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1 Welcome

2 Building the curriculum in higher education: a conceptual framework
Nicole Totté Steven Huyghe Alexandra Verhagen Academic Development Unit KU Leuven

3 41000 students 1500 professors 16 faculties 55 Bachelor programs
Largest and oldest university in Belgium Research intensive university 41000 students 1500 professors 16 faculties 55 Bachelor programs 250 Master programs 18500 staff Steven and I work at the central Academic Development Unit of the KULeuven, the largest and olders university in Belgium. The KULeuven is a research intensive university currently counting students, 1500 professors and more than 300 ba and ma programs.

4 Introduction Course design Academic Development Unit
Since more than 30 years the Academic Development Unit tries to improve the quality of teaching at the KU Leuven. During the first decades, academic development initiatives mainly focused on enhancing instructional design of individual courses to support student learning. For this purpose the unit developed a conceptual scheme which emphasizes the importance of coherence and consistency between all elements important in instructional decision making. Academic Development Unit

5 Curriculum development
Introduction clear and useful tool for design, revision and evaluation of curriculum building blocks and their relationships mindmap for all stakeholders Curriculum development Course design Around the millennium change the Bologna declaration and the introduction of the QA system resulted in a shift towards more attention for curricula. At that time the conceptual scheme on instructional design met its limitations as there was no explicit link with the curriculum. However, it seems obvious that courses, being the ‘building blocks’ of a curriculum, need to be well-aligned in order to constitute a coherent curriculum, in order to meet the assumed learning outcomes. Throughout the presentation, we will use the term “curriculum”, meaning a degree program Academic Development Unit

6 Approach Exploration of literature on curriculum design
Identification of key components describing curriculum Visualisation of the scheme and quality circles The approach we used for constructing the scheme was: …. More details of the approach can be found in the paper

7 Elements for a conceptual scheme

8 Planned curriculum Learning outcomes
positioning educational philosophy learning outcomes Learning outcomes Selection and integration of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to be acquired by the graduates The educational philosophy: the description of the educational purposes and instructional philosophy that underlie curriculum decisions, reflecting the vision and mission of the institution - e.g. which learning theories underpin teaching and learning (Diamond 2008; Stark and Lattuca 1997; Oliver et al. 2008; Morcke and Eika 2009). The positioning of the curriculum: encompasses the level (Undergraduate, Bachelor, Master,…), orientation (strategic choices about content) (Diamond 2008) and the strategic choices about the disciplines involved compared to similar curricula at other institutes. For this element ample description was found in literature, but our own experience and context told us that introducing the ‘level’ actually helps stakeholders to discuss if their proposed program is most suitable to result in a Bachelor, Master or other degree. Moreover positioning its own curriculum against similar curricula regarding the disciplinary content enables to substantiate the choices made by the program. The learning outcomes at the program level: selection and integration of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to be acquired by the graduates (Diamond 2008; Stark and Lattuca 1997). In accrediation schemes curricular outcomes are mentioned in terms of ’results judged against targets’ (Stensaker and Harvey 2006).

9 Educational philosophy
Planned curriculum positioning educational philosophy learning outcomes Educational philosophy Description of the educational purposes and instructional philosophy that underlie curriculum decisions, reflecting the vision and mission of the institution. The educational philosophy: the description of the educational purposes and instructional philosophy that underlie curriculum decisions, reflecting the vision and mission of the institution - e.g. which learning theories underpin teaching and learning (Diamond 2008; Stark and Lattuca 1997; Oliver et al. 2008; Morcke and Eika 2009). The positioning of the curriculum: encompasses the level (Undergraduate, Bachelor, Master,…), orientation (strategic choices about content) (Diamond 2008) and the strategic choices about the disciplines involved compared to similar curricula at other institutes. For this element ample description was found in literature, but our own experience and context told us that introducing the ‘level’ actually helps stakeholders to discuss if their proposed program is most suitable to result in a Bachelor, Master or other degree. Moreover positioning its own curriculum against similar curricula regarding the disciplinary content enables to substantiate the choices made by the program. The learning outcomes at the program level: selection and integration of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to be acquired by the graduates (Diamond 2008; Stark and Lattuca 1997). In accrediation schemes curricular outcomes are mentioned in terms of ’results judged against targets’ (Stensaker and Harvey 2006).

