My Course to Our Program: Mapping our curriculum Office of - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

My Course to Our Program: Mapping our curriculum

October 28, 2015 Cecelia Martin and Angela Coleman Office of Institutional Effectiveness

Office of Institutional Effectiveness 251.460.6447 effectiveness @ southalabama. edu

What is a curriculum map?

• Is a visual depiction of a program’s curriculum.
• Ensures instruction is aligned with program
• utcomes.
• Identities gaps in the curriculum.
• Makes program improvements.
• Determines the degree to which there is

consistency between:

• What faculty expect students to learn.
• The learning experiences faculty design.
• Assessments of student learning.

Curriculum Map vs. Degree Map

• Degree maps help students know the path

to graduation: what courses to take and when.

• Curriculum maps help faculty ensure they

are preparing students to meet expectations for learning that they have determined are fundamental to the discipline for a particular level (Bachelor’s

• vs. Master’s).

First Step: Program-level Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

• Developed collaboratively such that all faculty

have helped determine…

• The SLOs and had opportunity to see where they

and their course(s) contribute to the curriculum.

• What types of assessments are illustrative of

whether student’s have met program-level expectations.

• SLO’s should balance internal and external

forces…

• Based in current practice and/or literature
• Aligned with accrediting bodies, professional

associations, licensure boards/exams (when appropriate)

Qualities of good SLOs

Use Bloom’s Taxonomy to help ensure students demonstrate learning on multiple levels SLOs are SMART!!!!

Second Step: List Program course requirements

• Identify all major requirements: those courses

required beyond the Alabama core curriculum

• What about electives or program

requirements where students choose from a menu? (see example)

Second Step: List program course requirements (continued)

Of the 13 course listed here, each has its own learning outcomes. However, collectively this requirement (and all the courses represented by it) , should map back to one or more program level learning outcomes.

Map Courses to SLOs: Content

• Where courses and

learning outcomes intersect, indicate what is the level of learning that is expected

• I = introductory
• R=Reinforced
• M=Mastery

(this example uses D instead

• f R)

Map Courses to SLOs: Assessment

Determine how faculty will know whether students are meeting program level expectations.

• External Assessment

– Licensure exam, departmental assessment (e.g., comprehensives, committee review of course assignments)

• Course-based assessment

– Designed by the program faculty as a whole (type, rubric, etc.) but assigned and graded by the faculty member of record for the course.

• Map the course-based assessment on the curriculum

map (A=assessed)

– Ensure that the type of assessment matches the level of the SLO (e.g., multiple choice tests rarely assess students’ ability to synthesize).

Examples of curriculum maps

• Why this works: Informative, no gaps

Examples of curriculum maps (continued) What do you think?

Examples of curriculum maps (continued) What do you think?

Expectations for USA Academic Programs

• Complete by October, 2016
• Submit with the October, 2016, assessment

plan

Thank you!

Office of Institutional Effectiveness 251-460-6447 effectiveness@southalabama.edu