Curriculum Design: Changing the Paradigm
JISC Webinar November 2nd 2011 2-3pm

Today’s Speakers
Helen Beetham Marianne Sheppard
e-Learning Consultant Researcher/Analyst
JISC infoNet

Curriculum Design: Changing the Paradigm

What you will take away?......
A greater understanding of how a strategic
approach to curriculum design and course
information can lead to better outcomes for
learners and for other stakeholders in the
curriculum.

Session overview
 14:00 Welcome and introduction to the JISC Curriculum Design
programme (Marianne Sheppard)
 14:10 Overview of the key challenges (Helen Beetham)
 14:20 Introduction to 3 areas of transformation: learning, curriculum and
institutional (Helen Beetham)
 14:50 Actions for institutions
 14:55 Further information and the Design Studio
 15:00 Close

Interaction
Text Chat Polls Talk

JISC e-Learning Programme
The aim of the JISC e-Learning …The vision is of a world where
programme is to enable UK learners, teachers, researchers and
further and higher education to wider institutional stakeholders use
create a better learning technology to enhance the overall
environment for all learners, educational experience by
wherever and however they improving flexibility and creativity
study, in order to realise the and by encouraging comprehensive
vision… and diverse personal, high quality
learning, teaching and research.
www.jisc.ac.uk/elearningprogramme

Institutional Approaches to Curriculum Design
Aims
The 12 projects are exploring how technology can help address particular
challenges in designing flexible and responsive curricula and so provide
benefits for institutions, learners, employers, professional bodies and wider
the sector.
 Birmingham City University  The Open University
 Cardiff University  University of Bolton
 City University London  University of Greenwich
 Leeds Metropolitan University  University of Cambridge
 Manchester Metropolitan University  University of Ulster
 Staffordshire University  University of Strathclyde
www.jisc.ac.uk/curriculumdesign

Institutional Approaches to Curriculum Design
Timescales
 4 year programme: completing July 2012
Outcomes and outputs
 Changing practices and developing cultures of innovation in curriculum
design
 New or improved processes to support holistic curriculum management
(e.g. review and approval, single source of data)
 Staff development approaches and resources
 Guidelines on effective curriculum design
 New design tools and environments

Curriculum Challenges

Who are you?
Please use the voting buttons to indicate
which best describes your institutional role.
a) senior manager
b) educational/academic developer (general)
c) e-learning professional
d) tutor/lecturer
e) researcher/consultant

Curriculum is central to who we are...

Curriculum is central to who we are...
 Defines unique offer
 Distinguishes HE from other sectors
 Is what students sign up for and defines student experience
 Expresses identities of academic staff and departments
 Occupies major resources of institutions (teaching,
assessing, reviewing, developing, approving...)
 Huge professional investment in quality processes around
the curriculum ('academic standards')

Challenges funded institutions were facing
 Curriculum information and its representation to users
lack of coherent management | different stakeholder requirements
diverse systems | document-based systems | low user confidence
 Quality/approval processes
mistrust of 'non-standard' approaches e.g.inquiry-based, work-based
not transparent or inclusive | educational rationale not captured
document driven | content focus | cumbersome
 Stakeholder involvement
different requirements and priorities | no common terminology
long term vs short term focus
 Meeting the needs of new students
work-based learners | fee-paying students | diversification of sector
international students | franchise colleges | online/distance learners
 Embedding innovation and continuous improvement
set-piece, committee-based processes | up to 7-yr-long cycle
lack of trust embodied in systems?

Challenges funded institutions were facing
‘The critical requirement of satisfying
the approval process means that
documentation is written with that
committee in mind, and the utility of
this information for other users is
compromised. Many potential users,
including design teams and
students, would value visual and
multimedia representations of the ‘the majority believed the prevalence of
curriculum in addition to text.’ e-learning technologies is making the
process of creating courses more
complex, with around half believing that
new pedagogic approaches were
required, and more than half indicating
a need for support, confidence building
and better tools for integrating
technology effectively into the
curriculum.’

Challenges funded institutions were facing
‘the aspirations expressed in
institutional learning and
teaching (and other) strategies
are not always effectively
articulated through the design
and approval process.’
‘There is considerable duplication
of effort in the production of
course-related documentation,
and much of the information
captured is not re-used efficiently
to support other operational
processes, e.g. those involved in
delivery and learning support.’

http://youtu.be/bvFAKcb8Ask

What are your curriculum challenges?
Please use the voting buttons to indicate which
curriculum issue is the priority for reform
at your institution
a) joined-up management of information
b) efficient quality/approval processes
c) stakeholder involvement in the curriculum
d) diversifying into new student markets
e) responsive development/continuous innovation

Programme approach: overview
Learning (personal transformation)
Curriculum transformation
Institutional transformation

Programme approach: overview
Learning (personal transformation)
Curriculum transformation
Institutional transformation

Learning (personal transformation)

Meeting the needs of new students

Rethinking the curriculum
Choice over mode and timing of participation (e.g. changes
to academic calendars)
Support for remote learning: placements, workplaces, field
Practice of authentic tasks in authentic contexts
Interdisciplinary learning where appropriate
Recording and making visible learning activities and
achievements
A more open, negotiated, inquiry-based curriculum
responsive to individual aspirations

Example: UG Flex
Example: IDIBL or Coaching – any good assets??

