Source: https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-subject-level-curriculum-seneca-certified/2-1-2-curriculum-rationale [Revision notes](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes.md) › [Teacher CPD](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd.md) › [CPD: Subject Level Curriculum - Seneca Certified](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-subject-level-curriculum-seneca-certified.md) › Curriculum Rationale # Curriculum Rationale CPD: Subject Level Curriculum (by Kat Howard and Claire Hill), topic 2.1.2 ## What Should a Strong Curriculum Achieve? A strong curriculum should aim to do the following: ### Convey subject importance ![Convey subject importance](https://image-v2.cdn.app.senecalearning.com/2018-04/96668ac7-1622-4cab-b577-c028935ca686/shutterstock_614463005.jpg) - Curriculum should convey our subject as concrete and meaningful in the context of the wider world. ### Think outside the building ![Think outside the building](https://image-v2.cdn.app.senecalearning.com/2018-08/d467714b-128c-49f1-bbaa-3369fc0ed103/apprenticeship-school-work-job.jpg) - A strong curriculum reaches beyond immediate context, beyond exam specifications and beyond the remit of a national curriculum framework. ### Relate to students ![Relate to students](https://image-v2.cdn.app.senecalearning.com/2018-08/7879dd02-2d87-477b-8a46-78e0fd9ea750/choir-practice-school.jpg) - A strong curriculum should enable students to form a personal connection with the subject knowledge. - Students can then translate this knowledge to the world around them. ### Draw deep connections ![Draw deep connections](https://image-v2.cdn.app.senecalearning.com/2018-07/ca5908f2-af2e-42f0-810f-061e91849320/WAN-Wired-Area-Connection-City-Lights-Night-.jpg) - The patterns and connections across components need to go deep and be insightful. - This is to help students create meaning and build a stronger schematic framework for the subject. ### Acknowledge history ![Acknowledge history](https://image-v2.cdn.app.senecalearning.com/2018-09/bd2500fa-24d7-437b-933e-cc075d598c6c/Shakespeare-.jpg) - The curriculum should pay respect to its origins and traditions as part of its ongoing evolution. - It should also include the changes or developments of the subject over time, to expose students to the subjective and the changeable in our discipline. ### Balances knowledge with practice ![Balances knowledge with practice](https://image-v2.cdn.app.senecalearning.com/2018-09/04beade3-c039-4a0f-a7e7-15e86c7e0c83/test-tube-experiment%3Dsolution-inject.jpg) - The relationship between skills and knowledge as coexistent, interdependent and symbiotic. - Skills such as analysis and evaluation are a manifestation of knowledge in practice. - The curriculum must balance knowledge with opportunities to practise what has been learned. ## Test yourself on Curriculum Rationale - Which of the following is NOT a feature of a strong curriculum? [Practise this topic for free](https://app.senecalearning.com/classroom/course/f3a2c6ae-e04a-4fb5-8f9e-1d3a02b00049/section/16edba53-bd0a-4748-afd1-655759771e95/session) - Previous topic: [2.1.1 The Role of Subject Leaders](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-subject-level-curriculum-seneca-certified/2-1-1-the-role-of-subject-leaders.md) - Next topic: [3.1.1 Core Knowledge](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-subject-level-curriculum-seneca-certified/3-1-1-core-knowledge.md) ## CPD: Subject Level Curriculum (by Kat Howard and Claire Hill) contents ### 1 Introduction - 1.1 Introduction - [1.1.1 Shaping the Curriculum](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-subject-level-curriculum-seneca-certified/1-1-1-shaping-the-curriculum.md) ### 2 Curriculum Rationale - 2.1 Curriculum Rationale - [2.1.1 The Role of Subject Leaders](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-subject-level-curriculum-seneca-certified/2-1-1-the-role-of-subject-leaders.md) - [2.1.2 Curriculum Rationale](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-subject-level-curriculum-seneca-certified/2-1-2-curriculum-rationale.md) ### 3 Curriculum Knowledge - 3.1 Curriculum Knowledge - [3.1.1 Core Knowledge](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-subject-level-curriculum-seneca-certified/3-1-1-core-knowledge.md) - [3.1.2 Hinterland Knowledge](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-subject-level-curriculum-seneca-certified/3-1-2-hinterland-knowledge.md) - [3.1.3 Substantive Knowledge](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-subject-level-curriculum-seneca-certified/3-1-3-substantive-knowledge.md) - [3.1.4 Disciplinary Knowledge](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-subject-level-curriculum-seneca-certified/3-1-4-disciplinary-knowledge.md) - [3.1.5 Declarative & Procedural Knowledge](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-subject-level-curriculum-seneca-certified/3-1-5-declarative-and-procedural-knowledge.md) ### 4 Curriculum Sequencing - 4.1 Curriculum Sequencing - [4.1.1 Cognitive Load Theory](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-subject-level-curriculum-seneca-certified/4-1-1-cognitive-load-theory.md) - [4.1.2 Threshold Concepts](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-subject-level-curriculum-seneca-certified/4-1-2-threshold-concepts.md) ### 5 Assessment - 5.1 Assessment - [5.1.1 Meaningful Assessment](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-subject-level-curriculum-seneca-certified/5-1-1-meaningful-assessment.md) ### 6 Instruments of the Curriculum - 6.1 Instruments of the Curriculum - [6.1.1 Instruments of the Curriculum](https://senecalearning.com/en-gb/revision-notes/teacher-cpd/cpd-subject-level-curriculum-seneca-certified/6-1-1-instruments-of-the-curriculum.md)