MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY ASSESSMENT …marquette.edu/assessment/documents/CurriculumMapping.pdfDemonstrate knowledge of the biological bases of behavior and development. X X X X Outline

Professional Development Workshops for

Program Assessment Leaders

Marquette UniversityFebruary, 2013

MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY ASSESSMENT

MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY ASSESSMENT

Curriculum Mapping:

Aligning Outcomes with Course

Content

MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY ASSESSMENT

“Use an appropriate empirical research method to describe and understand a social issue.”

“Demonstrate knowledge of the basic categories of theological reflection.”

“Identify the legal principles involved in journalism situations.”

Where in the coursework for the degree (or certificate) program is this program-level learning outcome addressed?

Where are the opportunities for students to be introduced to this outcome, practice it, and demonstrate mastery?

MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY ASSESSMENT

What is a curriculum map?

• A communication tool that visually aligns

learning outcomes with the content of individual

courses or experiences in the program.

• A curriculum map is typically designed as a

matrix, with the learning outcomes listed in the

first column and the individual courses or

experiences listed on the top row (or the other

way around).

MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY ASSESSMENT

Benefits of curriculum mapping for faculty:

1. Improves understanding of how the

curriculum fits together.

2. Helps with course sequencing.

3. Reveals strengths, gaps, redundancies the

curriculum.

4. Leads to more effective assessment.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

REQUIRED COURSES

101 102 201 220 250 301 302 303 401 402 435

490

Properly documents references and citations in APA style. X X X X X X

Demonstrates oral presentation skills appropriate to the field of psychology. X X X X X

Demonstrate knowledge of the historical context of the field of psychology X X X X

Demonstrate knowledge of the biological bases of behavior and

development.X X X X

Outline the major ideas behind the individual differences perspective. X X X X

Distinguish between major statistical tests and be able to choose appropriate

tests for specific data sets.X X X

Selects methodology appropriate to a particular research question generated

by the student.X X X

Demonstrates an understanding of the ethical principles of psychology as

established by the APA.X X X X

Evaluates real world examples in terms of course content and knowledge,

applying critical thinking skills.X X X X X X X X X X X

Overview Curriculum Map Example

Outcomes →

Experiences ↓

Demonstrate

knowledge of

concepts in

the discipline

Perform

research,

scholarly

activity

Communicate

subject matter

of discipline

Demonstrate

responsible

and ethical

conduct

Required courses

Seminar

Internship/practicum

Qualifying exam

Comprehensive exam

Dissertation proposal

Dissertation defense

MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY ASSESSMENT

Overview method:

Simplest curriculum map.

Just insert X or for those courses

that address a specific learning

outcome.

Identified through a review of course

syllabi, feedback from instructors.

MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY ASSESSMENT

Level of knowledge/skill method:

Describes the level that students are

expected to achieve on this learning

outcome in a given course.

Informs decisions on course sequencing.

Illustrates opportunities for acquisition of

disciplinary knowledge/skills before

mastery is expected.

MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY ASSESSMENT

1. Introduce, Emphasize, Measure

2. Introduce, Develop, Master, Assess

3. Introduce, Reinforce, Assess

4. Instruction, Practice, Feedback

MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY ASSESSMENT

Are there any courses without an indicator in any box?

How does that course contribute to the curriculum?

Does a particular learning outcome relate to every course?

Is this because the learning outcome is overly broad? Is it

because of redundancy in the curriculum? Something else?

Does a particular course relate to every learning outcome?

Is it an introductory survey course or capstone? If not, is

the course too broad?

Are there gaps? Each learning outcome should be

introduced, reinforced and mastered at least once across

multiple courses.

MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY ASSESSMENT

Best Practices in Curriculum Mapping:• The program curriculum map should reflect consensus of the faculty who are

teaching in the program. Multiple instructors of the same course should agree

on which outcomes are addressed in that course.

• Publish the completed map to faculty and students.

• Mapping should allow programs to justify each course in their curriculum. All

courses, required and elective, across all tracks, should relate to one or more

student learning outcomes.

• Is the program trying to do too much? Eliminate outcomes that are not highly-

valued and focus on the highly-valued ones, strengthening the curriculum to

address those outcomes more thoroughly.

• The curriculum map should be revisited during the assessment cycle, making

changes as disciplines evolve.