About this course: Curriculum is a framework for guiding teaching and learning. This course provides an opportunity for you to consider the relationship between the teacher, the learner and the curriculum. Announcement for US based teachers: Coursera and its partners are proud to offer eligible teachers in the US free Course Certificates for this course and other high-quality teacher professional development courses, through the Connected effort announced by President Obama. To participate in this opportunity, US district leaders simply need to approve Coursera teacher professional development by completing a brief form at: www.coursera.org/tpd. US Teachers interested in this opportunity are also encouraged to follow the link to learn more and www.coursera.org/tpd. Once a district’s form has been verified, the district leader will be notified and teachers in the district will receive access to free verified certificates for Coursera professional development. Coursera and the Commonwealth Education Trust thank educators for the hard work they do every day and hope this opportunity will assist US teachers to continue developing their craft in a meaningful and flexible way.

Created by: Commonwealth Education Trust

Taught by: Associate Professor Suseela Malakolunthu, Director of the Leadership for Learning and Research Network
University of Malaya, Malaysia
Taught by: Professor John MacBeath, Professor Emeritus
University of Cambridge, UK

Commitment	3-4 hours per week
Language	English
How To Pass	Pass all graded assignments to complete the course.
User Ratings	4.5 stars Average User Rating 4.5See what learners said

Syllabus

WEEK 1

Getting to know the curriculum

This week introduces the course's emphasis on the relationship between the teacher and the curriculum. The sessions this week deal with three basic topics: the concept of curriculum, the teacher’s curriculum, and adapting to curriculum. These topics will help ...

5 videos, 6 readings

Graded: Quiz 1

WEEK 2

Curriculum development

In this week we explore the fundamental issues of curriculum in greater depth, examining mechanisms that underpin the entire system of education in a country. The topics covered are: curriculum formulation, the need for curriculum, curriculum process, and admi...

5 videos, 1 reading

Graded: Quiz 2

Graded: Peer Assessment 1

WEEK 3

Putting students first

The focus of this week is learning before teaching – putting students first. You will learn about the three-way relationship of the teacher, the curriculum, and the students. As a teacher, you have to be able to contextualize a curriculum that has been made av...

4 videos, 1 reading

Graded: Quiz 3

WEEK 4

Putting Curriculum to Work

This week we will bring together some important aspects of teaching and learning that were discussed in the previous weeks. The sessions cover issues of interpretation, designing learning activities, planning lessons, and bringing lessons to life.

5 videos, 1 reading

Graded: Quiz 4

Graded: Peer Assessment 2

WEEK 5

Theories and Theorists

We will begin this week by briefly summarizing some philosophical insights into education which have hugely influenced curriculum. You can become a better teacher by learning about philosophical contributions to the practice of teaching. We present the idea of...

4 videos, 1 reading

Graded: Quiz 5

WEEK 6

Optimizing Curriculum Outcomes

In this final week we will focus on four main topics: amplifying the role of curriculum, communities of learning, self-check, and the final dialogue. We will look at Lee Shulman’s theoretical work ‘pedagogical content knowledge’ (or PCK). Additionally, we will...

4 videos, 1 reading

Graded: Quiz 6

FAQs

How It Works

Coursework

Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.

Help from Your Peers

Connect with thousands of other learners and debate ideas, discuss course material, and get help mastering concepts.

Certificates

Earn official recognition for your work, and share your success with friends, colleagues, and employers.

Creators

Commonwealth Education Trust

The Commonwealth Education Trust invests in primary and secondary education and the professional development of teachers throughout their careers. Through education it seeks to enhance the opportunities for children from all walks of life to contribute to the sustainable development of their communities.

Ratings and Reviews

Rated 4.5 out of 5 of 82 ratings