Curriculum Design and Development - Essay Example

CURRICULUM DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT s Introduction Curriculum design and development is one of the most important facets that institutions must deal with to ensure that the goals and objectives have been achieved. Most of the curriculum developed aims at meeting the national goals and aims of education. This must begin with the learner and therefore, the curriculum must be designed in such a way that it meets the needs of the learner (Ornstein, 2012). In addition to this, the curriculum must be able to be in tandem with the societal cultures and believes. In order for curriculum implementation these factors must be considered. There are several curriculum designs that exist and they aim at fulfilling different objectives depending on the design. This paper aims at discussing two of the designs which are considered to be more successful. One of the designs is the learner centered design. This design is grounded in progressivism or essentialism. The other design is the Broad fields Design which allows for interdisciplinary inquiry into broad subjects and across different disciplines. This paper seeks to discuss the design and implementation of these two curriculums. The paper will also highlight their strengths and weaknesses in order to foster a holistic and better education for the future. The paper will then chose a subject which will be used as an implementation of the curriculum. Learner Centered Design and Broad field Curriculum Design John Dewey was the first person to note that the method of instruction should change from teacher center to learner centered. Through his theories, the education proponent managed to convince the world that education should be a learner process and the teacher should remain just as an instructor to guide the learners. John Dewey mentioned several advantages related to this method of instruction which led a leaner centered curriculum design. The importance of this design is that it takes into account the different needs of the individual learner (JM Rogan, 2010). The curriculum is in such a way that it accommodates the learner’s experience. The learner has the advantage of interacting with the environment as this curriculum takes into account the societal needs. This curriculum takes into account the different teaching aids that are easily available within the society and incorporates them into the learning process. Due to the recent advancement in technology in the world there is need for the learners to develop their learning skills and this is best achieved through the leaner centered design. In addition to this there is need for the learners to develop more skills as the world turns into a digital age. For this reason blending of learner centered and broad field design is seen to be an effective approach. This is because the learners will have a broader field of experiencing as they incorporate different disciplines into their learning. This is important since most of the subjects re related to one another. Broad field design also gives the learners the advantage of experimenting and learning for themselves (Martinello, 2010). At this point it is important to understand that education is not a means to an end. For this reason, the teacher should cease to be a dictator and allow learners to learn and experience for themselves. The learners have the advantage of critical thinking; problem solving and they also develop the ability to work with others in groups. In addition to this as learners end up in the fields doing research they develop motor skills which are important in education. In addition to this, they also develop a sense of responsibility and take care of the environment they are interacting with. These two curriculums are very flexible in the sense that the learners are able to choose any field they feel they can specialize hence the broad field design. Due to all these advantages related to these two designs we decided to dwell on two and forge ahead and design a curriculum using Agriculture as a subject. Curriculum design and implementation is a long and tedious process that requires intensive research and investment. Agriculture is both a technical subject and non-technical subject. This is because of its nature. The subject requires a lot of practical as most of the things taught are what we come across in our daily lives. Besides this, Agricultural education is important in order to sustain the constant growing population in terms of food production (Dowden, 2010). In addition to this, we relate with our immediate environment every day which makes this subject very important hence the need to acquire education on how to sustain the environment. Agriculture is not an independent subject and therefore while designing the curriculum there is need to incorporate other basic knowledge that can be acquired from other key subjects like Botany and Zoology. This is because these two sciences have basic knowledge concerning the environment. For example, there is need to understand plant pathogens which are related to food production in agriculture. On the other hand there is also need to understand different microorganisms that exist in the soil and other media of production. For this reason we can say that agriculture is both a technical and non-technical subject. In the real sense this subject also encourages the broad field design in its instruction by the fact that it relates to various disciplines. More conclusively is that agriculture as a subject is more practical than theoretical. For these purpose learners best learn through experimentation. They acquire different skills by themselves as they interact with the environment. In order to come up with the aims and objectives of a certain subject under curriculum design there is need to consult various stakeholders who can assist with various information. This is because curriculum design is not an individual’s task. A visit to the department involved in curriculum design and development could help in coming out with the aims and goals of education. Moreover, there is also need to consider the type of language to be used for instruction. There will also be the need to contact various stakeholders such as the parents, community leaders, the government and other related people in the field of education before coming up with aims, goals, and objectives of the agricultural subject (Murdoch, 2008). This is important because without proper communication learning will not take place. For example, some of the aims to be proposed will be these examples below which will be presented to the office in charge of curriculum development and design. Aims of Agricultural Education To show that Agriculture is a profitable and diligent occupation To foster national food security To develop concern and show care for the environment To foster peace and national unity To develop technical skills and knowledge for further education While coming up with the objectives it is important that these objectives be SMART. For this reason the objective must be directed to an individual learner. Formulation of objectives will also be aided with the department that deals with curriculum design and implementation since they have wider knowledge of research in that field. It is also important to understand that these designs are very expensive to design and implement. In addition to this, broad field curriculum design may be seen as time wasting since learners engage in areas they will not be specializing. Conclusion From this paper we can conclude that the combination of two or more curriculum is important. In this case the learner centered curriculum is advantageous since the learners have the opportunity to develop their learning skills, problem solving skills with the guide of the instructor. The paper also concludes that broad field design has the advantage of incorporating a wider skill base in addition to offering learners a chance to achieve first hand experience. The paper has also formulated a way of design an agricultural subject based on the two curriculum designs. References Dowden, T. (2010). Relevant, challenging, integrative and exploratory curriculum design: Perspectives from theory and practice for middle level schooling in Australia. . The Australian Educational Researcher, 3 (2), 51–71. . JM Rogan, D. G. (2010). Towards a theory of curriculum implementation with particular reference to science education in developing countries. International Journal of Science Education, 1171-1204. Martinello, M. &. (2010). Interdisciplinary inquiry in teaching and learning (2nd ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Murdoch, K. (2008). Classroom connections: Strategies for integrated learning. Melbourne: Eleanor Curtain Publishing. Ornstein, A. C. (2012). Curriculum: Foundations, Principles, and Issues. New York: Pearson. Read More