Mandap, Francis Peter G.

August 15, 2018

BSEd – 4D (MAPEH) Mrs. Remedios Ocampo-Azarcon

V. Crafting the Curriculum

A. Curriculum Design Models

3. Problem Centered Design

B. Dimensions and Principles of Curriculum Design

PROBLEM CENTERED DESIGN

Problem-based learning is a learning strategy that incorporates specific
instructional preplanned activities, focused on a relevant learner problem, and
allows for the flexibility of the situation and the learners in the classroom. This
course model has its foundation in the theories of humanistic, learner-centered,
and problem-centered design approaches.

*This type of curriculum design is the perspective applied to the current K-

12 curriculum where in knowledge is not directly fed by the teachers to the
students. The teachers only act as the facilitators of learning and the students are
the one who are required to discover what is to be learned.

The goals of PBL are to help students develop flexible knowledge, effective
problem solving skills, self-directed learning, effective collaboration skills and
intrinsic motivation. Problem-based learning is a style of active learning.

*The higher order thinking skills is nurtured on problem centered design

wherein students are reinforced to think deeply and critically in order to acquire
knowledge. By this, students will be actively engaged to discovering what they
need to learn

Working in groups, students identify what they already know, what they
need to know, and how and where to access new information that may lead to
the resolution of the problem. The role of the instructor (known as the tutor in PBL)
is to facilitate learning by supporting, guiding, and monitoring the learning
process. The tutor must build students' confidence to take on the problem, and

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encourage the students, while also stretching their understanding. PBL represents
a paradigm shift from traditional teaching and learning philosophy, which is more
often lecture-based. The constructs for teaching PBL are very different from
traditional classroom/lecture teaching.

*As for us MAPEH teachers, once in our lives as teachers, we will conduct a
group activity in order to highlight each of our student’s capabilities. Through
group works, the students will use the brainstorming techniques to collect insight
to accomplish their work.

Advantages of Problem Centered Design Model

Like any other learning theories, problem based learning too has its
advantages and limitations when it is implemented in the curriculum. Since this
experiment began in medical education, strong opinions have been expressed
and questions raised regarding the effectiveness and educational efficiency of
problem based learning approach in teaching sciences basic to medicine. The
following are the advantages and limitations of problem based learning.

1. Time Consuming
Although students generally like and gain greater ability to solve real-
life problems in problem based learning courses, instructors of the
methodology must often invest more time to assess student learning and
prepare course materials, as compared to LBL instructors.
*PBL consumes more time not just in creating possible activities but
also in executing the activity itself and also assessing the product of the said
activity. It should be planned ahead and managed well, particularly when
it comes to time because we have limited time during class.

2. Traditional Assumptions of the Students

The problem of the problem based learning is the traditional
assumptions of the students. Most of the students might have spent their
previous years of education assuming their teacher as the main
disseminator of knowledge. Because of this understanding towards the

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 subject matter students may lack the ability to simply wonder about
something in the initial years of problem based learning.
*Traditionally will become a problem on the initial execution of the
PBL activities but this will be solved if the PBL technique is practiced often
to nurture the students on thinking critically and complicatedly.

3. Role of the Instructor

The instructors have to change their traditional teaching
methodologies in order to incorporate problem based learning. Their task is
to question students’ knowledge, beliefs, give only hints to correct their
mistakes and guide the students in their research. All these features of
problem based learning may be foreign to some instructors; hence they
find it difficult to alter their past habits.

*On PBL, the teacher should not tell the students directly what they
need to learn, the teachers are only guides towards what the students
need to learn. Like for us MAPEH teachers, we should let our students
discover what is needed to be discovered. We should only guide them at
first then, let them work by themselves.

4. Student’s Evaluation
The instructors have to adapt new assessment methods to evaluate
the students’ achievement. They have to incorporate written examinations
with modified essay questions, practical examinations, peer and self-
assessments etc.

5. Information Overload
Since it is self-directed study the students may not be sure of how
much self-directed study to do and what information is relevant and
important unless they are properly guided by the instructors.
Project based learning is one of the effective ways of delivering
education. It has several advantages over traditional methods but at the
same time few disadvantages. When we see in comparison with the
traditional method the students from project based learning curriculum

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 seem to have better knowledge retention and it also provides interesting
and challenging educational atmosphere to students. Therefore, the
beneficial effects of project based learning should not be underestimated.
It can make students’ learning experience very interesting and give
students very fascinating or enthralling.

*Upon too much exposure of students to opinions and learnings, they

may encounter information overload. As teachers, we should learn how to
limit what the students need to learn. We should master how to let them
think, but think deeply and specific. Generality of information may be a sign
of learning but on PBL, being specific is the key to attain learning
accurately.

DIMENSIONS AND PRINCIPLES OF CURRICULUM DESIGN

o DIMENSIONS OF CURRICULUM DESIGN

I. SCOPE
 All the content, topics, and learning experiences and organizing
threads comprising the educational plan.
 It does not only refers to cognitive content but also affective and
psychomotor.
 Broad, limited, simple, general are the words used to describe the
scope.
 Decision – making of a teacher is needed.

