Syllabus and curriculum

Having published several posts on individual skills, I felt that they needed better organisation and something to “hang onto” as it were. To that end, here are some short thoughts on syllabus and curriculum.

Some assumptions

• Experienced teachers (by definition) are familiar with the planning, setting up and running courses.
• The academic director of a school (by definition) will know about designing syllabuses, choosing materials, and content and assessing student performance.
• A syllabus: a sequentially organised specification of what needs to be taught, shaped by theory and practice.
• A curriculum: covers not only content, but also objectives and activities which form a part of the learning process. The results and experiences of participants are evaluated and acted upon.
• The assumption is made that it is logical to specify the goals of an activity before the activity is embarked upon.

The adoption of this model for curriculum development is based on the assumption that change and adapting to feedback is an integral part of the developmental process. Neither the independent initiatives of the school nor the larger external forces in the curriculum are sufficient for achieving the wide kinds of internal thought processes required in curriculum design and later development. Imposed change from outside does not work because it may not be adequately thought out, it is not understood, resources are not available to adequately carry it out or even because it is actively resisted. Within institutions, change is often piece meal, incomplete, and of mediocre quality.

This proposed cycle of curriculum development provides:

• a prospectus for tasks to be accomplished.

• a basis of agreed action and reduces arbitrary or authoritarian decisions

• it encompasses in a reduced and condensed format crucial and productive kinds of action

• help in the presentation and communication to interested parties of what is planned and is happening in the curriculum.

• Innovation (planned and deliberate change) and adaptation is an integral aspect of curriculum development.

• Constant appraisal. Objectives need to be constantly clarified and content of courses adapted to meet changing requirements and goals.

• Staff development implies that staff expertise develops. This should be an important aspect of all training institutes. Course contents, aims and objectives will improve as expertise improves.

A model for syllabus development

• Analyse the Situation:
  • Statement of general goals
  • Diagnosis of needs
• Define objectives:
  • Formulation of objectives.
  • Design the teaching programme:
• Selection of content
  • Organisation of content
• Interpret and implement the learning programme
  • Selection of learning experiences
  • Organisation of learning experiences
• Assess and evaluate.
  • Formulate detailed procedures.
  • Implement procedures in feedback loop.
• Each of the boxes should have some kind of evaluation built into it.

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