Unit
- Curriculum as a system: curriculum is not a single document but an interconnected system of intended outcomes, content, instructional methods, assessment practices, and institutional context that together shape what learners actually experience, distinct from a syllabus which only lists topics and dates.
- Formal versus experienced curriculum: the formal curriculum is what appears in official documents while the experienced curriculum is what learners actually encounter in classrooms; designers must account for this gap by anticipating how content will be interpreted and delivered by instructors of varying skill levels.
- Hidden curriculum: unstated norms, values, and social behaviors transmitted through institutional culture, classroom interactions, and implicit expectations, which can reinforce or contradict the formal curriculum and therefore require conscious attention during design.
- Null curriculum: the deliberate or accidental exclusion of certain topics, perspectives, or skills from a program, which shapes learner worldview just as strongly as what is included, making exclusion decisions as important as inclusion decisions.
- Curriculum versus instruction: curriculum defines what should be learned and why, while instruction defines how it is delivered; conflating the two leads designers to prematurely lock in teaching methods before outcomes are fully clarified.
- Stakeholder plurality: curricula serve multiple audiences simultaneously, including learners, employers, accreditation bodies, and funding agencies, each with different success criteria that must be reconciled during the design process rather than addressed sequentially.
- Levels of curriculum decision-making: decisions occur at the societal level (broad educational policy), institutional level (program requirements), and classroom level (daily lesson choices), and effective designers understand which level they are operating at before making changes.
- Curriculum as a living document: a well-designed curriculum is revised iteratively based on evaluation data and changing context, rather than treated as a fixed artifact finalized once and never revisited.
Strategic Framework
Framework: Tyler Rationale (Four Fundamental Questions)
Purpose: Provides a structured sequence of questions that guide comprehensive curriculum planning from purpose through evaluation.
- Purpose: What educational purposes should the program seek to attain, drawing from learner needs, societal demands, and subject matter expertise.
- Experiences: What learning experiences can be provided that are likely to attain these purposes, considering learner readiness and engagement.
- Organization: How should these experiences be organized for effective delivery, addressing sequence, continuity, and integration across the program.
- Evaluation: How can it be determined whether the purposes are being attained, requiring measurable evidence tied back to the original objectives.
Quick Revision
- Curriculum is a system encompassing outcomes, content, instruction, assessment, and context, not just a document.
- Hidden and null curricula shape learner experience as much as formal content does.
- The Tyler Rationale offers four sequential questions covering purpose, experience, organization, and evaluation.
- Curriculum decisions occur at societal, institutional, and classroom levels, requiring designers to identify their scope.