Curriculum Development - Essay Example

Curriculum Development a) Connection to Standards Oliva puts forward a deductive model which offers a process of complete curriculum development. Oliva’s model is an extensive step by step process from which the planner goes to curriculum sources and then to evaluation. When it comes to matching strategy with standards, Oliva’s model focuses on objectives of education and their psychological and philosophical principles. The model emphasizes on beliefs that are extracted from the needs of society as a whole (Oliva, 1992).

In contrast, Wiggins and McTighe provide modes to enhance students’ understanding by designing courses in a specific well-articulated manner. The authors focus on the standard of curriculum design for higher education as well as secondary education (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). b) Objectives and Goals The objective of Oliva’s model is to analyze the needs of society in which schools are established. The model further aims to enhance the requirements of students and exigencies regarding the subject that will be taught in school.

The purpose is to implement and organize the curriculum to establish and formulate the structure by which the course design will be prepared (Oliva, 1992). Wiggins and McTighe states that the profession of teaching is very close to engineering and design. Like the later, teachers too need to be client-centered. The authors believe that the effectiveness of teacher through instruction, assessment, and curriculum, determines the desired learning (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). c) Sequencing and Organization of ContentOliva’s model shows that teachers choose instructional strategies to use in the classroom with students.

Furthermore, the instructors need to use preliminary selection technique for evaluation. At this point, the teachers think ahead and commence to consider ways that will assess the achievements of students (Oliva, 1992). Wiggins and McTighe use the cliché ‘form follows function’ that describe the idea how the course should be developed around its planned purpose. They state that content focused design is too ambiguous as it does not elucidate the reason of how discussion and reading help students.

The authors formulated templates of questions for instructors to develop a lesson (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). d) Differentiation of Cognitive SkillsIn Oliva’s model, very diminutive attention has been given to cognitive construct and development of understanding. The author has consistently focused on identifying and specifying needs of students. However, Wiggins and McTighe explores the concept of understanding and its importance if course designs. Understanding is highly crucial for cognitive construct but is poorly defined.

According to Wiggins and McTighe, understanding is a mental development that is proven by ‘shift’. Students not only know what skills and knowledge are useful in a certain situation but also should know why they were used (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). e) Assessment of Attained Objectives According to Oliva model, the last stage is where assessment and evaluation needs to be done and this stage completes the cycle. However, the evaluation is not of teacher or a student but of curriculum program instead.

This important stage is feedback line because it cycles back from evaluation to curriculum goals and from assessments to instructional goals. These lines determine the exigency of revision of components (Oliva, 1992). Wiggins and McTighe focus on defining what forms of evaluation will illustrate that students have acquired the understanding, knowledge, and skills. Three types of evaluations include performance task, self-assessment and unprompted assessment (dialogues, observations etc.), and criteria references assessments (prompts, test, quizzes).

The authors state that this stage will determine if learning experience will furnish students to demonstrate and develop desired understanding (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). ReferencesOliva, Peter. (1992). Developing the Curriculum. 3rd ed. NY: Harper Collins Publishers, Inc.Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.