OECD, (2014:120) shares the findings that were centered on problem solving assessment. The analysis on this study revealed that, on average across OECD countries, approximately one in five students is only able to solve very straightforward problems, if any, provided they refer to familiar situations, such as choosing from a catalogue of furniture, showing different brands and prices, the cheapest models to furnish a room (Level 1 tasks). Less than half of the students in six of our partner nations can solve problems at a higher level than this. The results of this study demonstrate the necessity for curriculum and its assessment to be put into practice in order to make schools and the future relevant. The importance of education is demonstrated by how the curricular system determines the outcomes of teaching and learning. Assessment must be done in order to identify those results. It is important to consider the assessment’s curriculum design. Real-world scenarios are used in a relevant curricular system to precisely assess students’ preparation for the profession. This publication aims to investigate the connection between assessment methods and problem-centered models, one of the design frameworks for curricula. This publication’s main claim is that the practicalized assessments approach only promotes problem-centered design, and vice versa. The investigation of this link will also show the ideal curriculum structure, as determined by the problem-centered approach, and its practical assessment.

Many have defined problem-centered design, also known as problem-based learning, including Sockalingham (2010), who provides several definitions from different authors that have written about the topic. Sockalingham begins by citing one of the first definitions, which states that problem-centered design is the process of working towards the understanding and solutions of a problem and involves the learning of professional abilities (Barrows & Tamblyn, 1980). In second place, Vernon and Blake (1993) suggest that problem-centered design is an educational strategy that makes use of a problem to help students develop their knowledge and problem-solving abilities. Thirdly, problem-solving activities, critical thinking exercises, collaborative learning, and independent study are all part of the problem-centered design, according to Uden and Beaumont (2006), which enables students to relate to the problem’s context and construct meaning. In simple terms, all these concepts refer to the real-life situation learning process, which involves learning how to solve real-life situations. The actuality of the issue at hand is what makes this curriculum design model unique because it is more pragmatic than theoretical. It becomes clear that this curriculum design places a greater emphasis on fieldwork than on traditional classroom instruction. This discovery instantly implies a practicalized assessment approach since, as the curriculum teaching and learning design model requires, it only makes sense to assess students practically, using real-life settings.

Learning from the aforementioned, the goal of problem-centered design is to create via students a new generation of citizens and workers who are capable of addressing and successfully resolving societal challenges, workplace issues, and other issues. According to (“Curriculum and its Various Aspects: Models of Curriculum Designing and Development”, 2009:77–78), problem centered curriculum designs are designed to address societal needs that are unmet and for preservation of culture. For example, courses may be developed on environmental problems, technology, racism, futurology, etc. The learning objectives are framed to analyse the problem or issue and content drawn from the subject area pertinent to the issue. Very often the content does cut across the subject areas but is well within the needs and abilities of the learners. The primary objective of using this approach is to create in the learners an awareness of crucial social issues and develop skills to help solve such problems. Some problem centered approaches focus on persistent life situations, others deal with contemporary social problems, some address areas of living and some with the reconstruction of society. Sockalingham, (2010:) reveals the assessment strategy applied is that problems are carefully designed descriptions of problematic situations which require explanations or resolution. It is further revealed that problems typically represent real-world situations and hence are purported to prepare the students in understanding and solving such problems. In closing his assertions on the matter, Sockalingham, (2010) purports that the process of problem-solving in problem centrerd design is founded on the earlier mentioned principles of constructivist learning. The underlying belief in this student-centric constructivist approach is that it will better prepare students for the real-world. Again, if the learning method is focused on practicalities of the future like solving workplace and other societal problems, the assessment is automatically dictated to be practicalized in order to ensure the effectiveness of the teaching and learning process and its beneficiation to the students.

