Curriculum Mapping at
Glasgow
Developing and Supporting the
Curriculum
Dave Talbot
RA DSC, PhD candidate
Learning & Teaching Centre
University of Glasgow
What and why?
• University of New South Wales
– University wide
– Efficient & Effective assessment
– Did not look at mapping or blueprinting
• University College Dublin
– Enhancement focused
– Subject buy-in
– Dialogic process
• Map: Shows the path from A to B
http://www.contours.co.uk
• Blueprint: Shows how to build a complete item
from separate parts
http://www.popartuk.com
• Map: Shows the path from A to B
– Curriculum Map: Shows the path of
content/objectives from novice to expert in a field
• Blueprint: Shows how to build a complete item
from separate parts
– Assessment Blueprint: Shows how to build a
complete qualification from separate assessments
What and why?
• Glasgow Dentistry: Curriculum mapping and
assessment blueprinting
– Rigid professional requirements
– Closed 5 year programme
– Master document of 363 programme ILOs
– Each matched to an assessment over 5 years
Can this model be expanded?
Pharmacology
• Life Sciences
• Semi-professionalised
• Open programme
Celtic Studies
• Humanities
• Non-professionalised
• Open programme
Phase 1 – Subject Reviews
• TESTA process
– Document review
– Staff interviews
• Limitations
– Percentage of subject control of curriculum
Year
Pharmacology
1
Human Physiology (19)
Chemistry I (25+)
Elective
Biology I (19+)
Elective
Human Form & Function
(19)
Life Science Elective (19)
Elective
Neuroscience &
Life Science Elective (19)
Behaviour (19)
Pharmacology Core
Elective
2
Drugs and Disease (19)
3
4
Integrated Human (4)
Pharmacology
Biosciences Elective (4)
Biosciences Elective (4)
Pharmacology Project
Pharmacology Paper
Biosciences Elective (4)
The number in parenthesis shows an estimate of how many programmes share each course.
Pharmacology independently only controls ~25% of the curriculum.
Any changes made in order to map Pharmacology would affect each of these other programmes as
well.
Celtic Studies (single-honours)
Year
1
2
3
4
Year
1
2
3
4
Celtic
Celtic
Celtic
Celtic
Celtic
Celtic
Celtic
Celtic
Single-Honours Celtic Studies
Elective
Elective
Elective
Elective
Elective
Elective
Elective
Elective
Celtic
Arts Elective
Celtic
Celtic
Celtic
Celtic
Celtic Dissertation
Celtic Studies/Literature (joint-honours)
Celtic
Literature
Celtic
Literature
Celtic
Literature
Celtic
Literature
Celtic
Literature
Celtic
Celtic
Celtic
Celtic
Dissertation (Celtic OR Literature)
Elective
Elective
Elective
Elective
Literature
Literature
Literature
Literature
Here the programme to be
mapped has the most control of
the curriculum over four years
(~63%).
But even here students select
only 7 courses from dozens of
Celtic options in the final 2 years.
Joint-Honours Celtic Studies
In this very popular study path
the programme to be mapped
has much less control of the
curriculum over four years (~37 46%).
The actual balance can be
even more variable as
students can lean more or
less to either programme.
Viability of mapping?
Pharmacology
• Shared core courses
• Single student pathway (nearly)
• Mapping should take place at higher level than subject
Celtic Studies
• Isolated programme
• Many flexible student pathways
• Mapping would have to allow for interchangeable courses
Phase 2 - Student Interviews
Focus on Programme ILOs and Graduate Attributes
• How are students making meaning of the complete programme?
• How are students perceiving the connections between courses?
• How are students perceiving Graduate Attributes within a programme?
Added Neuroscience (subject) to project
• Closely related to Pharmacology at honours
• Is student experience similar enough to map Pharmacology and Neuroscience together?
Research was conducted by undergraduate students from within each subject
Process
‘Before and After’ interviews
How much do students know already?
Would explicitness about programme
goals change student understandings?
Interview Results
• Students were not much aware of programme
goals or Graduate Attributes
Interview Results
• Students were not much aware of programme
goals or Graduate Attributes
But they could talk about connections between
courses that they had worked out on their own
Interview Results
• In second interview students still claimed not to recall
programme goals or graduate attributes
But they were able to talk about connections between courses
in greater detail and using much of the terminology of the
programme goals and Graduate Attributes
And they drew new connections between these ideas and
assessment in their courses (not always positive connections)
What does that mean?
Lots of potential for mapping and blueprinting
Lots still to explore about making it work with real
curricula (interdisciplinary negotiation)
Making the process explicit to students (including
students in the process) is essential to success
Where to next?
• LEAF (Leading Enhancements in Assessment and Feedback)
– Edinburgh, Glasgow, Nottingham and Birmingham
– Biosciences, History, Economics (…?)
– TESTA and mapping for assessment enhancement
• Periodic Subject Review
– Subject self-assessment
• Pre-change review
– Q-Step