Welcome

Building the curriculum in higher education:a conceptual framework

• Nicole Totté• Steven Huyghe• Alexandra Verhagen

Academic Development Unit KU Leuven

• Largest and oldest university in Belgium

• Research intensive university

41000 students

1500 professors

16 faculties

55 Bachelor programs

250 Master programs

18500 staff

Academic Development Unit

Course design

Introduction

Academic Development Unit

Course designCurriculum

development

? clear and useful tool for design, revision and evaluation of curriculum

? building blocks and their relationships

? mindmap for all stakeholders

Introduction

Approach

• Exploration of literature on curriculum design

• Identification of key components describing curriculum

• Visualisation of the scheme and quality circles

Elements for a conceptual scheme

learning outcomes

educational philosophypositioning

Planned curriculum

Learning outcomes

Selection and integration of the knowledge, skills, and

attitudes to be acquired by the graduates

learning outcomes

educational philosophypositio

ning

Planned curriculum

Educational philosophy

Description of the educational purposes

and instructional philosophy that underlie

curriculum decisions, reflecting the vision

and mission of the institution.

learning outcomes

educational philosophypositioning

Planned curriculum

Positioning

• Level (Undergraduate, Bachelor, Master,…)

• Orientation (content related)

• Strategic choices about the disciplines involved

• Comparison with similar curricula at other institutions

learning outcomes

educational philosophypositioning

discipline, research community, labour market, society

Alignment with discipline, research

community, labour market, society

• needs of employers and recruiters

• expectations of society

• new findings of the research communities

courses

structure and

sequence

all courses are

sequenced and

structured

together to form

a coherent

program of

study

Aligned curriculum

learning, teaching and assessment strategies

learning, teaching

and assessment

strategies are

aligned between

courses

learning outcomes

educational philosophypositioning

discipline, research community, labour market, society

learning outcomes

educational philosophypositioning

discipline, research community, labour market, society

learning, teaching and assessment strategies

structure and

sequence

po

licy sta

rtenu

courses

•departmental•institutional•regional•(inter)national

regulation and organization

learning outcomes

educational philosophypositioning

discipline, research community, labour market, society

learning, teaching and assessment strategies

structure and

sequence

institu

tion

al reso

urces

courses

• teaching facilities

• infrastructure• technology• staff• financial

resources

stud

ent

characteristicslearning outcomes

educational philosophypositioning

discipline, research community, labour market, society

learning, teaching and assessment strategies

structure and

sequence

courses

•student selection•characteristics of incoming students•diverse back-ground of students

learning outcomes

educational philosophypositioning

discipline, research community, labour market, society

resou

rces for

stud

ents

learning, teaching and assessment strategies

structure and

sequence

courses

•student guidance•student mobility• facilities for

students

student

characteristicslearning outcomes

educational philosophypositioning

discipline, research community, labour market, society

resources for stu

dents

learning, teaching and assessment strategies

structure and

sequence

policy sta

rtenu

institutio

nal resources

courses

Circles for quality development

student

characteristics

learning outcomes

educational philosophypositioning

discipline, research community, labour market, society

resources for stu

dents

learning, teaching and assessment strategies

structure and

sequence

policy sta

rtenu

institutio

nal resources

courses

A quality circle of the

planned curriculum

student

characteristics

learning outcomes

educational philosophypositioning

discipline, research community, labour market, society

resources for stu

dents

learning, teaching and assessment strategies

structure and

sequence

policy sta

rtenu

institutio

nal resources

courses

Bimplementation of

the curriculum

student

characteristics

learning outcomes

educational philosophypositioning

discipline, research community, labour market, society

resources for stu

dents

policy sta

rtenu

institutio

nal resources

learning, teaching and assessment strategies

structure and

sequence

courses C the aligned curriculum

student

characteristics

learning outcomes

educational philosophypositioning

discipline, research community, labour market, society

resources for stu

dents

learning, teaching and assessment strategies

structure and

sequence

policy sta

rtenu

institutio

nal resources

courses

Dthe aligned course

stud

en

t ch

ara

cteristics

learning outcomes

educational philosophypositio

ning

discipline, research community, labour market, society

resources for stu

dents

learning, teaching and assessment strategies

structure and

sequence

policy sta

rtenu

institutio

nal resources

courses

Actorsresearchers / faculty

alumni

employers

society

students

teaching

assistents

faculty

studentsteaching

assistentsfaculty

policy

makers

program

leader

program

leader

program

leader

educational

developers

student

counselerssupporting

staff

Evaluating the framework

= verifying validity and usability for different stakeholders

• since 2009: use in educational development

• in 2012: Workshop with program leaders and educational developerso introduction of schemeo curriculum related caseo questionnaire on usability

Evaluating the framework

• Resultso useful toolo Implicit useo need for additional information on implementation

• Scenario’s will be provided to program leaders and educational developers

Discussion

Contact

Dr. Ir. Nicole TottéDr. Steven Huyghe Academic Development UnitTeaching and Learning departmentKapeldreef 62 – bus 52063001 HeverleeBelgium

nicole.totte@kuleuven.besteven.huyghe@kuleuven.be

http://www.doel.kuleuven.be