MAT Curriculum Design & Development 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which curriculum design approach organizes content around student interests and real-world problems rather than traditional subject boundaries?
- Subject-centered design
- Learner-centered design
- Problem-centered design (Correct answer)
- Discipline-based design
Correct answer: Problem-centered design
Problem-centered design organizes curriculum around real-life problems and social issues that students will encounter beyond school.
Question 2: A teacher designs a unit where students first explore concepts broadly, then revisit them with increasing depth each year. This reflects which curricular principle?
- Scope and sequence
- The spiral curriculum (Correct answer)
- Vertical alignment
- Backward design
Correct answer: The spiral curriculum
The spiral curriculum, introduced by Bruner, revisits core concepts repeatedly with increasing complexity across grade levels.
Question 3: When a school district maps what is taught at each grade level to ensure no gaps or unnecessary repetition, this process is called:
- Curriculum auditing
- Curriculum mapping (Correct answer)
- Lesson sequencing
- Standards alignment
Correct answer: Curriculum mapping
Curriculum mapping is the process of documenting and aligning what is taught across grade levels to identify gaps and redundancies.
Question 4: Which of the following BEST describes the 'null curriculum'?
- Content explicitly taught in the classroom
- The unintended lessons conveyed through school culture
- Subject matter deliberately excluded from instruction (Correct answer)
- Skills assessed on standardized tests
Correct answer: Subject matter deliberately excluded from instruction
Elliot Eisner coined 'null curriculum' to describe content and perspectives that are intentionally or unintentionally left out of formal instruction.
Question 5: In backward design (UbD), what is the FIRST step a curriculum developer takes?
- Plan daily instructional activities
- Select appropriate textbooks and resources
- Identify desired learning outcomes (Correct answer)
- Design summative assessments
Correct answer: Identify desired learning outcomes
Backward design begins by identifying desired results (learning goals) before planning assessments or instruction.
Question 6: A curriculum committee reviews whether the written curriculum is actually being delivered as intended in classrooms. They are examining the relationship between the ______ and ______ curriculum.
- Formal and hidden
- Written and taught (Correct answer)
- Assessed and learned
- Intended and null
Correct answer: Written and taught
The written curriculum is the official documented plan, while the taught curriculum is what teachers actually deliver in practice.
Question 7: Which evaluation model focuses on determining a program's merit by comparing its outcomes to pre-established goals and objectives?
- Goal-free evaluation
- Connoisseurship model
- Tyler's goal-attainment model (Correct answer)
- Responsive evaluation
Correct answer: Tyler's goal-attainment model
Tyler's goal-attainment model evaluates curriculum effectiveness by measuring the degree to which stated objectives have been achieved.
MAT Curriculum Design & Development 2
Which curriculum design approach organizes content around student interests and real-world problems rather than traditional subject boundaries?