STLHE members have a long history of working to inspire institutional change, not least through curriculum review, (re)design and transformation (Wolf and Christensen Hughes, 2008). We (the authors) wanted a simple, non proprietary and user-friendly method for visually mapping academic-program courses in order to support our university-wide curricular work with departments and faculties. Curricular maps: save time by allowing curriculum committees to visualise the implications of potential curricular changes before the substantial work of making them is actually undertaken; have the advantage of motivating change, as colleagues can see the logic (or otherwise) of the existing course sequence and where there are barriers to student progress; and represent a clear way of communicating to students regarding their program choices, best path to degree and progress to-date. The goals of this session are to: (i) help others who might wish to develop something similar, (ii) document the potential of visual curricular maps for motivating change and (iii) have participants share experiences and think about possible opportunities for implementation at home. The session will be interactive and experiential. Participants will have a chance to: (i) try out the curricular mapping process our academic departments go through (ii) directly experience how visualisation of curricular issues can save time and resources, as well as supporting a faster transition to a student-centred curriculum and (iii) ask questions and establish community.
Dawson, T. (2013). A guide to program and curriculum planning. Victoria, BC: The Learning and Teaching Centre, University of Victoria.
Wolf, P. & Christensen Hughes, J. (Eds.). (2007, Winter). Curriculum development in higher education: Faculty-driven processes and practices. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 112. San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass.
