Course: Curriculum and Instruction(6503) Semester: Autumn, 2022 Level: MA/M.Ed.
Assignment No.2
Q.1 What is meant by curriculum design? Elaborate the desirable criteria for curriculum design.
Career paths in curriculum design are wide-ranging, beginning with the variety of terms and job titles you will hear and levels of preparation required (a Bachelor’s degree is required, often a master’s is preferred–or depth of knowledge in the subject). There is often confusion within the occupation surrounding titles. Typically, the role involves development and evaluation of curricular and training materials.
Curriculum design focuses on the creation of the overall course blueprint, mapping content to learning objectives, including how to develop a course outline and build the course. Each learning objective is met with assessment strategies, exercises, content, subject matter analysis, and interactive activities.
Often, teachers may transition into curriculum development if they are seeking to continue working in education without directly teaching students. If you are seeking alternatives to classroom teaching, there are many choices, including curriculum design.
Q.2 Critically analyze the need and procedure of situational analysis. Explain Bloom’s taxonomy of objectives
“Situational analysis” helps develop a basis of understanding of the environment in which a plan is delivered. It provides a common reference point for the planning process and prioritises actions.
The analysis can provide an appreciation of the risks and benefits to the project and the organisations involved from the way in which the communication process is implemented. It takes a snapshot view of an organisation or situation and where things stand at a certain point in time. It is sometimes accomplished by means of a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats), which examines all aspects in relation to the success or results of the project in question.
Clearly, if the communication activities are poorly designed and implemented due to a poor understanding of the situation on the ground, the project could be fatally impacted due to a lack of public trust and confidence. This can help identify where the potential weaknesses in the plan are, enabling responses to be developed if necessary before irreparable damage is done
Q.3 How would you select and organize content? What teaching strategies can be used for teaching the content?
The term curriculum is viewed in two different ways: the micro and the macro. The micro curriculum refers to subjects, while the macro curriculum refers to curricular programs. For example, the subject biology is a micro curriculum while BS in Civil Engineering is a macro curriculum.
What do the micro and the macro curriculum contain? The following criteria discusses the content of these two levels of the curriculum.
Seven Criteria for the Selection of Subject-matter or Content of the Curriculum
The 7 criteria below can be utilized in the selection of subject matter for micro curriculum, and for the content, subjects needed for the curricular program or course, of the macro curriculum.
Q.4 Design strategies for the evaluation of specific educational programs and suggest means for their improvement.
Evaluation:
In every walk of life the process of evaluation takes place in one or the other form. If the evaluation process is eliminated from human life then perhaps the aim of life may be lost. It is only through evaluation that one can discriminate between good and bad. The whole cycle of social development revolves around the evaluation process.
In education how much a child has succeeded in his aims, can only be determined through evaluation. Thus there is a close relationship between evaluation and aims.
Education is considered as an investment in human beings in terms of development of human resources, skills, motivation, knowledge and the like. Evaluation helps to build an educational programme, assess its achievements and improve upon its effectiveness.
Q.5 What are the dynamics of curriculum change? Elaborate the process of curriculum change.
The technological advancements and the emergence of Artificial Intelligence have completely changed the dynamics of education and employment across the world. Developing digital skills among the youth remains the need of the hour as most jobs are likely to be automated in the future. The subject specialists and the relevant authorities need to effectively integrate ICT and digitalization into the curriculum to better train students for the world of rapid technological developments.
In addition to this, to help the current generation thrive in the highly challenging world of tomorrow, the curriculum, teaching methodology, and classroom discourse need to focus on developing the crucial skills of emotional intelligence, flexibility, adaptability, and leadership.
One of the major challenges is that majority of the students feel disconnected from the educational content they are exposed to. The primary reason for this lack of connection with the course content is that students fail to see how they can apply whatever they have learned in the classroom to their lives and the world around them. We need to realize that students can no more be treated as mere recipients of knowledge but as individuals who must be equally and actively involved in the process of learning. Instead of teaching fixed and age-old subjects and theories to every student, there is a need to offer diverse learning experiences to students and help them choose subjects, skills, and competencies that align with their future goals.