Despite being an autonomous curriculum design model, problem-centered design exhibits the traits of the student-centered design model because it encourages students to solve problems on their own, with the teacher just assisting in the process. Even Chen (2020), in her article titled “Problem-Centered Curriculum Design: The Education Solution to the 21st Century Competitive Society,” acknowledges the interrelationship between problem-centered design and student-centered design. According to Pink, a problem-centered design and a learner-centered design can occasionally be used interchangeably. She says the main reason she chose problem-centered design over learner-centered design for the study’s purposes—not to mention subject-centered design, which goes against the idea of problem-centered design—was the fine line between exposing students to or placing them in a real-life situation. When Sockalingham refers to the problem-centered design as the student-centric curriculum design, he expresses similar sentiments that stem from constructivism’s philosophical roots. According to Sockalingham, the underlying assumption behind this constructivist approach is that it will better prepare students for the real world.  The traits of the proposed personalized education curriculum system are represented by these two models. PECS is a practical, real-world curriculum that aims to introduce students to the working world while they are still in school. These parallels provide as resounding evidence that problem-centered design is successful in the context of a personalized education program. Again, the idea of practicalized assessment, which is based on actual situations including workplace problem solving approaches, is one of the aspects initiated by PECS. Yet again, this demonstrates the applicability of the proposed individualized education curriculum system, which promotes a system of practical education.

It is challenging to connect the NCS-CAPS Curriculum with problem-centered design and practicalized assessment. This is so because CAPS is largely theoretical and is only related to the subject-centered curriculum design model, which Chen, (2020) considers to be theoretical because it emphasizes knowledge that does not promote social and physical development. Subject-centered learning is opposed to the idea of “real-life experiences,” Chen says. Even the assessment, which is only possible through written exams and assessments in the CAPS Curriculum system, is theoretical. Therefore, problem-centered design and practicalized assessment are instructional strategies appropriate for a specific type of educational system that possesses certain characteristics. Some of these features include the need for a curriculum that promotes education for the future and gives pupils a taste of their preferred careers while they are still in school. a program that is competency-driven and places a strong emphasis on developing work-related skills. It is challenging to identify another curriculum system that possesses these characteristics outside the customized education curriculum system (PECS).

It is for such reasons the Personalised Education Curriculum System (PECS) was conceived as a curriculum system strictly rooted in quality curriculum theory aspects, foundations of competency-oriented education, and focused on practically assessing students for relevant skills, aptitudes, and values to manoeuvre modern-day society successfully. PECS was developed to be at the forefront of curriculum relevance issues. Just like the birth of postmodernism, PECS is the product of dissatisfaction with the modernist curriculum system in South Africa. PECS is meant to rescue students from the monstrous curriculum that fails to implement progressivism and provide differentiated learning that suits all students. Just like progressivism in the past, PECS is a disruptive and qualitative curriculum system that aims to end the confusion around the inconsistencies of the curriculum. PECS seeks to restore the value and dignity of our education system by making it responsive to the needs of society through the liberal education-based curriculum system. PECS aims to give students the opportunity to gain an insight into the world of work during their school years. This makes PECS unique and highly relevant in inspiring the education community of our country, South Africa, and Africa as a whole. And we believe that the education system can be improved in this way.

Know more about PECS: https:/simnandisolutions.co.za/personalized-education/

Please answer these 3 questions and submit them:https://simnandisolutions.co.za/pecs. –

Questionnaires.

Cite this publication: XABA, S.S. (2023).The problem-centered design model and its assessment works effectively under the personalized education curriculum system (PECS).https://simnandisolutions.co.za/post/.

Bibliography.

Chen. P. 2020. Problem-Centered Curriculum Design: The Education Solution to the 21st Century Competitive Society. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347417215_Problem-Centered_Curriculum_Design_The_Education_Solution_to_the_21st_Century_Competitive_Society. Date of Access: 02 July 2023.

Curriculum and its Various Aspects: Models of Curriculum Designing and Development. (2017). Unit 16: models of curriculum. Retrieved: https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/8281/1/Unit-16.pdf. Date of Access: 03 July 2023.

Socklinghm, N. Characteristics of Problems in Problem-based Learning.  Ultra Supplies:Singapore.

OECD (2014), “Implications of the problem: solving assessment for policy and practice”, in PISA 2012. Results: Creative Problem Solving (Volume V): Students’ Skills in Tackling Real-Life Problems, OECD. Publishing, Paris. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264208070-10-en