HKU MEDD6128: Curriculum Conceptions and Design — course overview with AskSia
MEDD6128 Curriculum Conceptions and Design is a 6-credit specialist course in the Curriculum and Pedagogy specialism of HKU's Master of Education, and is also offered to students of other specialisms as an elective with limited quota (listed for 2026-27).
Sia generates MEDD6128 practice questions, walks through interdisciplinary perspectives and curriculum conceptions step by step, and quizzes you on the material the presentation that weights most heavily.
Sharpen your argument
A school's new science curriculum lists only content to be covered, with a single end-of-year test. A curriculum leader asks what is wrong with it as a design. Which critique applies the course best?
The course asks first which conception a design embodies; a pure content list is a subject-centred conception adopted by default.
Declaring another conception 'always superior' is the opposite of the critical evaluation CLO 2 asks for.
More content does not address the design question at all.
One presentation decides 100% of your grade. Continuous; 100% coursework. This whole page is built around that.
Overview
What MEDD6128 is, and where it sits
MEDD6128 Curriculum Conceptions and Design is a 6-credit specialist course in the Curriculum and Pedagogy specialism of HKU's Master of Education, and is also offered to students of other specialisms as an elective with limited quota (listed for 2026-27).
The syllabus describes it as an introduction to the field of curriculum studies: its main theoretical perspectives and its enduring and changing issues. Students meet the main conceptions of curriculum and the ways they are categorised, examine the basic tenets of each conception critically, and work out what they imply for curriculum design and analysis at systemic and school levels. The course description sheet adds the topic list: theory and practice, interdisciplinary perspectives and global trends, conceptions and ideologies, curriculum design, assessment as part of design, and technology-enhanced design.
Assessment is 100% coursework through two short essays, an oral presentation and a written paper. The theories learnt here are expected to be applied in the other Curriculum and Pedagogy courses.
Always treat your own course outline and the exam timetable as authoritative.
Difficulty & time commitment
Is MEDD6128 hard, and how much time does it take?
MEDD6128 is manageable if you keep a weekly rhythm and treat the back half as the main event. The pattern is consistent: it starts gently and steepens, and the heaviest assessment is the part that separates grades.
The difficulty curve and the assessment weighting point the same way: the back half is harder and worth more. Front-loading effort there is the highest-return decision in the course.
Is this course for you
Who tends to do well, and who tends to struggle
You will likely do well if
- You can tell a subject-centred document from a learner-centred one on the first page.
- You bring a curriculum you have taught or written to use as your running case.
- You read beyond the set list; the sheet says this is expected.
You may struggle if
- You want a lesson-planning course; this is about conceptions and their design consequences.
- You write descriptively about a curriculum without naming the ideology behind it.
- You leave the written paper until the presentation is done.
- For each conception, keep a one-page card: tenets, categorisation, design implications, a Hong Kong example.
- Analyse the Hong Kong school curriculum documents on the reading list with the conceptions before writing the paper.
- Use the presentation as a draft of the written paper's argument and act on the feedback.
Syllabus
The 10 topics, topic by topic
Topics from the public source. Their order is a content map, not an official weekly timetable or published exam weighting.
T1 · Introduction to curriculum studies: theory and practice
Description sheet topic 1; CLO 1The field, its enduring issues and how theory meets classroom practice.
T2 · Interdisciplinary perspectives and global trends
Description sheet topic 2Perspectives shaping curriculum decisions at different levels of the system; global trends and influences.
T3 · Curriculum conceptions and ideologies
Description sheet topic 3; CLOs 1-3The main conceptions, how they are categorised, and what each implies for design.
T4 · Curriculum design
Description sheet topic 4; CLO 4Design methods and their fit with real contexts.
T5 · Assessment as an integral part of curriculum design
Description sheet topic 5Building assessment into design rather than after it.
T6 · Technology-enhanced design and curriculum in the New Normal
Description sheet topic 6; CLO 5Design for blended and online settings; novel, undefined situations.
T7 · Strengths, limits and conflicts among conceptions
CLO 2Evaluating each conception critically and the tensions between them.
T8 · Applying conceptions to real contexts
CLO 4Choosing design methods to suit the needs of an actual school or system.
T9 · Applying conceptions to novel, undefined situations
CLO 5Using the conceptions where no template exists.
T10 · Short essays, oral presentation and written paper
AssessmentThe four assessed pieces of the course.
How it's assessed
Assessment structure
| Component | Weight | Format & timing |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework (short essay 1, short essay 2, oral presentation, written paper) | 100% | Two short essays, an oral presentation and a written paper, as listed on the course description sheet; individual weights are not published. Across the course. Continuous; 100% coursework. |
- 100% coursework: short essay 1, short essay 2, oral presentation and written paper (weights not published). MEd regulations allow re-assessment, re-submission or repetition of a failed course.
- No examination. The written paper and the essays are assessed against the five course learning outcomes, from understanding and evaluating the conceptions of curriculum to applying them in real and novel contexts.
This is a coursework course. Coursework carries 100% of the grade and the coursework (short essay 1, short essay 2, oral presentation, written paper) is the single heaviest piece at 100%, so steady work across the semester decides your result more than any one sitting. Continuous; 100% coursework.
Final exam timing: No examination. Confirm the exact date and venue on your exam timetable.
How to actually pass it
A weekly rhythm, two checklists, and the traps to avoid
The course rewards consistency over cramming, and practice over re-reading. Here is the loop that works, then what to have nailed before each exam.
The weekly loop
The mistakes that cost marks
Formula & concept sheet
The vocabulary and formulas you must own
- Curriculum conception
- A coherent view of what a curriculum is for and what should be in it.
- Curriculum ideology
- The values behind a conception, for example academic, social-efficiency or learner-centred.
- Systemic level
- Curriculum decisions taken for a whole education system, such as by a curriculum council.
- School level
- Curriculum decisions taken within a school, including school-based curriculum.
- Curriculum design
- The structured planning of aims, content, learning experiences and assessment.
- Assessment for learning
- Assessment built into the design to inform teaching while it happens.
- Concept-based curriculum
- Design organised around transferable concepts rather than isolated content.
- Technology-enhanced design
- Curriculum design that plans for blended and online learning from the start.
Where it fits
Prerequisites, related courses & why it matters
No prerequisites; 6 credits; one of the four Curriculum and Pedagogy specialist courses, also open as an elective with limited quota in 2026-27.
Your MEDD6128 study toolkit
Study the course with Sia, not just read about it
Use your permitted course notes with these study tools. Follow your course’s rules for AI and assessed work.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is MEDD6128 hard?
Light on the six-factor rubric: no exam and no numbers, but four pieces of assessed work and a long recommended reading list that the description sheet expects you to go beyond.
What is the assessment?
100% coursework through short essay 1, short essay 2, an oral presentation and a written paper; the description sheet does not publish their weights.
Can I take it if I am not in Curriculum and Pedagogy?
Yes. It is on the Faculty's 2026-27 list of specialist courses offered as electives, with limited quota.
Is there a textbook?
No single required text. The description sheet lists general references (Glatthorn, Marsh, Schiro, Yeung, Morris and others), tool books, journals and policy sources, all available through the course reading list on Moodle.
Who teaches it?
The public description sheet and regulations do not name the teaching staff.
What are the learning outcomes?
Five CLOs: understand the conceptions of curriculum and how they are categorised; evaluate their strengths, limits and conflicts; understand their implications for design and analysis; apply them to real contexts; apply them to novel, undefined situations.
Study MEDD6128 with Sia
Practise explaining the course concepts and check your reasoning. Confirm assessed-work requirements in your current outline.
Start studying with Sia
