Different Curriculum Development Models1

1) Linear Models of Curriculum Development a)

Tyler argued that to develop any curriculum,

curriculum workers should respond to four
basic questions:
i. What educational purposes should the
school seek to attain?
ii. What educational experiences are likely to
attain these objectives?
iii. How can these educational experiences be
organized?
iv. How can we determine whether these
purposes are being attained?

b) Taba’s Grassroots Rational Model

A follower of Tyler is another curriculum scholar, Hilda Taba. She argued that
curriculum development should follow a sequential and logical process, and she
suggested for more information input in all phases of curriculum development.

c) Standards-based Curriculum Development Model was developed by Allan Glatthorn. The

model was intended for developing curriculum standards for any disciplines from basic
education to higher education. He identified three phases to be followed in developing
this model:
Phase 1: Develop Standards
 Develop a comprehensive set of content standards, using multiple
sources.
 Refine the comprehensive list by eliminating and combining.
 Secure teacher input to identify teacher priorities.
 Use data to develop final draft of standards, divided into Essential
Standards and Enrichment Standards.
Phase 2: Develop Benchmarks
 Review decisions about content emphases.
 Identify standards for continuing development (standards that will not be
benchmarked).
  Decide how benchmarks will be identified – by taskforce or by teachers.
 Develop initial draft of benchmarks, evaluating with criteria provided, and
secure teacher review; revise benchmarks if needed.
Phase 3: Develop Final Products
 Use standards and benchmarks to produce scope and sequence chart.
 Decide on curriculum guide content.
 Analyze benchmarks into learning objectives.

In this model, developing curriculum standards is a separate activity from the overall
curriculum development process. While the model specified the development of
standards using multiple sources, it cannot replace the important function of situational
analysis in the curriculum development process. Situational analysis is helpful in
understanding the context in which the curriculum is developed. Analyzing the different
curriculum sources and influences will lead to the development of curriculum standards
that not just focused on a specific discipline, but also consider the important role of the
learners and the society in curriculum development.

d) Understanding by Design Model (UbD) was developed by Wiggins and McTighe

(2002). It has become a byword in the Philippine educational system because it was used
to design the basic education curriculum in school year 2010 – 2011 before the K-12
Education Curriculum was implemented.

This was also called as the Backward Design for putting emphasis on starting with the
goals and objectives in designing curriculum. The model puts emphasis on designing
curriculum to engage students in exploring and deepening their understanding of
important ideas and the design of assessments (Wiggins & McTighe, 2002).

e) Systematic Design Model was originally developed by Robert Diamond in the early
1960s. Since then, it has undergone major revisions but its structure is unchanged
(Diamond, 1998). He explained that ideally, some actions must precede others, and
certain decisions should not be made until all relevant facts
 are known. It is imperative that all data must be complete before proceeding to the next
step.

f) Murray Print Model for Curriculum Development

Murray Print published his model in his book Curriculum Development and Design in 1988.
The first phase recognizes the nature of the curriculum workers involved in the development
of the curriculum. Accordingly, in this phase, it is important to pose the following questions
that may influence curriculum development:
 i. Who are involved in this curriculum development, and what, if anything, do they
represent?
ii. What conceptions of curriculum do they bring with them?
iii. What underlying forces or foundations have influenced the developers’ thinking?

The second phase in this model is the task of developing the curriculum. The procedure is
cyclical, which begins with a situational analysis, and continues with the aims, goals, and
objectives, content, learning activities and instructional evaluation, and then continuing to
situational analysis again.

The third phase includes the actual application that incorporates three major activities:
1) implementation of the curriculum, 2) monitoring of, and feedback from the curriculum,
and 3) the provision of feedback data to the presage group.

2) Cyclical Models of Curriculum Development

a) Audrey Nicholls and Howard Nicholls Model for Curriculum Development

An example of a cyclical model of curriculum

development was developed by Nicholls and
Nicholls (1978). According to the proponents of this
model, curriculum development is a continuous
process.

By starting with situational analysis, curriculum

workers will be able to collect data and the needed
information from various curriculum sources and
influences that are prerequisites in
formulating curriculum goals and objectives. Thus, if applied in college settings, faculty
members need to conduct situational analysis before planning their syllabi and curriculum
plans. This will make it possible for the curriculum to be more relevant and responsive to the
needs of the students and the school.

b) Wheeler’s Curriculum Development Model (1967)

Although this model is also rational in nature, each phase is a

logical development of the preceding one. One cannot proceed
to the next phase unless the preceding phase is done. Wheeler
also emphasized the importance of starting from the
development of aims, goals, and objectives.

c) The Contextual Filters Model of Course Planning was developed by Stark, Lowther,
Bentley, Ryan, Martens, Genthon, Wren, and Shaw in 1990 as part of their study
conducted at the University of Michigan National Center for Research to Improve
Postsecondary Teaching and Learning.
 Content influences encompass faculty members’ background and associated
disciplinary and educational beliefs. Contextual influences refer to the influences
outside of the instructor’s immediate control that cause adjustments in the course plans
such as student characteristics or instructional resources. Form includes the processes
that are followed when designing courses (Stark & Latucca, 1997).

