When the teachers at an educational centre try to plan what is going to be studied during the course, it is usual to talk about aspects such as the objectives to be achieved, the content to be taught, the teaching method…

However, it is common to leave out or ignore how to organize the knowledge that will be presented during the year, simply teaching it one after the other and with the sole intention of expecting the student to manage to memorize it and demonstrate it in an exam.

In recent years there has been an attempt to change this way of teaching, trying to encourage meaningful learning by ensuring that not only is what is given in class memorized, but that it is understood and related to other knowledge. It is in this context that the concept of the spiral curriculum takes on special importance , a way of organizing knowledge of the academic year that we will see in more detail in this article.

What is a spiral résumé?

The spiral curriculum is an educational program in which a review is made of the knowledge already explained previously during the course . This review is done in an iterative way, that is, in class the notions and topics seen previously are dealt with repeatedly.

One should not fall into the error of thinking that this type of curriculum involves the mere repetition of knowledge given over and over again in a superficial manner, expecting students to memorize point by point and comma by comma what has been explained to them. In the spiral curriculum, the aim is to establish knowledge by deepening it , inviting reflection and research.

The first person to describe this idea was Jerome Bruner in 1960. This New York psychologist observed that teachers who taught mathematics, history and science and managed to transmit their knowledge successfully shared, to a greater or lesser extent, the following teaching methodology.

First, they presented a series of basic ideas or operations in an intuitive way. After these basic notions were mastered, they were gradually reformulated with greater complexity, in addition to being connected with other previously acquired knowledge. As a result of this process, the above-mentioned subjects were successfully learned, no matter how much content they had and how difficult they might seem.

With this method of knowledge organization, Bruner advocated the idea that courses should be promoted around the learning of socially valued issues, principles and values. The aim of this was to enable students to learn useful knowledge, which they could then apply in their daily lives and to facilitate their development as socially adapted adults.

Key features

The main characteristics of this type of educational curriculum are described below.

1. Content review

Throughout the course, students see the same theme or idea on several occasions.

Throughout the course, the students return, on several occasions, to the themes already given previously .

Thus, by repeating the explanations of the knowledge, it is possible to see to what extent the students have learned it and to detect possible doubts that may exist.

2. Progressive difficulty

At the beginning, the subject is introduced in a simple and basic way , with the intention that students get a general idea about the given notion.

Later, when the subject is revisited, it will be done in a way that is more complex, introducing more details and increasing the difficulty.

Thus, as the complexity of the subject matter increases progressively, learning takes place in a more fluid way, without running the risk of the student burning out by not understanding the new things explained in class.

3. The new relates to the old

New information and skills are introduced, which are related to the knowledge given in previous phases of the spiral.

What was learned at the beginning of the course, i.e. in the first loops of the spiral, is directly linked to what will be learned later .

If the first knowledge is properly introduced, the student will not feel overwhelmed when it is explained in a more complex way in the future.

4. Increases the competences of the students

Each time the knowledge is revisited, the student’s competence is increased , until the objective agreed upon in the curriculum is reached.

Benefits of Spiral Resumes

As we have seen, the design of spiral curricula involves a series of well-differentiated characteristics compared to how teaching has been approached from the traditional perspective and its linear form when it comes to organizing knowledge. These differences from the spiral method offer, in turn, benefits, which are

1. Reinforcing what has been learned

Many teachers often complain that, despite giving a topic that is supposed to have been seen before in other courses, students often say something like ‘I know I gave it but I don’t remember what it was about’.

In the spiral curriculum, as we have already mentioned, there is a controlled repetition of the given knowledge .

Although the strategy is not to repeat over and over again what is given in class, it is true that the more repetition there is, the less likely it is that the content given will be forgotten

2. From simple to complex

The topics that will be covered during the rest of the course are introduced simply enough to prevent students from becoming oversaturated or burning themselves out right from the start.

One of the factors that influence school failure is feeling that what is given in class is out of reach of the person , feeling a combination of negative emotions such as anxiety and irritability, which contributes to not being interested in the studies or the subject in question.

Starting from the basic and easily accessible, the level of difficulty increases, which is two great advantages.

The first is that the student feels that he is in control of the situation and that it is not so difficult for him to learn the new knowledge because he has already mastered the previous one.

The second is that notes that he is progressively learning more and more , being an aspect that contributes to the development of positive emotions and, in addition, promotes motivation and interest in learning more.

3. Integration

Traditionally, teaching has been done in such a way that the content of the subjects was shown in a way that was totally independent of each other. Even, within the same subject, the content seen one year was radically different or not at all related to that of subsequent years.

For example, it is frequent that in the institute the subjects that chemistry and biology are explained in a totally separated way , without using as a link interesting topics like the one of the organic chemistry and the fluids of the digestive system, to give an example.

Another case, this time within the same subject, is how biology is usually taught in high school. The first year focuses on the anatomy and functioning of the systems and apparatus of the human body, while the next year is concerned with the chemical composition of the organism and the structure of DNA.

With the spiral curriculum method, not only is it intended to interrelate the knowledge given in the courses of the same subject, but also is intended to relate it to other subjects .

This integration is a great advantage since knowledge applied to real life does not distinguish between subjects and disciplines . In everyday life, what is learned is applied in various contexts and without borders.

4. Logical sequence

Although this advantage may seem identical to that of traditional linear education, there is a nuance to be taken into account.

In linear education, a sequence is followed in which the knowledge goes one after the other, according to the preferences of the teacher.

Here, in the spiral curriculum, this sequence may also imply that the knowledge goes one after the other, but after a while the classes will be repeated for this knowledge, and the level will be increased . There is a hierarchy and a progressive increase of difficulty, and this difficulty is done based on what the students have been shown to have learned.

5. Higher level objectives

In traditional education, the aim is for students to memorize what is given in class and to present it in an exam or a paper.

In the spiral curriculum , students are invited to participate in their training , showing them that things seen in class will always have a greater degree of complexity, which invites them to investigate on their own about it.

For example, related to the previous example on biology, at the beginning of the course the respiratory system can be explained. In future classes, you can be explained that there are certain diseases that affect this system, inviting you to look for medical problems related to breathing on your own and what treatments exist for each of them.

6. Flexibility

This type of curriculum is flexible, given that it takes into account what has been assimilated by the students , being able to modify the level of difficulty of the following phases of the spiral, in addition to modifying the content to be related.

In this way, no one is left behind and it is guaranteed that everyone has their knowledge well established, as well as facilitating constructive learning.

Bibliographic references:

  • Dowding , T.J. (1993) The application of a spiral curriculum model to technical training curricula, Educational Technology, 33(7), 18-28.
  • Good, T. and Brophy, J (1995). Contemporary Educational Psychology. McGrawHill. Mexico.
  • Harden, R.M. (1986) Ten questions to ask when planning a course or curriculum.
  • Harden, R.M. (1999) What is a spiral curriculum?, Medical Teacher, 21:2, 141-143
  • ASME Medical Education Booklet No 20, Medical Education, 20, 356-365.
  • Kabara, J.J. (1972 ) Spiral curriculum, Journal of Medical Education, 47, 314-316.