Shaping the College Curriculum (PDF)

Shaping the College Curriculum focuses on curriculum
development as an important decision-making process in colleges and
universities. The authors define curriculum as an academic plan
developed in a historical, social, and political context. They
identify eight curricular elements that are addressed,
intentionally or unintentionally, in developing all college courses
and programs. By exploring the interaction of these elements in
context they use the academic plan model to clarify the processes
of course and program planning, enabling instructors and
administrators to ask crucial questions about improving teaching
and optimizing student learning.

This revised edition continues to stress research-based
educational practices. The new edition consolidates and focuses
discussion of institutional and sociocultural factors that
influence curricular decisions. All chapters have been updated with
recent research findings relevant to curriculum leadership,
accreditation, assessment, and the influence of academic fields,
while two new chapters focus directly on learning research and its
implications for instructional practice. A new chapter drawn from
research on organizational change provides practical guidance to
assist faculty members and administrators who are engaged in
extensive program improvements. Streamlined yet still comprehensive
and detailed, this revised volume will continue to serve as an
invaluable resource for individuals and groups whose work includes
planning, designing, delivering, evaluating, and studying curricula
in higher education.

"This is an extraordinary book that offers not a particular
curriculum or structure, but a comprehensive approach for thinking
about the curriculum, ensuring that important considerations are
not overlooked in its revision or development, and increasing the
likelihood that students will learn and develop in ways
institutions hope they will. The book brings coherence and
intention to what is typically an unstructured, haphazard, and only
partially rational process guided more by beliefs than by
empirically grounded, substantive information. Lattuca and Stark
present their material in ways that are accessible and applicable
across planning levels (course, program, department, and
institution), local settings, and academic disciplines. It's an
admirable and informative marriage of scholarship and practice, and
an insightful guide to both. Anyone who cares seriously about how
we can make our colleges and universities more educationally
effective should read this book."

--Patrick T. Terenzini, distinguished professor and
senior scientist, Center for the Study of Higher Education, The
Pennsylvania State University