An Investigation of Selected Procedures for the Development and Evaluation of Hierarchical Curriculum Structures

Many programs for individualization of instruction are based on a curriculum structure involving a careful sequencing of instructional objectives and larger units of learning content. A methodology that may be useful in the formative evaluation of the sequential and structural properties among predefined curriculum units and specific instructional objectives was investigated. The three distinct research populations consisted of the student enrollment in three schools employing the Individually Prescribed Instruction (IPI) system for elementary school mathematics. To examine these structural relationships, as they are found in different content areas and levels, student performance on unit placement tests and pretests in thirty IPI mathematics units consisting of 173 specific objectives was investigated through scalogram and simplex analyses. The usefulness of these procedures in providing suggestions for the revision and refinement of curriculum structures was demonstrated. Alternative structures and sequences suggested by this evaluation program may be helpful in providing guidance for curriculum and testing specialists in the design of future curriculums in IPI mathematics. (Author/PR)