Curriculm Map
Once goals have been identified, match them to your curriculum to ensure that every student has sufficient opportunity to learn in relation to the goals. Consider using a “curriculum map” to identify the intersection of program-level learning goals, learning opportunities and both necessary and unwanted redundancies in the curriculum. Curriculum map shows where and how program-level outcomes are introduced, reinforced, and mastered in the curriculum.
Curriculum map helps faculty identify..
- gaps in the curriculum (a particular outcome is not supported by the curriculum, a course does not address any of the program-level outcomes)
- a need for modification in either program-level or course-level outcomes
- opportunities for assessment to be embedded
Steps
1. List the program-level learning goals in the first row.
2. Consider the most likely places where your students will acquire the necessary learning. List all existing courses and co-curricular programs your program provides in the first column.
- Core courses that all students in the major are required to take provide ideal opportunities for learning related to goals.
- Consider places outside existing courses where your students might learn in relation to the program goals (service learning, internships, research projects, career workshops).
3. Ask what is the relationship between the existing learning opportunities (courses and co-curricular activities) and the learning goals. Examine where the goals are introduced (I), reinforced/practiced (R), mastered (M), and Assessed (A), and notate the cells using IRMA.
4. Once it is mapped, discuss the following:
- Identify gaps: Are there any goals that do not appear to be addressed in the curriculum?
- Is there a need to modify the course sequencing, so students have a better seamless learning experience?
- Is it necessary to introduce new learning opportunities to reinforce learning?
If one of your program goals is to “Formulate a well organized argument supported by evidence,” then your program curriculum should ensure that students have multiple opportunities to learn what defines good writing in your discipline and to develop skill and receive feedback (e.g. through written assignments that are evaluated). Students should be aware that there is a program goal they need to meet, that this goal will follow them as they move through the program, and that they will have access to help and feedback while working towards the goal.
Resources from UCB
- Download Curriculum Map Template
- Chemistry & Chemical Biology's curriculum map
- Online/On-campus Master of Public Health: Curriculum Map
- Graduate Division: Program outcomes and curriculum map of all graduate degree programs
Resources from other institutions
- University of Hawaii at Manoa: Curriculum mapping/matrix