Module Components

• Overview
• Assignments

Topics

• Curriculum Overview
• Curriculum Development
• Organizing Curriculum
• Syllabus/Lesson Development

NURS 787 - Theoretical Foundations of Teaching and Learning Course

Module 6: Introduction to Curriculum and Frameworks

Organizing Curriculum

By Mandate

The curriculum can be mandated or prescribed. Curriculum can be based on the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JC) accreditation standards, mandatory facility education, or on needs established by surveys, gap analysis, audits, or observation but however the source, curriculum must be organized. Here is a video example of a curriculum built from a mandate.

By Theory

One way to organize is to use a theory to design a curriculum. When one theory is used to design a curriculum, there is consistency in goals, objectives, learning strategies, and vocabulary through the units of study within the curriculum. As students progress from course to course, they know what to expect. Each unit or course fits into a plan that is based on the theory. So, using a theory is like putting pieces of a puzzle together.
Each piece is discrete but meaningful to every other piece. For example, if the puzzle is an ocean scene, then all the pieces have something to do with ocean. Some pieces are seashells, some are sea gulls, and others are blue waves rolling onto white sand (this is sounding very peaceful).

Instructors have a common frame of reference for discussing the curriculum. "Let's talk about updating the safety content today" or “we need to be sure to align our leadership philosophies” might start a discussion for curriculum revision.

Having a common theory means that teaching objectives, strategies (methods that will be used for teaching), and expected student outcomes will be alike from course to course because they will be based on one theory. For example, if the theory used to design a learning experience were behavioral theory, you would expect to see learning objectives that focus on the targeted behavior and strategies that include rewards and consequences. The objectives and strategies drive the evaluation activities. If the learning objective is to state five signs and symptoms of congestive heart failure, the evaluation should measure that the learner can state the signs and symptoms. To determine if the student has achieved this objective, the student may be asked to name five signs and symptoms of congestive heart failure or may be asked to answer a multiple choice question such as:
Which of the following signs and symptoms is associated with Congestive Heart Failure?

• Heartburn
• Jaw discomfort
• Pedal edema
• Radiating arm pain

By Mission or Philosophy

It is not always appropriate to base a curriculum on theory. Sometimes it is more appropriate to use other characteristics or variables to organize. Curriculum may be based on the mission or philosophy of the institution. An alternative choice to using a theory is called a conceptual framework. A conceptual framework is an interrelated system of premises used in making curriculum decisions.

Here is an example of the relationship among the terms - mission, theory, the teaching/learning process and learning outcomes. An undergraduate community health nursing course in a large metropolitan university School of Nursing is organizing clinical experiences for students. A mission of the school is to provide quality health care services to under-served communities. To operationalize this mission, the school organized a department to develop and sustain businesses that provide service to people in the community. The 'businesses' included a WellMobile that provided pediatric services to rural and underserved communities and a Nurse Managed Clinic in an underserved, inner city community. A business plan was the guiding framework to build a 'cottage industry' that would offer services, provide income, and provide opportunities for faculty and students to practice.

How did this impact the undergraduate community health nursing course? The clinical experiences were based on the mission and philosophy. The course focused on service learning and skills the student would need to provide care in rural and underserved communities. Content included case/care management, multiproblem families, health screening, the public health system, culture, and ethical decision-making. Clinical sites for students were at the nurse-managed clinic or at the WellMobile sites. The expected outcomes in the clinical experience included clinical group community needs assessments and community related project and advocacy projects.

By Progression of Knowledge

Curriculum can also be organized by a progression of knowledge and skills. For example, the first sets of courses can be core knowledge and skills. The second sets of courses can be focused on specialty knowledge and skills and the third set of courses can focus on sub-specialization knowledge and skills. An example is the organizing framework of the University of Maryland School of Nursing’s DNP Program.

The following simple diagram with concentric circles represent the learner's movement from the DNP core courses into the advanced practice clinical or specialty core and then into the project curriculum. Each circle represents the learner's increasing depth and breadth of knowledge and skills in the doctoral program.

Below is an example of a more detailed view of how a curriculum is organized, by way of a curriculum map.You can see how all of the courses relate, flow from simple to complex, and fit together. The types or categories of the classes are color coded.

Source: The College of New Jersey, School of Engineering, Computer Engineering Curriculum Map, updated 2015, retrieved 2018