Living curriculum in the framework of online education

What is the Curriculum?

The curriculum is the set of plans, programs, contents, and activities that guide the teaching-learning process in an educational institution. Traditionally, it has been understood as a tool that organizes what students should learn over a certain period, including objectives, content, methodologies, and assessments. The curriculum establishes the basic structure of the knowledge that students should acquire and the path they should follow to achieve it.

In its simplest form, the curriculum is the “study plan” of a school or university, designed to ensure that students develop the necessary competencies and skills to face the challenges of society and the labor market.

Various Visions of the Curriculum: What Should It Be?

There are various visions and approaches about what the curriculum should be, and these visions have evolved over time, influenced by social, cultural, and educational changes. Depending on the pedagogical current and the educational conception of each historical moment, the curriculum can be understood in different ways.

1. Traditional Curriculum
   The traditional curriculum focuses on the transmission of specific academic knowledge, generally in disciplines such as mathematics, science, literature, and history. This approach is rigid and centered on the teacher as the main transmitter of knowledge. In this model, students are seen as passive receivers of information that must memorize and repeat content.
2. Critical Curriculum
   From the perspective of the critical curriculum, the focus is on forming critical and reflective citizens. Instead of being a mere transmitter of knowledge, the curriculum should help students question existing social, political, and economic structures, promoting social awareness and transformative action. This approach encourages the active participation of the student and emphasizes contextualizing learning within their social and cultural environment.
3. Hidden Curriculum
   This concept refers to the lessons that students learn outside of the explicit goals of the curriculum, such as the values, norms, and behaviors transmitted in the classroom or the school but not formally written in the study plans. The hidden curriculum is related to school socialization, such as discipline, interactions between students and teachers, and hierarchies within the institution.
4. Living Curriculum
   The living curriculum is based on the idea that education is a dynamic process that is constantly changing. This approach proposes that the curriculum should adapt and evolve according to the needs of students, society, and the cultural context. Instead of being a fixed set of contents, the living curriculum is flexible, interactive, and in many cases co-created by students and teachers. This approach emphasizes collaborative learning, content personalization, and the incorporation of new knowledge and technological tools. According to McCombs and Whistler (1997), in a student-centered learning environment, students are treated as co-creators in the learning process, as individuals with ideas and problems that deserve attention and consideration. Properly implemented, this approach can lead to increased motivation to learn, greater retention of knowledge, deeper understanding, and more positive attitudes toward the subject being taught. Moreover, student-centered learning environments recognize that prior knowledge of students powerfully influences future learning and seek to build upon that prior knowledge (Land & Hannafin, 2000). This idea is linked to the concept of the living curriculum and its application to the concept of lived curriculum. According to Ted Aoki (1993), the curriculum should be understood as a lived experience, an interaction between students and content, teachers, and contexts. Aoki introduces the concept of lived curriculum, which describes teaching and learning as a continuous and reflective process, where educators also learn from their students, creating a reciprocal relationship. This approach, according to Aoki, allows the curriculum to remain alive and dynamic, reflecting a curricular landscape of multiplicity, in which there are no fixed formulas, but room for a plurality of experiences and voices within the educational process.
5. Competency-Based Curriculum
   In this approach, the main goal of the curriculum is the development of competencies that allow students to face the challenges of the real world. The focus is on practical learning and the application of skills in everyday contexts, such as problem-solving, teamwork, communication, and creativity. The competency-based curriculum seeks to prepare students not only with theoretical knowledge but also with skills that allow them to adapt to an ever-changing world.

The Living Curriculum in Online Education

In the context of online education, the concept of the living curriculum takes on special importance. Digital platforms allow for much greater flexibility and adaptability than traditional education. Content can be modified, updated, and personalized in real-time, making the curriculum much more dynamic and reactive to social, technological, and cultural changes.

Online education facilitates constant content updates, autonomous and collaborative learning, and the ability to adjust the curriculum according to students’ interests and needs. Teachers are no longer just transmitters of knowledge but facilitators who guide students through a more interactive and personalized learning process.

Keeping the Curriculum Alive in Online Education: Keys and Strategies

1. Flexibility and Continuous Updates: In online education, the curriculum can remain alive by constantly updating. Digital platforms allow teachers to modify learning materials, add new resources, and adjust content in real-time. For example, if a technological advancement or a new trend in the field of study is incorporated, educators can update learning modules and adapt them to the most current information, ensuring that students always have access to relevant and up-to-date content.
2. Personalization of Learning: The living curriculum is also characterized by its ability to personalize the learning experience. In online education, tools can be used that allow students to choose the pace of their learning, the topics of interest, and the additional resources they want to explore. This fosters a more student-centered experience, where each individual can progress according to their needs and interests, making the learning process more interactive and motivating. Additionally, personalization can also include adapting materials according to the student’s knowledge level, ensuring that each receives the necessary support to reach their full potential. For example, some online learning systems use algorithms that adjust the difficulty level of exercises based on student performance, helping to keep the curriculum accessible but challenging.
3. Collaborative Learning and Co-creation: The living curriculum fosters collaboration and co-creation of knowledge. In online education, this can be achieved through discussion forums, virtual group projects, and collaborative learning activities. Students can interact with each other, share resources, discuss ideas, and solve problems together, which enriches learning and allows the curriculum to evolve dynamically. This approach also means that teachers are not just knowledge transmitters, but facilitators who guide students in the creation of their own knowledge. Thus, the curriculum becomes a shared learning space, where both students and teachers learn from each other, creating an environment of reciprocal learning that keeps the curriculum alive.
4. Integration of New Tools and Technologies: A key feature of a living curriculum in online education is the integration of emerging tools and technologies. As new technologies arise, such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, or educational games, teachers can incorporate these tools into their curriculum to enrich the learning experience. Furthermore, digital learning platforms offer various ways to interact with content, such as interactive videos, simulations, and real-time assessments, allowing for a more dynamic and engaging learning process. For example, AI tools can be used to provide instant feedback to students, personalize content, or even create simulated learning scenarios, such as a virtual lab environment. Incorporating these tools not only keeps the curriculum up-to-date but also prepares students for the future by introducing them to innovative technologies.
5. Adaptation to the Context and Needs of Students: The living curriculum also responds to the specific needs and contexts of students. In online education, students come from diverse cultures, socio-economic backgrounds, and academic levels, so the curriculum should adapt to these differences. This may involve offering resources in multiple languages, including examples from different cultures, and acknowledging students’ prior experiences. In this way, the curriculum not only remains alive but also becomes an inclusive tool that responds to the diversity of participants.
6. Continuous and Reflective Evaluation: To keep the curriculum alive, it is essential to have a system of continuous evaluation that allows students to reflect on their learning and teachers to adjust teaching. In online education, formative assessments, online exams, and feedback activities can be used to measure students’ progress consistently. Assessments not only serve to grade but also to provide opportunities for improvement and real-time adjustments. Additionally, the curriculum should include moments of reflection for both students and teachers, so they can identify what has worked well, what needs improvement, and what new strategies could be implemented. This feedback loop ensures that the curriculum continues to evolve according to the needs of the group.

Keeping the curriculum alive in online education requires a flexible and adaptable approach that allows teachers to respond quickly to changes in the educational environment and society. Through continuous updates, personalized learning, collaboration among students, integration of new technologies, and continuous evaluation, the curriculum remains dynamic and relevant. In this way, students not only acquire static knowledge but also actively participate in a continuously evolving learning process, better preparing them for the challenges of the future.