10 Level (Undergraduate, Bachelor, Master,…)
Planned curriculum positioning educational philosophy learning outcomes Positioning Level (Undergraduate, Bachelor, Master,…) Orientation (content related) Strategic choices about the disciplines involved Comparison with similar curricula at other institutions The educational philosophy: the description of the educational purposes and instructional philosophy that underlie curriculum decisions, reflecting the vision and mission of the institution - e.g. which learning theories underpin teaching and learning (Diamond 2008; Stark and Lattuca 1997; Oliver et al. 2008; Morcke and Eika 2009). The positioning of the curriculum: encompasses the level (Undergraduate, Bachelor, Master,…), orientation (strategic choices about content) (Diamond 2008) and the strategic choices about the disciplines involved compared to similar curricula at other institutes. For this element ample description was found in literature, but our own experience and context told us that introducing the ‘level’ actually helps stakeholders to discuss if their proposed program is most suitable to result in a Bachelor, Master or other degree. Moreover positioning its own curriculum against similar curricula regarding the disciplinary content enables to substantiate the choices made by the program. The learning outcomes at the program level: selection and integration of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to be acquired by the graduates (Diamond 2008; Stark and Lattuca 1997). In accrediation schemes curricular outcomes are mentioned in terms of ’results judged against targets’ (Stensaker and Harvey 2006).

11 discipline, research community, labour market, society
positioning educational philosophy learning outcomes Alignment with discipline, research community, labour market, society needs of employers and recruiters expectations of society new findings of the research communities The discipline, the research community, the labor market (with alumni) and the society are all closely related to and influencing curriculum choices. It’s important to take into account e.g. the needs of employers and recruiters, the expectations of society, new findings of the research communities, the accreditation requirements and those of the disciplinary associations (Diamond 2008; Stark and Lattuca 1997).

12 discipline, research community, labour market, society
learning outcomes educational philosophy positioning discipline, research community, labour market, society Aligned curriculum structure and sequence all courses are sequenced and structured together to form a coherent program of study learning, teaching and assessment strategies learning, teaching and assessment strategies are aligned between courses courses The main box in the center respresents the curriculum consisting of the courses: The conceptual scheme for course design (Elen 2002) is placed in the middle of this box and is visualised in different layers. We call it the aligned curriculum, indicating that all courses are sequenced ((4) structure and sequence) and aligned ((5) learning, teaching and assessment strategies). They represent the most visible part (for every stakeholder) of a curriculum, the so-called program of study. Structure and sequence: all courses are sequenced and structured together to form a coherent program of study (Stark and Lattuca 1997; Stensaker and Harvey 2006) with specific attention to vertical and horizontal integration (Hubball and Burt, 2004). Learning, teaching and assessment strategies should be tuned to the educational philosophy, should enable students to obtain the learning outcomes and should be aligned between courses (Stark and Lattuca 1997; Oliver et al. 2008; Stensaker and Harvey 2006). The arrow between the main box and the triangle box indicates the ‘planned curriculum’ which is guiding how individual courses are designed and how the different courses are structured and sequenced and aligned to each other. These two boxes (top triangle box and main central box) are ‘owned’ by the department or the group of teachers that deliver the curriculum, meaning that they take decisions about the (re)design process.

13 discipline, research community, labour market, society
positioning educational philosophy learning outcomes departmental institutional regional (inter)national regulation and organization policy startenu courses Policy includes departmental, institutional, regional, (inter)national regulation, organization and legislation (Stark and Lattuca 1997; Oliver et al. 2008). learning, teaching and assessment strategies structure and sequence

14 institutional resources
discipline, research community, labour market, society positioning educational philosophy learning outcomes courses teaching facilities infrastructure technology staff financial resources Institutional resources include facilities for teaching, organisational infrastructure and technology, quality and quantity of teaching staff, their experience and expertise, staff/student ratio and financial resources (Diamond 2008; Stark and Lattuca 1997; Stensaker and Harvey 2006). learning, teaching and assessment strategies structure and sequence institutional resources

15 student characteristics
discipline, research community, labour market, society positioning educational philosophy learning outcomes student selection characteristics of incoming students diverse back-ground of students courses student characteristics Student characteristics that need to be considered are student selection, characteristics of incoming students, diverse background of students (previous knowledge, experience or degrees, ethnic diversity,…) (Diamond 2008; Stark and Lattuca 1997; Stensaker and Harvey 2006). learning, teaching and assessment strategies structure and sequence

