NCAE Curriculum Design 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which curriculum approach starts with identifying desired results before planning assessment and learning activities?
- Tyler's Rational Model
- Backward Design (Understanding by Design) (Correct answer)
- Spiral Curriculum
- Activity-Based Curriculum
Correct answer: Backward Design (Understanding by Design)
Backward Design (Wiggins & McTighe's Understanding by Design) begins with desired learning results, then determines acceptable evidence of learning, and finally plans learning experiences.
Backward Design (UbD) is a three-stage model: (1) Identify desired results, (2) Determine acceptable evidence, (3) Plan learning experiences. This contrasts with traditional 'forward design' where activities are planned first. UbD is widely used in DepEd curriculum development.
Question 2: What does the term 'scope' refer to in curriculum design?
- The order in which topics are taught
- The breadth and depth of content covered at a particular level (Correct answer)
- The strategies used to deliver lessons
- The assessment tools used to measure learning
Correct answer: The breadth and depth of content covered at a particular level
Scope refers to the range (breadth) and depth of content that is included in the curriculum at a given level.
In curriculum terminology, 'scope' defines what content, skills, and values will be included and at what level of complexity. 'Sequence' refers to the order in which content is taught. Together, 'scope and sequence' form the core organizational framework of any curriculum document, including DepEd's Curriculum Guides.
Question 3: Which level of curriculum is represented by the written lesson plans that a teacher prepares for daily instruction?
- Intended curriculum
- Implemented curriculum (Correct answer)
- Experienced curriculum
- Hidden curriculum
Correct answer: Implemented curriculum
The implemented curriculum is what teachers actually deliver in the classroom, including daily lesson plans and actual instruction.
Curriculum scholars distinguish between: Intended (planned in policy documents), Implemented (what teachers actually teach), Experienced (what students actually learn), and Hidden (unwritten norms implicitly taught). A teacher's lesson plan belongs to the implemented curriculum level.
Question 4: Jerome Bruner's Spiral Curriculum is based on the principle that:
- Content should be taught from easiest to hardest, never revisited
- Core concepts should be taught at increasing levels of complexity across grade levels (Correct answer)
- Students should choose their own learning content
- The curriculum should focus only on vocational skills
Correct answer: Core concepts should be taught at increasing levels of complexity across grade levels
Bruner's Spiral Curriculum revisits fundamental concepts repeatedly across grade levels, deepening understanding at each return.
Jerome Bruner proposed that any subject can be taught to any child at any age in some honest form, revisiting core ideas with increasing complexity. This 'spiraling' is evident in the DepEd K-12 curriculum, where topics like fractions and Philippine history appear across multiple grade levels with increasing depth.
Question 5: What are the three domains of learning in Bloom's Taxonomy that curriculum designers must address?
- Reading, Writing, Arithmetic
- Cognitive, Affective, Psychomotor (Correct answer)
- Social, Emotional, Physical
- Academic, Vocational, Technical
Correct answer: Cognitive, Affective, Psychomotor
Bloom's Taxonomy covers the Cognitive (knowledge), Affective (attitudes/values), and Psychomotor (physical skills) domains.
Bloom's three domains — Cognitive (intellectual knowledge and skills), Affective (attitudes, values, emotions), and Psychomotor (physical and kinesthetic skills) — represent the full range of human learning. DepEd's K-12 curriculum uses these as the framework for defining learning competencies.
Question 6: What is the PRIMARY purpose of curriculum evaluation?
- To rank schools based on performance
- To determine whether the curriculum is achieving its intended outcomes (Correct answer)
- To reduce the number of subjects taught
- To create standardized tests for all students
Correct answer: To determine whether the curriculum is achieving its intended outcomes
Curriculum evaluation assesses whether the curriculum is effective in achieving its goals and producing desired student outcomes.
Curriculum evaluation is a systematic process of determining the worth and effectiveness of a curriculum. It examines whether learning outcomes are being achieved and whether content is relevant. Findings are used to revise and improve the curriculum — as seen in DepEd's regular review of K-12 Curriculum Guides.
NCAE Curriculum Design 2
Which curriculum approach starts with identifying desired results before planning assessment and learning activities?