Designing the Classroom Curriculum Designing the Classroom Curriculum | Page 36

Designing the Classroom Curriculum
Hilda Taba (1967) further developed Tyler’s (1949) approach. Her model contains the following steps:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
Diagnosing Needs
Formulating Objectives
Selecting Content
Organizing Content
Selecting Learning Experiences
Organizing Learning Experiences
Evaluating
Checking for Balance and Sequence
Taba (1967) is one of the earliest constructivists and along with Bruner popularized the idea of the “spiral
curriculum”. She wanted teachers to have a primary role in the curriculum development process. Since the
mid-1980s, the successor to this kind of approach is outcomes-based education in which teaching is centred
on the learning outcomes a teacher wants to achieve for her students. Students are expected to demonstrate
that they understand or can do (or both) certain preferred things at the end of teaching episodes. Such an
approach to curriculum planning and development, with its emphasis on intended outcomes, is then more
correctly described as a way of designing, delivering and documenting pedagogy.
(2) Interaction Model
The second illustrative model is the ‘Interaction Model’. The Interaction model specifies the same design
elements as the linear objectives model but it allows for interaction between curriculum elements during the
curriculum design process (Brady, 1995). The interactive model is thought to be an improvement on Tyler’s
approach because the developer or designer can move around the elements as the need arises thus breaking
the linear process. In doing so, the developer or designer must anticipate that change in one element affects
the other elements. Figure 3.2 illustrates the model.Brady and Kennedy (2010) claim that teachers have more
flexibility in this model to re-arrange curriculum elements to suit their curriculum development needs. But
as indicated earlier, the lack of focus on specified learning objectives that is a possibility in this model may
blur teaching goals. Put another way, if teachers are required to achieve the specifics of a mandated State
curriculum, irrespective of the difficulties and problems, then it can be argued that objectives are a high
priority.
Figure 3.2: Interaction Model
(3) Naturalistic Model
The third model is the ‘Naturalistic Model’. There are several published views in the literature about this model.
Walker’s naturalistic model (1971) focuses on the teacher and the teaching task. It is a process model in so far
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