Computer-Based Support for Curriculum Designers: A Case of Developmental Research

In this article, we explore the potential of the computer to support curriculum materials development within the context of secondary level science and mathematics education in southern Africa. During the four-year course of the study, a computer program was developed named CASCADE-SEA, which stands for Computer Assisted Curriculum Analysis, Design and Evaluation for Science (and mathematics) Education in Africa. By carefully documenting the iterative process of analysis, prototype design, evaluation, and revision, we sought insight into the characteristics of a valid and practical computer-based tool that possesses the potential to affect the performance of its users. The results of this study include the CASCADE-SEA program itself, which assists users in producing better quality materials than they otherwise might, while they also learn from the development process. Further, this research has contributed to the articulation of design principles and related developmental research methods. This article highlights the research and development that took place, and only briefly addresses the tool itself. The research described in this article builds on a previous study that began to explore the potential of the computer’s supportive role in curriculum development. The previous study was initiated by the Department of Curriculum at the University of Twente together with the Dutch National Institute for Curriculum Development (SLO). It has yielded a computer program called CASCADE: Computer Assisted Curriculum Analysis, Design and Evaluation, concentrating on formative evaluation for the SLO. Evaluation of this program has indicated that such a tool may offer much to the world of curriculum development, particularly with regard to the formative evaluation of classroom materials (Nieveen, 1997). Findings indicate that use of the CASCADE program saved time and improved consistency of formative evaluation plans and activities, while motivating users to carry out evaluations that otherwise might have been omitted. The CASCADE-SEA study uses the previous CASCADE findings, in the forms of both knowledge and product, as a launching pad for continued investigation into computersupported curriculum development. The original CASCADE study suggested that additional fruitful applications might lie in contexts outside that of the Dutch SLO, where curriculum materials are also being produced. In the late 1990s, collaboration between the University of Twente and various curriculum reform initiatives in the southern African region grew. The exchange of information, problems, and potential solutions between Dutch and African institutions prompted a line of inquiry: Could the computer possibly offer valuable support to African curriculum developers?