A presentation given at the Assessment and Technology Conference of Plymouth University, 10th December 2014 - also demo of use in Dentistry given.

1. Curriculum Mapping: linking outcomes,
assessment and more
Simon Cotterill
Faculty of Medical Sciences
Newcastle Universty
http://learning-maps.ncl.ac.uk

2. Curriculum Maps: Potential role in Monitoring & QA
Identify ‘gaps’
in teaching
Declared
curriculum
Monitor access & equality of
learning opportunities
Taught
curriculum
Identify
duplication
Learning &
development
‘Constructive Alignment’
(curriculum – T&L – assessment)
Better insight into learning
outside the curriculum
Map to other
Curricula
(widens learning
opportunities)
Identify popular
external resources
(QA + peer review)
External resources Prior learning ‘Life-wide’ learning

3. Maps: levels of detail
Curriculum strands Module maps Session maps

4. Dynamic Learning Maps
Key curriculum drivers for the project:
1: Modular courses
Part of the Curriculum
Delivery Programme
- promoting cross-modular learning
- mapping to transferable graduate skills / careers
2: Medicine: Communicating Complex Curricula
Understanding linkages
within the spiral curriculum
(students & teachers)
Occasional Teachers
-some unintended duplication in
teaching

5. Choice of views
Text-based
interface
Mind-map style
interface
I Prefer:
n=193 (student response system)
Diversity and strong polarisation of
personal preferences for visual, text or other views
Further evaluation results:
https://learning-maps.ncl.ac.uk/

6. Search over the curriculum
utilises ‘semantic’ connections made
between topics and with resources

7. Case Study: Dentistry
Dentistry at Newcastle
All course leaders were invited to a ‘hands-on’ workshop
• Brief demo of how to use DLM
• Brief instructions (2 pages with screenshots)
• Clear task to enter their course outcomes and map them to the GDC
Stepwise Strategy: Course outcomes were later mapped to assessments.
• 1,616 course outcomes mapped over the 5 yr programme
• 3,741 linkages between course outcomes and 173 GDC outcomes.
• 2,747 linkages between course outcomes and 51 assessments.
• DLM extrapolates how GDC outcomes are assessed.
Course outcomes mapped to Graduate Skills Framework
by a final year student
• 1,834 links between outcomes & skills/attributes
• Identified 2 areas with relatively thin coverage
• Presented at NU Learning & Teaching conf. 2013

8. Knowing how a teaching session relates to the
rest of the curriculum is important to me
 “Will increase relevance of Phase I lectures
to clinical presentations/experience”
n=193 (student response system)
 From a students point of view, one could be
much clearer on ‘the big picture’, as you have a
curriculum map laid out in front of you...”
77% Agreed
Stage 4 Medical Students
- Focus groups

9. Having the map will be useful for revision
 “Excellent revision tool”
? “Any way of ticking off lectures revised?”
n=193 (student response system)
Stage 4 Medical Students
 “Helpful revision tool”
Clinical Teacher
91% Agreed

10. It would be useful to add notes and reflections to
teaching sessions and other parts of the map
“[liked] linking the portfolio (which may
appear otherwise abstract) with the rest of
a student’s education”.
“link to portfolio may
increase its usage!”
Stage 4
Medical Students
(Focus Group)
73% of students agree
But clinical teaching staff skeptical:
n=193 (student response system)
“Can this really be used for
portfolio (if voluntary) ?“
“How to engage student with e-portfolios
– won’t work without their engagement”

11. Challenges for Curriculum Mapping ♯1
The curriculum changes over time
Between major restructuring of the MBBS curriculum (aprox. every 5-7yrs):
 stable: units (modules), programme outcomes
 minor adjustments: sessions, cases, unit outcomes (responsive to evaluation / QA)
 more variation in assessment & differences in delivery by 4 ‘Base Units’ (stages 3 & 5)
Stage 5     
Stage 4     
Stage 3     
Stage 2     
Stage 1     
2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12
Student journey
through the
curriculum
‘here and now’
teaching focus

12. Challenges for Curriculum Mapping ♯2
• Staff time / Staff engagement
• Level of Granularity
• Consistency
Developing a Mapping Strategy
• Stepwise mapping
Course Outcomes
Professional Outcomes
Assessment
• Involve Staff early (including Admin team)
• Roll out to students later?

13. Open Educational Resources
OER Bookmarking (JISC-CETIS Rapid Innovation project)
RIDLR & SupOERGlue (2 x JISC funded OER Rapid Innovation projects)
Return Paradata
LR
Node
DLM
Harvest OERs /Paradata
PublishOER (HEA/JISC UKOER Phase 3 project)
• Investigating new business models for embedding publishers content in OERs
• Partnership with Elsevier, JISC Collections, Rightscom and education providers
• Some DLM-related activities
Project blog posts at: : http://www.medev.ac.uk/

14. Co-Curate
DLM ‘lite’ with visual resource system

15. Project funded by
Thank You
Further information & Public Demonstrator:
http://learning-maps.ncl.ac.uk