BINDURA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE EDUCATION FACULTY OF EDUCATION

PC 301 CURRICULUM DESIGN, IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION

Group seven (7).

Question: Examine the role of the teacher in curriculum design, implementation and evaluation

Group members Mungazi Agrippa Marange Alice Manyeruke Lovemore Magaya Shame Kapondeni Tungamirai Kapondo David Mabika Faith Mwaitirwa Ever Muzuro Russia Kuzinya Francis Mutoto Cosmas Dukwende Chiedza Mutetwa Takesure Ngirazi Precious Mapuranga Johannes Mavheneke Clemence Gwenhure Sukutai Zvoushe Sarah Shava Farai B1129976 B1129595 B1129596 B1027920 R9916748 B1130022 B1130021 B1129970 B1129694 B1129618 B1130402 B1130069 B1129482 B1130053 B1129600 B1129589 B1129590 B1129608 B1130112

Curriculum is a very crucial element in the education process. This write-up starts by defining curriculum, curriculum design, implementation and evaluation. This thesis would move on to outline the role of the teacher with respect to curriculum issues. A curriculum is an attempt to communicate the essential principles and features of an educational proposal in such a form that it is open to critical scrutiny and capable of effective translation into practice, (Stenhouse, 1975). Curriculum is a plan or program of all experiences which the learner encounters under the direction of a school, planned or hidden. Curriculum design is a stage that focus on content or topic selection according to agreed upon criteria, organising content or topics, relating topics to the educational environment, organising learning experiences, selecting

instructional strategies and selecting assessment. Curriculum implementation is an interaction between those who have created the program and those who are charged to deliver it (Ornstein and Hunkins, 1998). Curriculum evaluation is the analysis and comparisons of actual progress versa prior plans, oriented towards improving plans for future implementation? (www.sil.org/lingualinks). Curriculum evaluation is a continuous assessment using methods like testing, presentations to find out whether the program or plan is being successfully implemented. The teacher is responsible for selecting the content to be taught which is relevant to time, resources, setting and culture. It is the classroom practitioner who breaks down the content into teachable units in correct sequence. Without the teacher the process of curriculum design lacks meaning. The teacher designs, enriches and modifies the curriculum to suit the learners characteristics. Program development is initiated at the teacher level, that is,

the teacher is involved in the drafting of a new curriculum. The teacher is then involved in the trial of the proposed curriculum if there is a new curriculum being designed. Teachers are also part of textbook committee faculty, selection boards, school evaluation committees or textbook writers themselves. Therefore, teachers become architects of school curriculum. On the other hand, the developed curricula remain inactive if it is not implemented. At this point the teachers role shifts from designer to implementer and become responsible for selecting and deciding what to teach from the prescribed syllabus curriculum. Stenhouse (1979) argues that implementation is the manner in which the teacher selects and mixes the various aspects of knowledge contained in a curriculum document. Teachers are the main actors in a curriculum. They play a decisive and crucial role of translating curriculum intentions into reality, that is, theory is put into practise. On their own, curriculum documents are mere papers, it is the teacher who interprets, plans and executes the curriculum on a day to day basis. A curriculum is broad based; only the teacher knows the demographics, diversity and abilities of her students. It is he or she who has to customize it in order to cater for individual needs and requirements of the class. She or he is the one who can determine/choose which method of instruction would be best suited to the class so as to achieve the larger curricular objectives. It is the teacher who identifies activities, projects and the teaching & learning aids. Resources are generated or sourced or created. Time lines are fixed from annual to term or semester to daily. Assessment and evaluation tools, techniques and methods are determined and implemented. It is the teacher who assesses a curriculums effectiveness in utilizing the best learning strategies for students success and to judge if a curriculum provides appropriate instruction at three levels of differentiation: remedial,

instructional and advanced. The teacher also examines the curriculums objectives to determine the relevance of the materials generated or sourced or created. The educator determines if student outcomes and curriculum objectives are properly aligned and implemented. The teacher should provide informed opinion to decision makers on the state of affairs of certain curriculum programmes or syllabi. teachers to evaluate themselves. In conclusion, the role of the teacher plays a pivotal role in all the stages of curriculum design. Thus there should be always partnership between the teachers and the curriculum developers, with the teacher at the centre. He/she is the one who is aware of the cultural setting in which the curriculum is to be implemented and more knowledgeable of the recipients of the curriculum content and is the one who put the curriculum theory into practice. Curriculum evaluation also enables

REFERENCES

Gatawa, B.S.M (1990). The politics of the school curriculum: An introduction. Harare:Jongwe Press. Ornstein, A.C and Hunkins,F.P.(1998). Curriculum foundations, principles and issues. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Stenhouse, L. (1975).An Introduction to curriculum research and development. London: Heinemann.

Internet sources: www.sil.org/lingualinks)