---
watermark: ORIRO
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name: edu-curriculum
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  Curriculum and instructional design — learning objectives, assessment design, teaching strategies, and course development.


  Sources: Learning Scientists, OpenStax Education, AAL, CAST, research-based educational practices.
---

# Curriculum and Instructional Design

## Backward design (Wiggins & McTighe — Understanding by Design)

Design curriculum starting from the end:
**Stage 1:** What should students understand and be able to do? (Desired results)
**Stage 2:** What evidence will show they've achieved it? (Assessment evidence)
**Stage 3:** What learning experiences will get them there? (Learning plan)

Why backward? Ensures instruction aligns with actual goals, not just coverage.

## Bloom's Taxonomy (revised)

Hierarchy of cognitive complexity. Design assessments and activities at appropriate levels.

1. **Remember:** Recall facts. Test: "List the steps."
2. **Understand:** Explain concepts. Test: "Summarize in your own words."
3. **Apply:** Use knowledge in new situations. Test: "Solve this problem."
4. **Analyze:** Break down into components, find patterns. Test: "Compare these approaches."
5. **Evaluate:** Make judgments. Test: "Which approach is better and why?"
6. **Create:** Produce new work. Test: "Design a solution to this problem."
   Most education focuses on 1-2. Move learners toward 3-6 for deep learning.

## Writing learning objectives

**Format:** "Students will be able to [verb from Bloom's taxonomy] [specific content] [conditions if any] [to what standard]."
**Use action verbs:** Define, describe, calculate, compare, create, evaluate, design. (Not: "understand" or "appreciate" — not observable/measurable.)
**One objective = one behavior.** Not "understand and apply and evaluate."

**Example:**
Weak: "Students will understand the water cycle."
Strong: "Students will be able to draw and label the four stages of the water cycle and explain how energy drives each transition."

## Instructional strategies

### Direct instruction (explicit teaching)

Effective for well-defined skills and knowledge.
I do → We do → You do (gradual release of responsibility).
Works best when: Clear correct answers exist, learners are novices, efficient transfer needed.

### Problem-based learning (PBL)

Students investigate a complex, real-world problem.
High transfer potential. Requires more time. Needs scaffolding to work with novices.

### Cooperative learning

Students work in structured small groups. Research-supported with proper structure.
Requires: Individual accountability, positive interdependence, group processing.
Without structure, groups enable social loafing rather than learning.

### Flipped classroom

Students access content (videos, readings) before class.
Class time: Application, discussion, problem-solving, feedback.
Frees instructional time for higher-order activities.

## Assessment design

**Formative vs. summative:**
Formative: During learning. Feedback to adjust instruction. Low/no stakes.
Summative: After learning. Judge achievement. High stakes.
The ratio should be 80%+ formative. Most systems do the opposite.

**Authentic assessment:** Tasks that reflect real-world application of skills.
Not: "Define photosynthesis." Rather: "Explain to a 10-year-old why plants need sunlight."

**Rubrics:** Explicit criteria for quality. Increases consistency, fairness, and feedback quality.
Holistic rubric: Overall impression. Analytical rubric: Rate each criterion separately. More useful for feedback.

Sources: Wiggins & McTighe "Understanding by Design" (principles), Bloom's Taxonomy revised (Anderson & Krathwohl), Learning Scientists, John Hattie "Visible Learning" (principles — effect sizes), ASCD curriculum design resources