The goal of a curriculum is to provide learning experiences for students that intentionally build knowledge, skills, and attitudes over time. A curricular map provides a visual representation to demonstrate which specific learning objectives are addressed in each course, how learning builds across courses, and how those learning objectives are assessed. Mapping is a key tool for seeing relationships between different learning experiences by examining the role of each to build towards shared learning outcomes.
make this part graphical A curricular map
- Provides a visualization for how courses in a program fit together to achieve program-level learning objectives
- Provides a visualization for how student learning is demonstrated
- Creates a conversational lens through which to examine a program
- Helps to identify academic gaps, redundancies, and misalignments
- Promotes cohesion within a program
The design of a curricular map can differ. The academic program structure, discipline, and program level (undergraduate or graduate) create varying needs. A few examples are provided but faculty can design the format best suited for their program.
| Course 1 | Course 2 | Course 3 | Assessments | Achievement goals | |
| Learning objective 1 | Introduced | Reinforced | Mastered | Course 1: Group project
Course 2: Paper Course 3: Capstone project
|
Course 1: 75% of students achieve 85% or higher on the teamwork portion of the project rubric
Course 2: 75% of students achieve 80% or higher on the teamwork portion of the paper rubric Course 3: 85% of students achieve 80% or higher on the teamwork portion of the poster rubric |
| Learning objective 2 | Introduced | Mastered | Course 2: Lab report
Course 3: Exam questions; case study
|
Course 2: 85% of students achieve 85% or higher on the critical thinking portion of the lab rubric
Course 3: 80% of students achieve 80% or higher on exam questions pertaining to critical thinking Course 3: 80% of students achieve 75% or higher on the critical thinking portion of the case study rubric |
|
| Learning objective 3 | Introduced
|
Mastered
|
Course 1: Reflective essay
Course 2: Oral presentation
|
Course 1: 85% of students achieve 90% or higher on the social justice portion of the reflective essay rubric
Course 2: 85% of students achieve 90% or higher on the social justice portion of the oral presentation rubric |
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