Curriculum design is an essential part of teaching at all levels of education. Whether you are an early childhood educator or a professor at a college, university, or technical program, you must know how to plan the units and lessons that will educate the students you teach.
What is Curriculum Design?
Curriculum is the lesson an educator will use to teach a class. When designing a curriculum, one must create the courses as well as the materials, tests, and resources that go along with the lesson. When designing a curriculum there are typically five key points to include: the aim of the course and learning outcomes (what the lesson is intended to teach), the syllabus, methods for learning and teaching, as well as coordinating assessments.
Is Curriculum Design Only For Teachers?
Definitely not. Some of the world’s most successful enterprises use materials created by trained Curriculum designers to implement training programs used to improve the performance of:
- Sales and Customer Service
- New Employee Orientation
- Launches for new products and services
- Field Training
Becoming a Curriculum Designer
Not just anyone can design curriculum that shapes the experience of learners. Curriculum designers have a fine tuned education, experience within their field, and an excellent skill set.
- Degree: Candidates for curriculum design positions must have the minimum of a bachelor’s degree, with some employers requiring graduate degrees.
- Field of Study: Curriculum designers have typically studied education and instruction with a focus on developing learning materials and curriculum.
- Professional experience: To earn a well paying position with a reputable curriculum design firm or textbook company, a candidate must have approximately 3-5 years of experience developing materials.
- Salary and Job Outlook: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, curriculum designers, also known as instructional coordinators earn a median annual salary of $62,270. These types of jobs are expected to grow approximately at the national average of 7% through 2024.
- Skills To Have: Curriculum designers must have knowledge in the areas of which they are designing curriculum, as well as the ability to collaborate with other designers, and the ability to self motivate. Web design skills and the ability to develop interactive online curriculum is also necessary.
Related Resource: What is Educational Instructional Design?
Take The Next Step Towards Your Curriculum Design Career
Are you a self-motivated learner? Are you excited by the idea of creating new and innovative learning materials to shape the learning experiences of students in a variety of educational settings? If you answered yes to these questions and are ready to embark on an enriching higher education journey, this career is perfect for you! With numerous online and on-campus options for degree programs in Education and Curriculum Design, there is sure to be a program that meets your needs.
Follow