Curriculum Management

This week we are having extensive conversations on curriculum management, so I would like to share the similar extensive research supporting the curriculum, including a deeper dive on what is curriculum and why we should manage it.

First, a curriculum is NOT simply a series of courses. It is the knowledge, skills and disposition outcomes that students are expected to apply as they progress through our programs. Inclusive, equitable and accessible curriculum includes many components and can be organized into three main sections:

Program Planning (carefully reviewed and approved academic plans);
Context (in-person, online, informal, study abroad, internships, labs, etc.); and
Expectations/Outcomes (what students are able to DO) and Instructor Supports (well designed and aligned instructional methods and materials).

There are many aspects of the curriculum, which can include overt, explicit, implicit social, hidden, null, rhetorical, concomitant, received, electronic, internal, etc.

As an example, the U.S. MSCHE Standards for Accreditation detail the following curriculum criteria as part of Design and Delivery of the Student Learning Experience. An institution offers a curriculum designed so that students acquire and demonstrate essential skills including at least oral and written communication, scientific and quantitative reasoning, critical analysis and reasoning, technological competency, and information literacy.

A common aspect of a curriculum includes a general education program, which is tightly aligned to the university mission and degreed programs. As an example, here is a brief summary of Plymouth State University’s General Education Curriculum Program. The program centers around four habits of mind and eight skills which are critical to students’ success in their academic journeys, but also their post-academic lives. This is accomplished by breaking the GE program down further into four components that align with their class status and allow them to grow along with the program’s goals and work the skills into their major courses. The program is meant to ensure that students develop:

the skills necessary for academic success and lifelong learning
an appreciation of the various ways scholars consider and understand human experience
an appreciation of the process by which different approaches to scholarship can be brought to bear on the same problem

Major attributes that are measured throughout this program include Purposeful Communication, Problem Solving, Integrated Perspective, Self-Regulated Learning, Skills, Critical Thinking, Reading, Quantitative Reasoning, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Conducting Research, Working with Information Technology, Collaboration.

Another key element in a successful university curriculum is a First Year Experience (FYE). The goals are to connect students to life in an academic community and to introduce and practice in a meaningful context the habits of mind and skills. Courses could include Tackling a Wicked Problem, Creative Thought, Past and Present, Scientific Inquiry, and Self and Society, Global Awareness, Wellness, Quantitative Reasoning in the Disciplines, Technology in the Disciplines and Sustainability.

After a research-based, well-aligned curriculum is ideated, prototyped and implemented, a common practice is to integrate a curriculum management software (CMS) to help monitor and collect data for continuous improvement. A CMS provides assistance by automating the process of curriculum mapping, content and structure analysis, student assessment, and program evaluation. A CMS also allows instructors to be involved in the design and selection of instructional materials. A quality CMS facilitates the collaboration of teachers in designing a curriculum and ensures that all instructional materials are aligned with specific standards. The features of a CMS such as the automated selection of outcomes, the instant iteration of curriculum to align with learner pathways, learning outcome validation, and curriculum analytics empower teachers and learners.

Finally, here are the major aspects of eLumen, a common CMS. This CMS combines curriculum management, learning outcomes assessment, program review, catalog, and student planning into a single workflow. This approach supports a continuous improvement process which results in academic affairs becoming a sustainable vehicle for access and success. Students can explore programs based on course, competencies, and dashboards allow them to track everything they need to succeed.

References

Middle States Commission on Higher Education (2023). Standards for Accreditation and Requirements of Affiliation. Retrieved at https://www.msche.org/standards.