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Write an essay in which you compare and contrastLinks to an external site. the interdisciplinary Links to an external site.design, the traditional, subject-based design of curriculum, Links to an external site.
and multidisciplinary approach to curriculum design Links to an external site.
- Explain the pros and cons of each approach
- include a Venn Diagram or other diagram Links to an external site.or chart to illustrate your findings.
- Include citations from your textbooks to support your findings plus at least 2 articles.
Part 2:
Develop an argument Links defending the approach you prefer.
- Support your discussion with a minimum of two (2) peer-reviewed Links to an external site.
- Use both of your textbooks to support your position.
- Include APA citations for all resources used to substantiate your stance in the paper.
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A3 Models of Curriculum Design
Education without a curriculum is directionless because curriculum is the central guide for all instructors regarding what is essential for teaching and learning. A curriculum is a critical element in any formal education system aimed at providing quality education to learners (Holley, 2017). Curriculum is often misunderstood as syllabus, textbook, and content, however, it is something much more than that. The concept of curriculum is dynamic to meet the changes that occur in society. There are different types of curricula, the teacher decides which to use based on various factors (Holley, 2017). The purpose of this paper is to discuss different types of curricula for better understanding.
Interdisciplinary Curriculum
The interdisciplinary curriculum provides students with the opportunity to work with knowledge derived from multiple disciplines. This approach to curriculum design combines many school subjects into a single active project. In an interdisciplinary approach to curriculum design, students explore multiple disciplines using other student-centered learning approaches. According to Holley (2017), interdisciplinary efforts originate from the collaborative efforts of faculty from different disciplines. Interdisciplinary allows students to gain common skills, ideas, and concepts across disciplines.
The interdisciplinary curriculum design has several advantages and disadvantages. For example, the approach is advantageous because it enhances critical thinking and problem-solving abilities (Gordon II et al., 2019). The approach also promotes structural knowledge such as how information is related and organized. Knowledge structure has a central role in memory and information recall. Learning experiences through the interdisciplinary approach provides students or learners with a unified perception of commonly held knowledge and gives them the ability to perceive new relationships and hence, create new systems, deals, and structures.
There are certain limitations of interdisciplinary curriculum design. This approach to curriculum development is associated with certain challenges including developing interdisciplinary courses, financing interdisciplinary programs, and sustaining interdisciplinary initiatives (Holley, 2017). Interdisciplinary programs are expensive and hence tend to struggle with revenue generation; however, funding mechanisms vary based on institutions or programs.
Traditional Curriculum Design
Traditionally, the curriculum was referred to as a course of studies; the term that described a program related only to various subjects. It was a static viewpoint that only emphasized textbook knowledge or factual information (Sherpa, 2018). The primary aim of a traditional curriculum was to help the learner memorize the contents; hence, the name was appropriate for that time in history. In addition, the traditional curriculum provided preserved factual knowledge transmitted from the instructor to the learner (Sherpa, 2018). Students or learners mastered the knowledge through recitation, memorization, and drill. This information is to be reproduced when the teacher demands so. Traditional curriculum design was advantageous because it enabled learning. It included oral instruction, reading, and reflection on facts (Gordon II et al., 2019). Traditionally, curriculum design focused on the transmission of discrete pieces of information such as facts and formulas. It allows learners to develop social and interpersonal skills.
In-person teaching is promoted a higher level of student engagement with teachers. It also encouraged interaction among students. However, there are some limitations to the traditional approach to curriculum design (Sherpa, 2018). For example, traditional curriculum design tends to pay little attention to whether students use the information in any real context. Traditional learning is based on repetition and memorization of facts that students care less about and retain at lower rates after testing (Sherpa, 2018). Additionally, the traditional approach to curriculum design does not promote critical thinking skills, or the ability to apply the information through experience and reasoning.
Subject-Based Design of Curriculum
The subject-based design reflects a curriculum that is divided into different subjects such as math and chemistry. In this approach, every subject is distinct without the intention of making cross-curricular links. The subject-based curriculum focuses on these subjects rather than the individuals (Moss, 2019). The designers create the curriculum with a specific purpose in mind, which is to improve the learners’ knowledge base and overall learning. The subject is often believed to have value and the student is to benefit from it in the future, especially after school (Moss, 2019). There is always a standard, set for all students to pass the subject, or else they may repeat the subject. Furthermore, progress is often measured based on the extent to which the students have mastered the subject matter.
The subject-based curriculum has some advantages. For instance, it provides a logical way to subdivide the scheme of learning that students must follow. Learning is easily standardized and students can move between learning institutions and progress from one class to another (Gordon II et al., 2019). On the other hand, there are a few cons related to the subject-based curriculum. The primary drawback of this approach to curriculum is that it is not student-centered. This approach to curriculum design (subject based) is more knowledge focused than skills focused.
Multidisciplinary Approach to Curriculum Design
Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary learning are two distinct words but can be confusing. Multidisciplinary derives knowledge from different disciplines but stays within their boundaries, however, interdisciplinary analyzes, synthesizes, and harmonizes links between disciplines into a coordinated and coherent whole (Gordon II et al., 2019). In a multidisciplinary approach, knowledge is offered in a way that allows learners to experience related contributions from various disciplines to a topic, however, no effort is made to understand or synthesize these contributions (Gordon II et al., 2019). Even so, students are often exposed to content from various disciplines, but a line is drawn where now they are not allowed to question the extant disciplinary structures.
The advantages of this approach include building relationships with students across disciplines. In addition, sharing knowledge with people from other disciplines expands students’ knowledge base when interacting with the brightest minds. Students also gain various skills including problem-solving, critical thinking, communication, and others (Gordon II et al., 2019). One of the cons of the multidisciplinary curriculum is that students may become distracted from the final learning goal when they opt for a variety of subjects or courses.
Conclusion
Curriculum is a crucial component of learning because it guides the entire learning process. Several types of curricular designs can be adopted to promote learning. Some of these curricula designs include interdisciplinary, traditional, subject-based, and multi-disciplinary designs. Each one of these designs is useful in one way or the other. Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary designs allow students to explore multiple disciplines. However, they have a slight difference as explained in this paper. The primary aim of the traditional curriculum was to help the learner memorize the contents. The subject-based curriculum is focused on specific subjects such as math and history. All these curricular designs have both advantages and disadvantages as explained in this paper.
References
Gordon II, William R., Taylor, R.T., & Oliva, P.F. (2019). Developing the curriculum (9th Ed.). Pearson.
Holley, K. A. (2017). Interdisciplinary curriculum and learning in higher education. In Oxford research encyclopedia of education. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.138
Moss A. (2019). Curriculum development in elementary education. EDTECH.
Sherpa, K. A. (2018). Comparative Study on Traditional and Contemporary Curriculum. International Journal of Research in Humanities, Arts and Literature, 6(5), 345-350. https://oaji.net/articles/2017/488-1528699578.pdf