Considerations in determination of the Scope:

 Curricular Coverage
 Time
 Diversity
 Maturity of the learners
 Complexity of the content

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  Level of Education

 Scope of the Curriculum can be divided into chunks:

 Units
 Sub – units
 Chapters
 Sub – chapters

II. SEQUENCE
 Contents and experiences are arranged in hierarchical manner.
 A particular order in which related events, movements or things
follow each other.

 Principles of Sequence
a. Simple to Complex Learning – content and experiences are
organized from simple to complex, concrete abstract, easy to
difficult.
b. Prerequisite Learning – there are fundamental things to be
learned ahead.
c. Whole Part Learning – overview before the specific contents or
topics. It is related to gestalt principle.
d. Chronological Learning – the order of events is made as a basis
of sequencing the content and experiences.

FIVE MAJOR PRINCIPLES FOR ORGANIZING CONTENT IN UNITS (Posner &

Rudnitsky, 1994)

1. World – Related Sequence

 Space – spatial relations will be the basis for the sequence.

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  Time – from the earliest to the most recent.
 Physical Attributes – the physical characteristics of the
phenomena such as age, shape, size, brightness and others.

2. Concept – Related Sequence

 how ideas are related together in logical manner.

 Class Relations – group or set of things that share common

practices.
 Propositional Relations – a statement that asserts
something.

3. Inquiry – Related Sequence

 Based on the process of generating, discovering and verifying
knowledge, content and experiences are sequenced logically
and methodically.

4. Learning Related – Sequence

 how people learn?

 Empirical Pre-requisites – based on empirical studies

where the pre-requisite is required before learning the
next level.
 Familiarity – prior learning is important in sequence.
 Difficulty – easy content is taken ahead than the difficult
one.
 Interest – use interesting contents and experiences to
boost their appetite in learning.

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III. CONTINUITY
Vertical repetition and recurring appearances of the content
provide continuity in the curriculum. This process enables the
learner to strengthen the permanency of learning and
development of skills.
Gerome Bruner calls this spiral curriculum for he learners to
develop the ideas, these have to be developed and
redeveloped in a spiral fashion in increasing depth and breadth
as the learners advance.

*This deals to the idea of consistency and permanence of

knowledge wherein learning do no stop when knowledge is gain.
It is continually improve and practiced. One example for this is the
knowledge about notes. It should not only stop on learning this but
also it should be applied to creating your own piece.

IV. INTEGRATION
“Everything is integrated and interconnected. Life is a series of
emerging themes.” This is the essence of integration in the
curriculum design. Organization is drawn from the world themes
from real life concerns.
Subject – matter content or disciplined content lines are
erased and isolation is eliminated.

*The K12 curriculum has an idea of creating globally

competitive learners. Integration is one of the key to produce
these professional. We should not only focus to what is only found
locally but also what found outside the country. We should adapt
to the modern world, just like the use of computer in creating
artworks. Most schools apply technology from different countries
to teach to their students.

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V. ARTICULATION
It can be done either vertically or horizontally. In vertical
articulation, contents are arranged from level to level or grade to
grade so that the content in a lower level is connected to the next
level. Horizontal articulation happens at the same time like social
studies in grade six is related to science in grade six.

*Learning should not only fit the needs of the world but also it
should fit to the capabilities of the learner. In the principle of
articulation, the curriculum contents are arranged by level, from
simple to complex. Just like in MAPEH, for the lower years, basic
knowledge is taught to the students and as their year level
increase, the basic principles taught from the previous years are
applied by and by as they construct stronger foundation of
learning.

VI. BALANCE
Equitable assignment of content, time, experiences and other
elements to establish balance is needed in curriculum design. Too
much or too little of these elements maybe disastrous to the
curriculum. Keeping the curriculum “in balance” requires
continuous fine tuning and review for its effectiveness and
relevance.

*The efficiency and efficacy of a curriculum depends to the

balance of its contents. As for MAPEH teachers like us, we should
not only focus on skills alone nor on cognitive alone, should we
balance the work of the mind and the hands. The curriculum
applied should be perfectly balanced so that the acquisition of
knowledge will be attained effectively.

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 SAMPLE ACTIVITY:

*Analogy Activities

 Analyzing the painter of the Renaissance artworks to be shown

on the board.
 Matching the song to its composer

*Sequencing of events

 Arrange the chronological order of the history of photography.

 Arrange the order of the levels of puberty.

*Inquiry based activities

 Creation of a reaction paper about a documentary that the

main topic is about Drug Abuse/Population Increase in our
Country.
 Write an editorial that deals with your opinion to the teaching
of sex education to younger students.

*Poster/Slogan Making

 Creation of Posters/ slogans in relation to eating healthy.

*Concept related

 Create a concept map about notes Mind map about drugs

and drug abuse.

REFERENCES:
Arce, A. (2012). What is problem centered design model? Retrieved from
https://www.academia.edu/22818394/What_is_problem_centered_design_mod
el
Bilbao, P. (2014). Dimensions and Principles of Curriculum. Retrieved from
https://www.slideshare.net/Darkwind1/dimensions-and-principles-of-curriculum-
design-36432024