive
alignment. Constructive alignment means
that what we ask students to do must relate to what we want them to learn; in
other words the graduate capabilities, aims of the course, learning outcomes,
learning tasks, assessments and marking criteria all relate to each other. More information is found in the section on
setting learning outcomes.
No discussion
on curriculum would be complete without some reference to the 'hidden
curriculum' or that part of the curriculum that is not explicitly planned and
stated. Referred to by many influential
education writers, the hidden curriculum consists of the things students learn
about their discipline and what is expected of them as learners through
experience. The hidden curriculum can
have a powerful effect on what students do and how they approach their
learning.
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