Curriculum Development: The Tyler Model

67 Replies
Advertisements

The Tyler Model, developed by Ralph Tyler in the 1940s, is the quintessential prototype of curriculum development in the scientific approach. One could almost dare say that every certified teacher in America and maybe beyond has developed a curriculum directly or indirectly using this model or one of the many variations.

Tyler did not intend for his contribution to the curriculum to be a lockstep model for development. Originally, he wrote down his ideas in the book Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction for his students to give them an idea about principles for making a curriculum. The brilliance of Tyler’s model is that it was one of the first models and it was and still is a highly simple model consisting of four steps.

  1. Determine the school’s purposes (aka objectives)
  2. Identify educational experiences related to purpose
  3. Organize the experiences
  4. Evaluate the purposes


Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction

Step one is determining the objectives of the school or class. In other words, what do the students need to do to be successful? Each subject has natural objectives that are indicators of mastery. All objectives need to be consistent with the philosophy of the school and this is often neglected in curriculum development. For example, a school that is developing an English curriculum may create an objective that students will write essays. This would be one of many objectives within the curriculum.

Step two is developing learning experiences that help the students to achieve step one. For example, if students need to meet the objective of writing an essay. The learning experience might be a demonstration by the teacher of writing an essay. The students then might practice writing essays. The experience (essay demonstration and writing) is consistent with the objective (Student will write an essay).

Step three is organizing the experiences. Should the teacher demonstrate first or should the students learn by writing immediately? Either way could work and preference is determined by the teacher’s philosophy and the students’ needs. The point is that the teacher needs to determine a logical order of experiences for the students.

Lastly, step four is the evaluation of the objectives. Now the teacher assesses the students’ ability to write an essay. There are many ways to do this. For example, the teacher could have the students write an essay without assistance. If they can do this, it is evidence that the students have achieved the objective of the lesson.

There are variations on this model. However, the Tyler model is still considered by many to be the strongest model for curriculum development.

Checkout our Youtube Channel

67 thoughts on “Curriculum Development: The Tyler Model”

  2. shaka kassim

    much respect to my dearest lecturer sir Mligo of STEMMUCO.he made me to pass through this brilliant “class” of Tyler as he gave me an assignment on the models of curriculum. I really,appreciate what Tyler “classed” me. thank u Tyler, thank u sir mligo- the so called Mligo Mwamba.

    Reply ↓

  3. Pingback: Johann Herbert: Father of Moral Education | educationalresearchtechniques

  4. adamuminister – I am Adamu Bello, by name. Born on 04 November, 1994 in Gombe, Gombe State of Nigeria. I attended Gandu Primary School, Gombe State from 2000 to 2006, attended Gandu Junior Secondary School from 2006 to 2009 and Gandu Senior Secondary School from 2009 to 2012 and also attended Gombe State State University, Gombe from 2013 to 2017, where I studied B.A (E.d) Islamic Studies.
    Adamu minister

    yes

    Reply ↓
  5. adamuminister – I am Adamu Bello, by name. Born on 04 November, 1994 in Gombe, Gombe State of Nigeria. I attended Gandu Primary School, Gombe State from 2000 to 2006, attended Gandu Junior Secondary School from 2006 to 2009 and Gandu Senior Secondary School from 2009 to 2012 and also attended Gombe State State University, Gombe from 2013 to 2017, where I studied B.A (E.d) Islamic Studies.
    Adamu minister

    i am in class now, and am enjoiying the model, because it is my todays topic

    Reply ↓

  6. Pingback: Early 20th Century Educators: Flexner & Judd | educationalresearchtechniques

  16. Elaine M. Peters, Hon.B.A. PHE, M.Sc.Ed. – I earned my Master of Science Degree with Distinction Honors in Education specializing in Early Childhood Education through Capella University, Minnesota, U.S.A., June 2012. I studied and gained practical in-class experience in ten program outcomes: Child Development and Well-being, Learning Environment, Curriculum and Instruction, Equity and Inclusion, Assessment, Content Knowledge, Community, Ethics and Professionalism, Reflection and Continuous Learning, and Theory and Research. I learned how deeply interconnected each of these factors truly are in order to create the best "climate for learning" possible for all children, both with and without disabilities. My teaching experience includes providing literacy and numeracy coaching and tutoring, ECE teacher observation and consultation. In addition, I have served as an In-School Mentor for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Peel, Ontario, Canada, since October 2002. Lastly, I am a co-founder of Giving Dreams Foundation, a charitable organization established in March 2011, that provides opportunities for social inclusion to youth and adults with developmental and/or physical disabilities (www.givingdreams.org).
    Elaine M. Peters, Hon.B.A. PHE, M.Sc.Ed.

