3. APPROACH TO CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

Curriculum design decisions are taken by laying major or exclusive emphasis on each of the three primary data sources namely, the organized subject matter specialization, the individual need based social demand and job analysis, which have their own merits and demerits/limitations.

In case of organized subject matter specialization, which is the most commonly used data source for decisions to curriculum design, an organized body of knowledge is thought to be essential to the continuous progress of civilization. A logical organization of the contents is emphasized in this model of curriculum design, so that a logically organized body of content can be taught to the students efficiently and effectively. Separate subjects, multi-disciplinary, inter-disciplinary and broad fields are the variations possible in this approach. The major limitations of this approach are that it tends to compartmentalize and fragment the knowledge, overlooks individual differences in the students and is rather passive and somewhat superficial to learning.

In the model based on student or individual needs as a major data source, the needs, interests, abilities and past experiences of the students are chosen as the basis for curriculum decisions. The subject areas become a means by which students pursue problems or topics, derived from their interest. In this approach, major emphasis is on problem-solving and life-long learning, with components of flexibility, cooperation and personalized treatment. The major limitations, according to some critics of this model, are that the curriculum design based on this model does not prepare the students adequately for life, does not assure common learning outcomes and has administrative difficulties involved in its execution.

In the model based on social demand and job analysis as a major data source, contents of the curriculum design are derived from the needs of society or communities. Problem-solving, human relations and social skills are given major emphasis in this design. The inter-relations among the curricular elements are broadly defined with an aim to enable students earn their livelihood and groom them to be acceptable persons in the society. The major limitations of this approach are that scope and sequence of curriculum are not clearly defined and that there is administrative difficulty to implement the curriculum.

Besides above models, some popular models of curriculum design are "competency based approach", "process as contents", "humanistic view", "core curriculum" etc.

However, the model incorporating the merits of above data sources and based on the "systems approach" is recommended for technical education programmes. The schematic representation of various stages in curriculum development using "systems approach" is given in Fig.1 (Appendix -I). The suggestive format for curriculum document is attached as Appendix -II. It may be observed from Fig. 1 that the activity analysis is undertaken to determine the programme objectives and more specifically the skills/competencies, which will be developed amongst the students. In the implementation of the curriculum, stress is laid on the development of these competencies through a variety of learning experiences. The evaluation of the students' performance, both formative and summative, is carried out to determine the extent to which these competencies have been achieved by the students.

Introduction Philosophy of CD Approach to CD Role of ET Attributes of ET Curricular Components

Combination of A &CC Strategies for CI Curriculum Evaluation ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

FEEDBACK

CD : Curriculum Development ; ET : Engineering Technicians ; A& CC :Attributes and Curriculum Components
CI : Curriculum Implementation