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Curriculum Design

A curriculum is a planned sequence of learning experiences. In designing a curriculum, whether for a whole degree programme or for a particular unit, you are planning an intellectual 'journey' for your students - a series of experiences that will result in them learning what you intend them to learn. Typically these experiences will include attendance at lectures and classes, work in small groups, private study, preparing work for assessment and so on.

Curriculum design includes consideration of aims, intended learning outcomes, syllabus, learning and teaching methods, and assessment. Each of these elements is described below.

It also involves ensuring that the curriculum is accessible and inclusive, i.e. that students with disabilities, and from all backgrounds, can participate in it with an equal chance of success.

Aims

The aims of the curriculum are the reasons for undertaking the learning 'journey' - its overall purpose or rationale from the student's point of view.

For example, a degree programme may aim, among other things, to prepare students for employment in a particular profession. Likewise a unit within the programme may aim to provide an understanding of descriptive statistics. The stated aims of a curriculum tell students what the result of studying it is likely to be.

Intended Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students will learn if they follow the curriculum successfully (i.e. if they complete the programme or unit and pass the assessment). Sometimes the phrase 'intended learning outcomes' is used to refer to the anticipated fruits of completing the planned 'journey'.

Syllabus

This is the 'content' of the programme or unit; the topics, issues or subjects that will be covered as it proceeds.

Sources:

www.sheffield.ac.uk/lets/toolkit/curriculum

www.griffith.edu.au

www.thenationalacademy.org

Process of Curriculum Design

Designing a curriculum is ideally something that is first of all effective and matches assessment with...