Curriculum planning in autonomous colleges

What is curriculum ?
Curriculum is defined as all the experiences provided by the institution which are designed to foster student learning. The short  definition of curriculum is"What you teach to students".Curriculum is a plan or blue print which includes a set of goals, objectives and topics with developed content. The word curriculum is derived from Latin word currere meaning 'to run'.In United States of America, curriculum means the course of study or programme of study or plan for learning. A syllabus describes the content of a study programme. A syllabus is uni-dimensional because it merely presents the content or subject matter to be studied by a learner. But a curriculum is three dimensional because it takes into account the needs of the learner,the content and the instructional methodology.

Concept of curriculum :
Curriculum is a body of subjects or subject matter prepared by the teachers for the students to learn. It refers to the total learning experiences of the learner.The concept of curriculum is as dynamic as the changes that occur in a society.

3 - basic orientations to curriculum :

1. Transmissive - information to be  transmitted from teacher to students.
2. Tansactive - what should be learned?
3. Transformative - the content and methods that are truly empowering for the students. 

7 - common concepts of curriculum :

1. Scope and sequence
2. Syllabus
3. Content outline - discipline based knowledge and skills.
4. Achievement standards
5. Text books
6. Course of study
7. Planned experiences.

4 - phases of curriculum process

Design phase --->Development phase--->Implementation phase--->Evaluation phase

          <--------Feedback Loops------------------------------------------------------->

Dualistic Model

Curriculum  -------------> What is taught?

Instruction --------------->How it's taught?

Curriculum and instruction are mutually interdependent.

2 - approaches to curriculum planning : 

1. Academic approach
2. Competency based approach

7 - steps of Curriculum development

1. Diagnosis of learner needs
2. Formulation of learning objectives
3. Selection of leaning content
4. Organization of learning content
5. Selection of learning experiences
6. Organization of learning experiences
7. Determination of what to evaluate and means of doing it  (Taba,1962). 

Suggestions of Gorden Cawett (1990) of Association of supervision and curricular development (ASCD) in 'principles to guide course planning'

1. offer balanced core of learning in each course.
2. include in-depth study of a limited number of important topics.
3. Design course outcomes to focus on results.
4. Design inbuilt possibilities for assessment of originality, insightfulness and problem solving.
5. Design courses to encourage active involvement.