TALK 5

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TALK 5
Course Design 2 PART B
Curriculum and Syllabus Issues

• Anita Pincas

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Learning cycle
learn apply do revi
ew

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A course is
a set of learning events, spanning a finite
period of time, organized so as to maximize the
learners progress to a greater state of
knowledge, understanding,
and/or competence, in a specific
field.
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Curriculum vs syllabus
curriculum
     
syllabus
course
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Curriculum
The educational philosophy that informs choices
such as 1. What subject fields are to be
included e.g. will religious studies form part
of the national curriculum for secondary
schools? Universities? 2. What are the goals of
education generally, and of any particular field
of studies? to lead to employment? to inculcate
civic attitudes? to create a democratic approach
to society? 3. What beliefs about learning
underlie the educational structures of the
region? status of teachers? role of parents?
role of employer? rights or powers of children?
and so forth.
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Syllabus
A public statement that sets out for the course
designer a. the items of knowledge, skills and
affective factors, that are to be taught,
normally set out in a classified list b. the
learning objectives in operational terms c. the
time constraints, stages of teaching, and rate of
progress relating to the items of knowledge d.
suggested or mandated testing and evaluation
procedures e. sometimes but not necessarily,
advice about pedagogy.
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Linear

• simple accretion of small items of knowledge and
  understanding
• broadening out from an initial base of knowledge
• graded from simpler to more and more complex or
  difficult
• working from familiar to less and less unfamiliar
• moving from most practically useful to more and
  more theoretical,
• or vice versa
• moving from shorter items to ever longer ones
• progressing according to a logical order perhaps
  determined by the
• 
  subject
• TRADITIONAL LINEAR SYLLABUS

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Accretive

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Spiral

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Zig-zag

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Freeform

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All types
Linear Accretive Spiral Zig-zag Freeform
Linear Accretive Spiral Zig-sag Freeform
Linear Accretive Spiral Zig-sag Freeform
Linear Accretive Spiral Zig-sag Freeform
Linear Accretive Spiral Zig-sag Freeform
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Envoi
What we call the beginning is often the end And
to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is
where we start from. ... Every phrase and every
sentence is an end and a beginning, Every poem an
epitaph. We shall not cease from
exploration And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started And know the
place for the first time.
T.S. Eliot, The Four Quartets Note end
means both finish and goal or aim.