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Curriculum - An Overview

The document outlines the curriculum design process for language courses, emphasizing the importance of considering environmental factors, learner needs, and effective teaching strategies. It discusses the significance of setting clear goals, sequencing content, and employing assessment methods to evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum. Additionally, it highlights the necessity of ongoing evaluation to ensure the course meets the needs of learners and achieves its objectives.

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Duc Nguyen
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12 views24 pages

Curriculum - An Overview

The document outlines the curriculum design process for language courses, emphasizing the importance of considering environmental factors, learner needs, and effective teaching strategies. It discusses the significance of setting clear goals, sequencing content, and employing assessment methods to evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum. Additionally, it highlights the necessity of ongoing evaluation to ensure the course meets the needs of learners and achieves its objectives.

Uploaded by

Duc Nguyen
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Language

Curriculum Design
An Overview
PARTS OF THE CURRICULUM DESIGN PROCESS

2
CONSIDERING THE ENVIRONMENT

▰ Factors of the situation in which the course will be used


▰ A list of questions on the nature of the learners, the teachers and the
teaching situation

3
DISCUSSION

▰ Choose three factors which will have the strongest effect on the
design of your course.
▰ Rank these three from most determine what you should do to the
least influence of the three.

4
FACTORS AFFECT CURRICULUM

3 TYPICAL FACTORS MORE FACTORS


▰ Learners’ lack of interest in ▰ The small amount of time available
learning english ▰ The large size of the classes

▰ Learners’ plan to move on to ▰ The wide range of proficiency in the class


academic study in university or ▰ The immediate survival needs of the learners
technical institute courses ▰ The lack of appropriate reading materials
The teachers’ lack of experience and training
▰ The externally designed and ▰

The learners’ use of the first language in the classroom


administered test at the end of ▰

the course ▰ The need for the learners to be more autonomous

5
UNSUCCESSFUL CURRICULUM DESIGN

▰ Communicatively based course for Vietnamese learners (not


grammar based)
▰ Course for Agricultural students with The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
as its main reading text.
▰ Adult conversation course with the game “Simon Says” → no
conversation in “Simon Says”

6
HOW FACTORS AFFECT?

More group work


Suitable
Large class size More techniques Practical
realistic

Independent work

7
DISCOVERING NEEDS

Necessities Lacks Wants


what the learner has to what the learner knows what the
know to function and does not know learners think they
effectively already need

8
DISCOVERING NEEDS

testing reliability
investigating questioning

Means to Evaluate
collecting discover interviewing

validity practicality
consulting recalling
9
DISCUSSION

▰ A group of 10 high school students are intending to work oversea in


Australia. They need to join an English course to prepare for their
future work.
▰ Make a list of what these people may need, lack and want

10
FOLLOWING PRINCIPLES

▰ Choose curriculum design based on research: what to teach and how


to sequence.
▰ E.g. research on how to encourage learning → repetition, learner
differences, learning styles, attitudes and motivations

11
GOALS

Trio aims to
▰ why a course is being taught (a) encourage students to communicate in a wide range of
everyday situations.
and what the learners need to (b) sustain interest and motivation . . .
get (c) help students understand and formulate the grammatical
rules of English.
(d) develop students’ receptive skills beyond those of their
▰ statement of goals productive skills.
(e) give students insights into daily life in Britain.
→ content of the course, focus in (f) develop specific skills, including skills required for
examination purposes.
presentation, guiding (g) contribute to the students’ personal, social and
educational development.
(Trio, Radley and Sharley, 1987)
assessment. 12
CONTENT AND SEQUENCING

items

ideas
Language courses
skills

strategies
13
FOLLOWING PRINCIPLES

▰ Make use of frequency lists and other lists of language items or skills
▰ Use a list to check or determine the content of a course
▰ Makes sure that what should be covered is covered.

14
CONTENT AND SEQUENCING

Tasks
Topics/themes
Units progression vocabulary
grammar
discourse
15
CONTENT AND SEQUENCING

Frequency-based vocabulary lists


Verb forms and verb groups
Vocabulary lists
Typical lists
Functions and topics
Subskills and strategies
Tasks, topics and themes
16
FINDING A FORMAT AND PRESENTING MATERIAL

▰ Presented to learners in a form that will help learning


▰ Involve the use of suitable teaching techniques and procedures

17
FINDING A FORMAT AND PRESENTING MATERIAL

▰ Advantages to having a set format for lessons:


▰ easier to make
▰ easier to monitor
▰ accepted principles are being followed
▰ easier to learn from

18
MONITORING AND ASSESSING

Aims of curriculum design


▰ useful goals
▰ achieves its goals
▰ satisfies its users
▰ Efficient
→ assess how well these aims are achieved
19
MONITORING AND ASSESSING

Involves the use of tests: proficiency tests & achievement tests


▰ Proficiency tests: measure a learner’s level of language knowledge
before and after a course.
▰ Achievement tests:
▻ closely related to a course
▻ based on the content and the learning goals of the course 20
MONITORING AND ASSESSING

▰ Placement tests: if the course is suitable


▰ Diagnostic tests: if learners have particular gaps in their knowledge
▰ Other ways:
▻ observing and monitoring using checklists and report forms
▻ getting learners to keep diaries and learning logs,
▻ collect samples of work in folders
▻ get learners to talk about their learning 21
MONITORING AND ASSESSING

A “good” course : ▰ results in a lot of learning


▰ attracts a lot of students ▰ applies state-of-the-art knowledge
▰ makes a lot of money about language teaching and learning
▰ satisfies the learners ▰ is held in high regard by the local or
▰ satisfies the teachers international community
▰ satisfies the sponsors ▰ follows accepted principles of
▰ helps learners gain high scores in an curriculum design.
22
external test
MONITORING AND ASSESSING

▰ Purposes of an evaluation of a course: continue or discontinue or


improvements in the course
▰ Responsible curriculum design includes ongoing evaluation of the
course.

23
MONITORING AND ASSESSING

Summary of the Steps


1 Examine the environment.
2 Assess needs.
3 Decide on principles.
4 Set goals, and choose and sequence content.
5 Design the lesson format.
6 Include assessment procedures.
24
7 Evaluate the course.

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