Curriculum mapping is often required at institutions for quality assurance and curriculum improvement. However, many institutions are stuck at data collection and haven’t been able to aggregate the data from a course level up to a program level, or even better, include data from other divisions of the institution. The desired outcome is to make changes to the curriculum that will improve the program and create pathways for learning from year 1-4. Yet, by the time mapping is completed people often experience what Wolf calls curriculum fatigue and interpretation and action is not actually taken. Further, job cycles are inconsistent with program review cycles. Department chairs might transition. Data might be hard to access. Documents get lost. Strategic Plans get forgotten or abandoned. Wolf proposes a curriculum dashboard, intended to bring institutional data together and keep it accessible to anyone in the job.
It is common for those responsible for curriculum mapping to experience frustration with a possibly mandatory policy to collect course data and apply it to course development. We’ll discuss how to move forward successfully without getting bogged down in the challenges. We’ll also explore the possibilities beyond course data, how that can be done, and what effect it will have program wide.
Learning Goals
- Envision a custom curriculum dashboard that encourages continuous improvement
- Consider course-based evidence and other institutional data that can be mapped
- Consider how to evolve a systems approach to mapping in their context
- Understand that internal advocacy is needed to make this a common goal