Developing a study curriculum is necessary whether you are a KG school teacher or a veteran professor. The development of study curriculum is the core element of providing an effective education. This process of development has evolved very much over time. Nowadays, it contains many steps in its development. Teachers at a school or university don’t pay attention to these things. The need of the hour is something different. With the rapidly advancing world, the methods of designing curricula have also evolved. In this article, we will discuss how teachers can develop a study curriculum for the good of their students. But before going further into the topic, let’s define the term first.
What is Curriculum Development and Why it is Useful?
Curriculum development is a multi-step process to design a course taught at a school or university. Though it is mostly centric to schools, universities also come under it. The exact process of development of study curriculum is not universal, since it varies from university to university and board to board. Each country has an educational board that overviews all this process. Thus, the board framework can differ as we move from one country to another.
Curriculum development is necessary for teachers. Imagine teaching a class in a big hall without any plan in hand. A thoughtfully developed curriculum provides the teachers with the scheme of studies. Teachers exactly know what to teach students today, tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow. Therefore, it is extremely useful to have a well-developed course.
Step-by-Step Guide
With so many development methods available, teachers might find it confusing to use a particular style. To ease the process, we interviewed several hundred teachers from different schools in the USA. Based on their responses, we made this guide. In simple words, you can say it’s a universal guide to serve the purpose of the development of study curriculum. Therefore, a brief description of all the steps is as follows as shared by a coursework writing service;
Planning
Planning comes before anything for the development of study curriculum. Basically, planning serves as a roadmap for the upcoming development. To effectively plan curriculum development, you must create a Curriculum Development Committee. The purpose of this committee should be to make a comprehensive plan for the new development. This committee should comprise teachers and experts educators from different schools. It will also represent a sense of harmony.
It is also important analyse recent developments of the educational world. It should identify critical issues and trends based on its analysis. The issues must not be state or city-centric but nation-centric. Also, closely examine what is currently being taught. After this examination, they will be able to see the gaps in the current and modern curriculum. Meeting the students’ needs is also necessary for effective learning. Before going to the next stage, the curriculum developers must gather as much knowledge as possible. All the knowledge must consider the needs and issues of students. Thus, planning is something that helps developers identify the key issues and complications beforehand.
Articulating and Developing
The planning stage has now ended, and it is time to make joints between the gathered knowledge. It is crucial in the process of the development of study curriculum. The teachers in the committee, articulate information based on the issues. While developing, the teachers must ask themselves:
- Upon what guiding principles are our curriculum built?
- What are our central beliefs about teaching and learning in a particular program?
- What are the essential questions of the discipline?
In short, the new curriculum must be in conjunction with the goals of a program. The study goals vary from grade to grade. Besides, the professors need to prepare students for future challenges at the university level. Thus, they define the most challenging objectives that students must obtain.
The goals and objectives of a program define the curriculum. In the simplest language, we can say that the development of study curriculum is dependent on the grade-level goals. In the developing stage, the committee of teachers identifies the potential material sources. They also develop the assessment items required to check the progress of students. Thus, articulating and developing is another critical step in curriculum development.
Implementation
Implementation is all about putting the new curriculum into practice. It has remained a traditional practice that committees often visit several schools. On their trips to different schools, they meet school officials and present the new course. Training sessions and seminars can also be arranged for effective communication and distribution. The development of the study curriculum does not end with the publication or announcement of a new course. An influential curriculum committee continues to oversee the implantation process. They ensure that the new manuscripts are distributed throughout the state or city.
Evaluating
It is mentioned earlier that committee oversees the implementation process. They keep on evaluating the progress of the new curriculum from time to time. A new curriculum does not need to define all the issues and problems of the modern world. There may be some glitches and ambiguities in the newly developed curriculum too. Thus, the evaluation process is necessary even before the complete implementation of the course.
The class teachers must take continuous feedback from their students. If the feedback is good, the teachers can continue. But if there is something that students find irrelevant, the teachers must report the issue to the education committee. Upon considering the teachers’ suggestions, the committee will make the necessary changes. Therefore, it’s an ever-evolving process.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that it is essential to understand that any type of change may require some time to hold the ground. The same is the case with the development of study curriculum. The teachers must comprehend that it will take time to be fully implemented. The committee will collect the suggestions in the implementation period and make necessary changes. All in all, the development of a new curriculum is an uphill task. It requires a lot of hard work and dedication. But by following the steps mentioned above, you can easily manage it.