Example: UG Flex
'Snakes and ladders' approach to rethinking
undergraduate programmes
Review impact of university calendar on student
experience
Consultations followed by review of regulatory and
quality frameworks to 'increase efficient and
effective flexible and part-time learning provision'

Example: IDIBL framework, CoEducate

What would it look like in your context if...?
The curriculum was flexibly designed to meet the needs of a
wider range of students?
AND/OR
The curriculum was designed to develop adaptable, resilient
students able to cope with uncertainty and change?

Curriculum transformation

Engaging stakeholders
Changing the conversation

Reforming design processes
Capture & sharing of curriculum representations to support:
stakeholder engagement
transparency of process and informed choices
enhanced conversations with focus on learning
Mapping of competences to support:
personal learning pathways and goals
focus on graduate outcomes
Enhanced teaching staff capability to support:
use of curriculum information for planning, review
focus on designing relevant activities/experiences
Educational advice and guidance integrated with formal
processes, shared design tools and models to support:
better-informed design process

Example: Viewpoints
http://youtu.be/rV_DE_0fPJ0

Example: PREDICT
• Implemented Student Voice Awards – student-led
nominations for academic staff, managed by SU
Provides us with information on what students regard as good curricula
and teaching
• Introduced new curriculum design module for staff on Masters in
Academic Practice
Enables staff to explore what “curriculum” means and how to design
effective curricula
• Produced guidelines for staff on how to write student facing
documents based on talking to staff and students
Supports gap between curriculum design and delivery

Example: PREDICT
• Staff started to think about curriculum more holistically and what the
programme philosophy was
• They considered what students needed to be able to do
• They thought about how they could assess and help students develop so
leading to the learning and teaching

What would it look like in your context if...
Conversations around the curriculum could be participated in
by all stakeholders equally?
AND/OR
Shared design tools and resources were available to staff
throughout the development process?

Learning (personal transformation)
Curriculum transformation
Institutional transformation

Learning (personal transformation)
Transforming the curriculum conversation
enables transformed learning opportunities
Curriculum transformation
Institutional transformation

Institutional transformation

joined up information systems
efficient approval and quality processes
Acknowledgement: Alfred Lerner Hall © Getty Images.

Re-engineering the institution
Better management of course related information to
support e.g. documentation, planning, portfolio analysis
Joined-up information systems and system architectures,
to support efficiencies in workflows
Lightweight approval and monitoring processes, supporting
innovation, viability, relevance, iterative QE
Faster development and tighter coupling between
curriculum development and strategic priorities
Course related information used to support planning,
'market research' and portfolio management

Example: SRC (Manchester Met)
New curriculum framework (new standard credit size)
New admin systems and business processes
Seamless access (new VLE and enhanced portal)
Streamlined quality processes
Outcomes
Every UG course and module being re-written
Entirely new first year went live September 2011
Data-based, not document-based

Example: SRC (Manchester Met)

Example: SRC (Manchester Met)
More stakeholder involvement in the curriculum and the
processes which surround it.
(Potentially) one trusted source of the truth
Efficient production of course documentation: glossy
brochures, websites, handbooks, VLE’s, all
describing the same course
Clearer story on learning outcomes and links to what
employers are looking for.

Example: OULDI

Example: OULDI

Example: CoEducate 'Business Model Canvas'

‘At a glance’ Course Map Learning Outcomes
View Example: OULDI
Course Performance
Pedagogy Profile
Task sequence/
‘Swimlane’
Finance View

What would it look like in your context if...
There was a single, trusted source of course related
information available to all
AND/OR
Processes of review and approval were so agile that a
course could be developed from concept to recruitment in
six months or less?

Learning (personal transformation)
Curriculum transformation
Institutional transformation

Learning (personal transformation)
Curriculum transformation
Institutional change is embedded,
enabling long-term curriculum transformation
Institutional transformation

Over to you...

Today’s Speakers
Helen Beetham Marianne Sheppard
e-Learning Consultant Researcher/Analyst, JISC infoNet
helen.beetham@googlemail.com marianne.sheppard@unn.ac.uk

Further Resources
http://bit.ly/jiscds

JISC Online Conference
www.jisc.ac.uk/elpconference11 #jiscel10
 Activity week sessions – 15th – 21st Nov:
Alan Masson (University of Ulster) and Simon Cross (OU)
Identifying and changing key curriculum design practices
Examining the process of how institutions identify and then seek to change the curriculum design processes and
practices. (This session complements the main conference session on curriculum design1
Paul Bartholomew (Birmingham City University ) and Jim Everett (University of Strathclyde )
Socio-technical ramifications of a new technology-supported approach to course design
and approval
Demonstrating new technology-supported approaches to designing and approving courses. (This session
complements the main conference session on curriculum design1)
 Conference week: Thursday 24th Nov 11:30 am:
What needs to change in Curriculum Design?
http://bit.ly/tqE482