16 resources for students
discipline, research community, labour market, society positioning educational philosophy learning outcomes courses Resources for students include student guidance, student mobility and facilities for students/learning (Stensaker and Harvey 2006) learning, teaching and assessment strategies structure and sequence student guidance student mobility facilities for students resources for students

17 student characteristics learning outcomes educational philosophy
positioning discipline, research community, labour market, society resources for students learning, teaching and assessment strategies structure and sequence policy startenu institutional resources courses

18 Circles for quality development

19 A quality circle of the planned curriculum
discipline, research community, labour market, society quality circle of the planned curriculum A positioning educational philosophy learning outcomes policy startenu student characteristics courses By working on the learning outcomes, the positioning and the educational concept and confronting these to the expectations of the discipline, the research community, the labour market and the society, both new or renewed curricula can be planned or the plans can be evaluated. learning, teaching and assessment strategies structure and sequence institutional resources resources for students

20 B implementation of the curriculum
discipline, research community, labour market, society positioning educational philosophy learning outcomes implementation of the curriculum B policy startenu student characteristics courses This is the quality circle the of implementation. The circle makes the link between the planned and the aligned curriculum. It investigates whether the intentions are realized learning, teaching and assessment strategies structure and sequence institutional resources resources for students

21 C the aligned curriculum
discipline, research community, labour market, society positioning educational philosophy learning outcomes learning, teaching and assessment strategies structure and sequence courses policy startenu student characteristics C the aligned curriculum The aligned curriculum consists of all courses ordered in a certain sequence and structured in obligatory and elective courses and modules. On top of this, all courses need to be aligned to each other in such a way the learning outcomes can be realised. institutional resources resources for students

22 discipline, research community, labour market, society
positioning educational philosophy learning outcomes policy startenu student characteristics courses the last circle/square is the aligned course. The different composing elements of a course have to be aligned. Composing elements are: Learning objectives Learning activities Student characteristics Evaluation and assessment methods Instructional format Guidance by teachers Study material Content learning, teaching and assessment strategies structure and sequence institutional resources resources for students the aligned course D

23 Actors researchers / faculty employers alumni society
student characteristics learning outcomes educational philosophy positioning discipline, research community, labour market, society resources for students learning, teaching and assessment strategies structure and sequence policy startenu institutional resources courses alumni society educational developers students teaching assistents faculty program leader policy makers program leader program leader students faculty Although not all important stakeholders are represented in the scheme, we want to stress here that working on curriculum develoment involves a lot of stakeholders. Here you see them positioned throughout the scheme. student counselers teaching assistents supporting staff

24 Evaluating the framework
= verifying validity and usability for different stakeholders since 2009: use in educational development in 2012: Workshop with program leaders and educational developers introduction of scheme curriculum related case questionnaire on usability Since 2009 we started using the scheme in different educational develoment settings – in this way, we tried to verifyi itsvalidity and usability for different stakeholders in 2012 Steven en I conducted a workshop on quality development with program leaders and educational developers where we introduced the scheme through a short ppt, during the workshop each participant analysed his own curriculum related case using the scheme. At the end of the workshop they fillied in a questionnaire on usability of scheme

25 Evaluating the framework
Results useful tool Implicit use need for additional information on implementation Scenario’s will be provided to program leaders and educational developers Results indicate that the scheme is a useful tool to gain full insight in the complexity of the curriculum all participants consider applying the scheme implicitely in their work need for additional information on how to implement the scheme + roadmap guiding you through the scheme Therefore we started to write scenarios as an operationalisation of certain components and circles. These scenarios include information on stakeholders, specific steps, strategies, questions to be answered and output of the exercice. In the future, they will be provided to program leaders and ed developers Curriculum Revision Revising the existing learning outcomes by consulting alumni, labour market, research community, students and faculty Mapping the new learning outcomes against the existing courses of the program (learning outcomes, teaching strategies, assessment) Defining the learning trajectories throughout the curriculum Discussing the gaps and overlap within one learning trajectory by teams of involved faculty Make the necessary adjustments in the structure, sequence of the program followed by adjusting the content, learning outcomes, teaching strategies or assessment of individual courses

26 Discussion

27 Contact Dr. Ir. Nicole Totté Dr. Steven Huyghe
Academic Development Unit Teaching and Learning department Kapeldreef 62 – bus 5206 3001 Heverlee Belgium

28


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