3) Dynamic Models of Curriculum Development

The dynamic models describe how curriculum workers develop curricula in various
educational contexts. The dynamic curriculum development models are usually used in
school-based settings.
a) Walker’s Model of Curriculum Development

Decker Walker developed a model for

curriculum development and first published
it in 1971. Walker contended that
curriculum developers do not follow the
prescribe approach of the rationale- linear
sequence of curriculum elements when they
develop curricula (Walker, 1971; Marsh &
Willis, 2007; Print, 1993).

In platform phase, Walker suggested that

curriculum workers bring with them
their individual beliefs, knowledge, and values. They have their own ideas about how to do
their task and they are prepared to discuss and argue about them. The
 deliberation phase, on the other hand, involves identifying which facts are needed for
means and ends, generating alternatives and considering the consequences of these
alternatives. The third phase, which is design, involves planning, decision- making, and
the actual development of the curriculum.

This model, being dynamic, can be confusing to other curriculum workers who are not
aware of the necessary processes of curriculum development. If this model is applied in
the Philippines, where most teachers are implementers of curriculum developed by other
educators, this model may not have value of them.

Another weakness of Walker’s model is a strong tendency of the curriculum development

to be stuck in phase 2. According to Print (1993), too much discussions may lead to
analysis-paralysis syndrome that could penalize or prolong the process of curriculum
development. Probably, the model can be elaborated more on the design processes
involved in phase 3 to help teachers and neophyte curriculum workers do their task.

b) Skillbeck’s Curriculum Development Model

In 1976, Skillbeck came up with a model

for developing a school-based curriculum
in Australia. When using this model,
curriculum workers may start from any
phase. However, each phase is
interrelated and follows a systematic
sequence. Skillbeck’s model includes a
situational analysis that involves
gathering data from the school, society,
and the learners. The results of the
situational analysis
provide strong bases for making curricular decisions for all the succeeding phases of
curriculum development.

c) Eisner’s Artistic Approach to Curriculum Development

Elliot W. Eisner was a famous curriculum scholar. In 1979, he published the book The
Educational Imagination where he presented his idea on how curriculum development
should be done. Eisner (1979) believed that there is a need to develop a new theory that
recognizes the artistry of teaching that is useful in helping teachers develop those arts. In
his book, Eisner outlined how this artistic approach can also be used in curriculum
development.
i. Goals and their priorities
 The need to consider less, well-defined objectives as well as explicit ones
 The need for deliberation in talking through priorities
ii. Content of curriculum
 Options to consider in selecting curriculum
  Caveats about the null curriculum
iii. Types of learning opportunities
 Emphasis on transforming goals and content into learning events that will be
of significance to students
iv. Organization of learning opportunities
 Emphasis on a nonlinear approach in order to encourage diverse student
outcomes
v. Organization of content areas
 Emphasis on cross-curricula organization of content
vi. Mode of presentation and mode of response
 Use of a number of modes of communication to widen educational
opportunities for students
vii. Types of evaluation procedure
 Use of a comprehensive range of procedures at different stages of the
process of curriculum development

The model may be effective in the context of developing and designing courses for
higher education. The influence of academic freedom and the changing nature of the
disciplines in higher education require a curriculum model that is less prescriptive, but
logical enough to embrace the artistic or creative ways in which faculty members
develop their courses.

d) Pawilen’s Model for Developing Curriculum

The author developed this model as one of

the major output of his doctoral
dissertation in the University of the
Philippines, Diliman. It is intended to help
curriculum workers develop curriculum
that is relevant and appropriate to the
Philippine context (Pawilen, 2011).

There are three curriculum sources in the

model: learners, society, and disciplines
(Tyler, 1949). The learner as a
curriculum source is very
important. Knowing their interests, needs, learning styles, thinking styles, culture, socio-
economic status, gender, and other variables are significant data for developing
curriculum. Cultural values, beliefs, attitudes, political and economic systems, and the
physical environment directly or indirectly affect curriculum development because the
learners are an integral part of the society. Understanding the nature of discipline is also
essential in curriculum development. It can provide data for making decisions as to what
contents in curriculum should be included in the curriculum and how to organize the
contents of the curriculum.
 The idea of curriculum influences was adopted from the model of Startk and Lattuca
(1997). Accordingly, these curriculum influences can be grouped into three: external,
internal and organizational. External factors are social factors that directly influence
curriculum decision-making. These factors are society, market demand, government,
disciplinary associations, and alumni. Internal factors are those that are related to the
school like faculty members, students, disciplines, and program mission. Organizational
influences are school factors but they are more concerned with the governance of the
program and support system like school resources, leadership, governance, and program
relationship (Stark & Lattuca, 1997). These curriculum influences provide important data
for conducting situational analysis.

You are assigned to a team for an activity based on the different curriculum development models. On
your field of specialization (English, Math, Filipino, or BEEd), make a curriculum development
using the model assign to your group.