Curriculum Design Process

Curriculum Development
All curriculum design projects follow the design process as detailed below:  

Step 1: Syllabus Proposals
Curriculum development projects may be proposed by management and teachers from any of the Pacific Gateway campuses. Curriculum proposals may include ideas for new courses and revision of existing courses. Teacher initiated proposals must be submitted in writing (preferably via email) to their campus Manager. Proposals will then be forwarded on to the Director of Development for review. All curriculum proposals must be created in Microsoft Word and contain the information detailed in the Curriculum Proposal Checklist.

If the proposal is deemed feasible by the Board, then the terms and requirements of the project will be determined by the Director of Development . No Pacific Gateway staff member may initiate a project without the prior knowledge and approval of the Pacific Gateway Board. The final decision about any project rests with the Board. Project work that is deemed to be unsatisfactory, incomplete or abandoned will result in cancellation of the project.
Step 2: Curriculum Design
Once a curriculum proposal has been accepted by the Board, the Director of Development will define all areas of the project with the appointed Curriculum Designer. Once the project parameters have been clarified, the Curriculum Designer should then begin a rough draft of the curriculum, carefully following and addressing all areas of the project as agreed . All curricula should also follow the parameters in the Curriculum Design Format. Curriculum design is an interactive, dynamic process, therefore, in cases of inter-campus curriculum project collaboration, telephone and email will be used to maintain open communication.
Step 3: Curriculum Pilot
Once a rough draft is complete, the Curriculum Designer should submit it to the Director of Development. The Director of Development may suggest final changes, corrections and/or additions. The Curriculum Designer can then implement the feedback to polish the new curriculum. This collaborative process creates a clear, concise, pedagogically sound final copy of the curriculum. The new curriculum should tried in class as it is developed. The Curriculum Designer may also want to give his/her work to other teachers to try and give feedback on. During this piloting & polishing process, surveying teachers and students provides invaluable feedback!
Step 4: Submission to the Board
The Director of Development completes a final read through and amendment of the curriculum project then submits the final version to the Board for approval.
Step 5: Distribution
Upon approval by the Board, the Director of Development makes the new curriculum available to all campuses. The new curriculum project should then be made available online for access by all authorized.
Curriculum Review
To ensure that curriculum continues to meet the needs of learners, it is regularly reviewed. Curriculum reviews help determine if the learning objectives, materials, assessment tasks, etc are current and effective. This ensures a process of continuous improvement.

Feedback:
All feedback is appreciated and considered when reviewing or creating courses. You don’t have to submit a proposal or get involved in curriculum design to give feedback on Pacific Gateway’s curriculum. Please email feedback to jennifer@pacificgateway.net.au with the subject line “curriculum feedback”.