Curriculum Mapping Results
Overview
The goal of the B.Sc. project is to map the coverage (i.e., teaching and assessment) of degree and major Learning Outcomes for all majors within the B.Sc. degree. The B.Sc. curriculum mapping project started in the Spring of 2016 with survey collection starting in Fall of 2016. The project involved the mapping of all courses involved in any major within the B.Sc. degree. This included mapping over 400 courses across 5 Colleges. The participation from the faculty and staff was exceptional and close to 400 courses were mapped to the B.Sc. Learning Outcomes as well as most? major specific outcomes. Data analysis began in Spring of 2017, to create a workbook of curriculum mapping results for each major.
Open Learning and Educational Support (OpenEd) has been a huge factor in bringing this project to life. The team of Dale Lackeyram, Jennifer Reniers and Clarke Mathany developed the survey through Qualtrics and have been a source of support throughout the entire project.
Process
A customized Qualtrics survey was sent to every instructor who teaches a course within the majors of the B.Sc. degree, including core and restricted electives for all majors. Most courses were mapped during the semester that they were offered. To reduce the length of the survey, first year courses were only mapped to the B.Sc. Learning Outcomes as these core courses are often? completed by all 27 of our majors. Second year courses were mapped to the B.Sc. Learning Outcomes and to any major specific outcomes of majors that were offered by that department (e.g., BIOC*2580 is offered by the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology therefore instructors were asked to map the course to the three majors that the department supports). Third and fourth year courses were mapped to the B.Sc. Learning Outcomes as well as any majors that had the course as a core course or restricted elective.
For each course, instructors were asked a series of questions about the teaching and assessment methods used in the course Instructors were asked to pick a maximum of eight methods of teaching and assessment and to choose the highest level of assessment. For example, if the student completed a research project in their course and it included a literature review the instructor should only choose research project but both research project and literature review.
Next, instructors were asked to indicate which B.Sc. outcomes they teach and assess in the course, and how each outcome is taught and assessed. Instructors also indicated the depth of assessment for each outcome. These outcome-related questions were repeated for all applicable majors.
Instructors were also asked to indicate which high impact practices they use in their course.
The survey was closed mid-May and analyses started immediately after.
Curriculum Mapping Reports
A two-page summary of the mapping results for each major within the B.Sc. is available on the Summary Reports page.
The full reports for each major offered within the College of Biological Science can be found on the following Curriculum Mapping Reports page.
You will require your UofG central login and password to access either of these pages.
Staff from OpenEd, with support from an Undergraduate Research Assistant, have been working during the Spring of 2017 to develop workbooks for each major. Each workbook will include the following information:
A) Teaching and Assessment Strategies
What methods of instruction are used in the major?
What methods of assessment are used in the major?
B) BSc Degree Learning Outcomes
Is each B.Sc. degree outcome taught?
HOW is each B.Sc. degree outcome taught?
Is each B.Sc. degree outcome assessed?
HOW is each B.Sc. degree outcome assessed?
To what depth of assessment (Introduce, Reinforce, or Master) is each B.Sc. outcome assessed?
B) Major-Specific Learning Outcomes (when applicable)
Is each major-specific outcome taught?
HOW is each major-specific outcome taught?
Is each major-specific outcome assessed?
HOW is each major-specific outcome assessed?
To what depth of assessment (Introduce, Reinforce, or Master) is each major-specific outcome assessed?
C) High Impact Practices
What high impact practices are used in the major and in which courses are these high impact practices used?
The workbook will also provide questions, meant to help Curriculum Committees think about their results and structure recommendations regarding possible curriculum improvement initiatives.
What's next?
In Fall of 2017 OpenEd and the College of Biological Sciences – Office of the Associate Dean Academic will host facilitated retreats for each major involved in the curriculum mapping project. During these retreats, faculty representing each major will engage with the curriculum mapping data and participate in facilitated discussions about the strengths and areas for improvement within the curriculum. Faculty will be encouraged to propose curriculum-related recommendations to bring back to the department based on the results of the curriculum mapping project. OpenEd and the CBS Office of the Associate Dean Academic will provide ongoing support to departments in implementing these changes.