The ultimate guide to curriculum design: the must-know principles, processes, and types

When homeschooling your kids, there’s a lot you need to think about.

From defining exactly what your children need to learn, to understanding how you’re actually going to teach it, building a homeschool curriculum is no easy task.

And it’s best to get it all sorted out before you even begin your first lesson. This is why it’s worth taking the time to better understand the concept of curriculum design and how it can be applied to your teaching.

With that in mind, we want to share the best practices of curriculum design and demonstrate how you can use them to transform the way you homeschool.

And don’t worry if you’ve never even heard the term before. We’re going to start from the very beginning. You might just find that you’re more familiar with it than you think!

What exactly is curriculum design?

Simply put, “curriculum design” describes the deliberate and considered creation of an educational course or program.

It determines what will be taught in school, how and when it will be taught, who will learn it, and how that learning will be assessed.

Usually (i.e. in a school environment), curriculum design is directed by the government. But when you homeschool your children, the responsibility of building a curriculum will fall, at least partially, to you.

And that’s why it’s so important to understand curriculum design and how it works in action.

The six steps of curriculum design

Let’s break curriculum design, and its basic principles, down into six simple steps.

1. Establish the intent of your curriculum

The first step is to define the purpose of your homeschool curriculum. What are you trying to achieve? Use this stage to set out your mission statement and base all of your curriculum decisions on this one focused goal.

2. Define your pupil entitlement

This refers to looking beyond traditional teaching, and choosing the extracurricular activities you’ll use to complement lessons and enrich your child’s learning. If you’ve planned for, say, three trips over the next school year, you’re already on the right track.

3. Develop the content of your curriculum

This is where you really need to think about what you’re going to teach, and why.

At this stage, you should consult your state’s laws to ensure you’re complying with any homeschool requirements. You should also think about your child’s future: what subjects might be important to their educational progress?

4. Plan the delivery

Once you know what you’re going to teach, you’ve then got to plan exactly how you’re going to teach it. This includes building a schedule, deciding on different modules, and bringing a defined structure to your child’s day.

5. Get the right resources

In order to effectively deliver your curriculum, you’re going to need the right resources to support your child’s education. This includes sourcing the books, equipment, and worksheets you’ll use to teach.

Click here for ready-to-use worksheets and lesson plans that’ll help you teach your child the best you can.

6. Review and evaluate

Curriculum design is an ongoing process. You should frequently review and evaluate how it’s working and how your child’s learning is progressing. If your child is struggling in a particular subject, you might want to alter your curriculum to provide further support.

The key is to stay open to change and allow your curriculum design to evolve alongside your child’s development.

Curriculum design models

We’ve talked about the steps involved in designing your curriculum, but how do we put them into action? And what are we aiming for?

There are three models of curriculum design. They’re all underpinned by the above steps, but each require slightly different decisions at each stage.

Learner-centered curriculum design

As you might expect, learner-centered curriculum design is about building a curriculum that’s targeted to the needs of specific students. This approach is about recognizing that all students are different and that a standardized curriculum is not necessarily the best way for a child to learn.

Although learner-centered curriculum design is tricky to implement in schools, this style of teaching is very well suited to homeschooling. Take advantage of the freedom and individual attention available in the homeschool environment and construct a curriculum that’s truly customized to your child’s needs.

Subject-centered curriculum design

While a learner-centered approach is ideal for homeschooling, a subject-centered curriculum is what occurs in most schools. This model is focused on building a standardized curriculum for all, as opposed to catering to different styles of learning. The benefit being that you’re falling in line with more traditional educational approaches.

If a student isn’t responsive to this style of teaching, the lack of flexibility here means that some children could fall behind and feel unmotivated in their studies. If this is the case with your child, it might be worth considering whether an alternative approach would be better.

Problem-centered curriculum design

Problem-centered curriculum design encourages students to look at a problem and formulate a solution. It’s about taking a real-life attitude, and teaching students how to actively solve problems.

This is a great method for preparing students for the real world, but it doesn’t suit all learner types. When homeschooling, it’s a good idea to incorporate elements of problem-centered design, without necessarily delivering a full curriculum in this way.

What’s the secret to successful homeschool curriculum design?

The key to effective curriculum design in a homeschool setting is to build a curriculum that’s specifically crafted to accommodate the needs, skills, and learning style of your child. Center your curriculum around these three elements, and you’ll design a curriculum that will let your child shine.

So long as you comply with your state’s homeschool laws and cover the essential subjects, curriculum design in homeschooling offers the rare chance to teach your child in a way that’s perfectly suited for them.

And KidsKonnect is here for support every step of the way. To get started, explore our collection of thousands of worksheets that will enrich any curriculum, simplify your work as a teacher, and help boost your child’s learning.