Curriculum: Development and Evaluation

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Curriculum Development and Evaluation
UTMB Scholars in Education February 12,
2008 Facilitators Virginia Niebuhr, PhD Ann
Frye, PhD
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A Letter from the Council of Deans

• (disclaimer this is not a true story)

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First response to the request from the Council
of Deans
BOAT Crew Individual Activity Ask yourself, Do
I even know what Curriculum means?
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BOAT Building Obesity Awareness Today We are
all in this boat together

• BOAT Goal
• all UTMB employees will become more aware of
  issues related to obesity prevention obesity
  management
• Focused on health of the UTMB employees
• CollaborativeUTMB-Galveston,UTMB-Austin
• Curriculum Planning Team (BOAT Crew)
• representatives chosen by Department Chairs
• consultants OED Faculty
• (disclaimer this is not a true story)

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Learning Outcomes for the Evening

• It is our goal that, by the end of the evening,
  the Scholars in Education will
• __
• __
• __
• __

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Defining Curriculum

• during the Roman Empire
• Latin currere to run
• curriculum racetrack (course) for chariot races
  
• curricle wheeled chariot, usually drawn by
  horses
• 17th century, Univ. of Glasgow formal course
  of study that students complete

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Defining Curriculum
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Definitions

• New Oxford Dictionary
• the subjects comprising a course of study in a
  school
• Broad formal teaching other learning
  experiences
• Broader what is taught, how it is taught
  learned, how t/l is managed, evaluation
• Broadest everything thats happening

Seek not for any definition of curriculum.
There is no such elixir. Sockett H.
Designing the Curriculum. London Open Books.
1976. p 88
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Types

• Identify Curricula
• current
• proposed or needed
• Types
• One session
• Rapidly repeating (rotations)
• Longitudinal across time
• Entire training program

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Fitting Together all the Pieces
BOAT Crew Dyadic activity What are the key
elements of a curriculum? 5 minutes
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Fitting Together all the Pieces
Learning Outcomes (Goals Objectives)(Competenc
ies)
Rationale(why teach this) (based on needs
assessment)
Evaluation (of learning, of teaching)
Implementation Plan who, when, where, how
Learning Environment
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Rationale

• based on needs assessment
• needs of the body of learners vs. individual
  learners
• for the greater good
• formal vs. informal
• handed-to-you vs. self-created

Brief large group discussion What might have
been the Needs Assessment for the BOAT
Initiative?
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Outcomes (Objectives)

• Learning Outcomes (Objectives)
• What do learners need to learn or be able to do?
• Are there things they need to unlearn?
• Measurable action by the learner
• Instructional Objectives vs. Learning Objectives
• Do objectives reflect learning or structure
  learning?

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Verbs

• Use action verbs which result in observable and
  measurable behavior
• Blooms Taxonomy (handout)

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Strive to

• Aim for the highest level of cognition possible,
  given the resources for evaluating learner
  outcome
• Avoid verbs with unmeasurable results
• know
• become aware of
• appreciate
• learn
• understand
• become familiar with

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Identifying Expected Learning Outcomes(doesnt
this sound better than writing objectives?
Boat Crew Dyad activity Write 9 objectives for
BOAT 15 minutes
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Curriculum Implementation Plan

• BOAT Crew Small Group activity
• Design the implementation plan
• 10 minutes
• What? (content)
• How? (activities? instructional methods?)
• Who?
• Where?
• When?

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Special terms

• Core curriculum
• Integrated curriculum
• Hidden curriculum
• Curriculum continuum (or alignment)
• Curriculum reform

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Hidden Curriculum

• hidden curriculum those things learners learn
  through the experience of attending rather than
  through stated educational objectives

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ReviewThe Curriculum for the Evening
Rationale(why teach this) (was it based on
needs assessment?)
Learning Outcomes (Goals Objectives)(Competenc
ies)
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The curriculum for the evening

• It is our goal that, by the end of the evening,
  the Scholars in Education will
• __
• __
• __
• __

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The curriculum for the evening

• It is our goal that, by the end of the evening,
  the Scholars in Education will
• Identify the key elements of a curriculum.
• Practice developing a curriculum implementation
  plan.
• Practice developing expected learner outcomes
  using Blooms Taxonomy
• Build a working model of curriculum evaluation
• Apply principles of curriculum evaluation
• Identify how curriculum evaluation resembles and
  differs from evaluation of smaller instructional
  units
• Hidden curriculum
• compare various learning formats individual,
  dyadic, small group, large group

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The Curriculum for the Evening
Rationale(why teach this) (based on needs
assessment)
Learning Outcomes (Goals Objectives)(Competenc
ies)
Evaluation (of learning, of teaching)
Implementation Plan who, when, where, how
Learning Environment
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Take Home Points

• Curriculum is more than a set of objectives.
• Curriculum is not only what you teach, but how
  you teach and how they learn and did it work?.
• Curriculum is really a process, not a thing.

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Resources

• Harden RM (1986). Ten questions to ask when
  planning a course or curriculum. Medical
  Education. 20356-365.
• Oliva, PF. Developing the Curriculum. Boston
  Little, Brown and Comp. 1982.
• Curriculum environment, climate, quality and
  change in medical education a unifying
  perspective. Association for Medical Education in
  Europe, Medical Education Guide No. 23. 2001.
• Writing Learning Outcomes, from the
  Professional Development section of the website
  for the American Association of Law Libraries
  http//www.aallnet.org/prodev/outcomes.asp