    Please explain how this curriculum development development would suit students who are not strong in the verbal linguistic learning style ? Perhaps other types of essays would be permitted for students with other learning strengths such as the opportunity to create a photographic sluse show, diorama, musical score, dramatization, or video essay? Humans learn in a variety of different ways.

    Reply ↓
    1. Dr. Darrin
      Dr. Darrin

      Good question. The Tyler model is used for having a process for what you want to put into a curriculum. This means that anybody can follow this model and put whatever they want into their curriculum. There is no right or wrong content in a Tyler curriculum. What makes a curriculum a Tyler model is if it follows the four steps that Tyler proposed. This means you can have videos, essays or, whatever else works for your students.

      Reply ↓
      1. Elaine M. Peters, Hon.B.A. PHE, M.Sc.Ed. – I earned my Master of Science Degree with Distinction Honors in Education specializing in Early Childhood Education through Capella University, Minnesota, U.S.A., June 2012. I studied and gained practical in-class experience in ten program outcomes: Child Development and Well-being, Learning Environment, Curriculum and Instruction, Equity and Inclusion, Assessment, Content Knowledge, Community, Ethics and Professionalism, Reflection and Continuous Learning, and Theory and Research. I learned how deeply interconnected each of these factors truly are in order to create the best "climate for learning" possible for all children, both with and without disabilities. My teaching experience includes providing literacy and numeracy coaching and tutoring, ECE teacher observation and consultation. In addition, I have served as an In-School Mentor for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Peel, Ontario, Canada, since October 2002. Lastly, I am a co-founder of Giving Dreams Foundation, a charitable organization established in March 2011, that provides opportunities for social inclusion to youth and adults with developmental and/or physical disabilities (www.givingdreams.org).
        Elaine M. Peters, Hon.B.A. PHE, M.Sc.Ed.

        I see

    2. Mensah Ebenezer Appiah

      Yes very true but I think the writer was just citing an example for clear understanding. He want to say that you don’t plant pawpaw to harvest mango. You should design your work base on your objective

      Mensah Ebenezer

      Reply ↓

  20. Pingback: The Path Less Taken – Blog, Blog, Blog

  21. Pingback: Do We Still Have the “Traditional” Schooling Experience | Rhandi Turton

    1. Dr. Darrin
      Dr. Darrin

      i’m not an expert on Kenyan education so it would be hard to answer that. I think it’s better if you look at Tyler’s model and see if it reminds you of anything you see in Kenyan education

      Reply ↓
    2. PhD person

      Herbert M. Kliebard incisively criticized the Tyler Model a long time ago–1970–pointing out many of the problems and assumptions that go into Tyler’s approach, an approach whose roots actually go back to the 1800s with Frederick Taylor’s ideas on management. Peter Taubman also presents some excellent critiques of the Tyler Model and explanations for why it has persisted in education–namely because of neoliberalism and the appropriation of concepts from learning sciences and business. Start with Kliebard and Taubman (and read Paulo Freire to take you someplace else) and then see what works for you. Also, the Journal of Curriculum Theorizing publishes fine work that may also help you answer your question about the Tyler Model.

      Reply ↓

  30. Pingback: Competency-Based Education | educationalresearchtechniques

  31. kamalludeen

    this Tyler model is the best ever we people in Nigeria we agreeing using Tyler model any more. but how will i build a junior secondary school curriculum using Tyler model please?

    Reply ↓

  32. Pingback: Reflections on the Tyler Rationale | nerdodactyl

  37. danirentjana

    Sometimes, it makes me wonder why some books written by ‘experts’ do not serve as simple as this kind of elaboration. I found the article helps me a lot in understanding the Tyler’s model. Thank you very much, sir.
    Best regards from Indonesia.

    Reply ↓

  39. Pingback: REFLECTIVE 1: VISUAL CULTURE, TYLER & GAGNE 9 EVENT INSTRUCTIONAL MODEL – nor hazwani shuib

  41. Pingback: Curriculum Model Refflective – PSV702

  46. Pingback: Curriculum- a means to an end? – Mekenna's Blog

Leave a Reply to Noloyiso TshanganaCancel reply