Institutional approaches to curriculum design
The aim of the JISC e-Learning programme is to enable UK further and higher education to create a better learning environment for all learners, wherever and however they study. Its vision is of a world where learners, teachers, researchers and wider institutional stakeholders use technology to enhance the overall educational experience by improving flexibility and creativity and by encouraging comprehensive and diverse personal, high quality learning, teaching and research.
What do we mean by curriculum design?
‘Curriculum design’ is generally understood as a high-level process defining the learning to take place within a specific programme of study, leading to specific unit(s) of credit or qualification. The curriculum design process leads to the production of core programme/module documents such as a course/module description, validation documents, prospectus entry, and course handbook. This process involves consideration of resource allocation, marketing of the course, and learners’ final outcomes and destinations, as well as general learning and teaching approaches and requirements. It could be said to answer the questions ‘What needs to be learned?’, ‘What resources will this require?’, and 'How will this be assessed?'
Managing curriculum change
The ‘Managing Curriculum Change’ publication gives an overview of the aims of the Institutional Approaches to Curriculum Design and Transforming Curriculum Delivery programmes alongside a vision for the enhancement of the curriculum design and delivery lifecycle through technology. The publication introduces the projects involved in the programmes and illustrates through a combination of text and graphics what might be achieved at different stages in the curriculum lifecycle, with a focus on who needs to be involved to enable institutional aspirations to become a reality.
Baselining the institutional processes of curriculum design
This synthesis report (Word) (by Helen Beetham, Synthesis Consultant for the Curriculum Design programme) was compiled from reports and evidence generated by the 12 projects. Evidence was collated from baseline reports, submitted to the JISC in Sep/Oct 2009, and to a lesser extent from project blogs, websites, presentations, and personal correspondence with the author. To benchmark current practice in institutional systems, which were identified as challenging or ripe for transformation to quality for project funding, project teams have often reported sensitive institutional data. Because of this, baseline evidence is not identified with particular institutions unless specific permission has been given for this.
Funded projects
| Funded project, lead institution & proposal |
Summary |
 Open University Learning Design Initiative The Open University
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This bid aims to extend and apply a new learning design methodology, which adopts an evidence based, multi-faceted approach to support innovative approaches to curriculum design. |
Co-Educate
University of Bolton
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The project will focus on re-engineering of the professional curriculum and to adopt a ‘cooperative’ model of higher education – CO EDUCATE, whereby the starting point for curriculum development and design is the needs of the learner and their organisation, negotiated and delivered in partnership with full recognition of in-work and experiential learning. |
| PALET Cardiff University |
Utilising the Lean Thinking methodology for process improvements, the PALET project will develop revised procedures for the approval of new programmes to create a more agile, efficient and flexible approach to the design of new curricula and the subsequent programme approval process. |
Enable
Staffordshire University |
University is bidding for funding to enable it to create a “Hub initiative” to join together its various change initiatives around curriculum development into a coherent and radical overall change process, which will ensure all stakeholder needs are understood, identify overlooked problems areas, provide a sustainable solution to the business problem above, and produce models, technical solutions, and advice which will inform the wider community – not just on curriculum development but on sustaining innovation at the same time as embedding organisational change. |
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Supporting Responsive Curricula
Manchester Metropolitan University |
The Supporting Responsive Curricula (SRC) Project will pilot agile, demand-led curriculum design processes that promote flexible delivery and enhance learner employability. SRC will break new ground in curriculum interoperability, piloting the “tagging” of curriculum with competences valued by employers and professional bodies to support informed choice about study options and assist learners in choosing electives to support their career intentions and in showcasing their experience and abilities for a professional audience. |
| PREDICT City University |
This project responds to a University strategic imperative to evaluate our curriculum and build a core curriculum. The project will consider the challenges of doing this with our current curriculum design processes; identify key problems and challenges as well as current good practice for interdisciplinary curriculum design and working. It will then develop a new curriculum design model which will be supported by technology to create a more flexible and innovative process. In collaboration with Schools and other stakeholders the model will be piloted, evaluated and then rolled out across the institution |
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Personalised Curriculum Creation through Coaching Leeds Metropolitan University
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The proposed Personalised Curriculum Creation through Coaching (PC3) project will develop a framework that places coaching at the heart of the personalised curriculum design. Learners will be able to select provision suitable to their needs, construct award (or module set), access resources and learning support, and negotiate assessment, with structured support from a personal coach. The PC3 Framework will facilitate this process by developing the necessary processes, documentation, and technological support, within the context of Leeds Met’s flexible learning regulations and systems. |
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Course Tools Cambridge University
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The primary goal of the project is to deploy and evaluate both the Phoebe pedagogic planner (Phoebe) and the KS “Learning Unit Management” module (LUM) for capturing curriculum designs and supporting curriculum reform processes across the University of Cambridge. |
| UG-flex University of Greenwich |
This project will assess and evaluate the models of curriculum design that are currently supported by the systems in place at the University of Greenwich, and engage stakeholders in identifying the critical pinch points that inhibit the development of a wider range of more flexible curriculum design and delivery methods. |
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T-SPARC Birmingham City University
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The Technology Supported Processes for Agile and Responsive Curricula (T-SPARC) project will deal with deploying and evaluating technology that has the potential to support the process of programme design and the facilitation of more efficient procedures to confer institutional approval upon programmes. |
Principles in Patterns
Strathclyde University
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In response to a number of drivers and strategic aspirations, the University of Strathclyde would like to provide more support for the process of curriculum design across its five faculties. This will be achieved by building on the principles and curriculum design models developed by the REAP (Reengineering Assessment Practices) project – developing tools to describe and evaluate those designs, with the descriptions providing the basis for the development of patterns that can be applied to curriculum design tasks in the future. |
Viewpoints
University of Ulster |
This proposal will develop a suite of co-ordinated tools and services which will use learner based timeline scenarios to assist staff to reflect upon and formalise innovative adjustments to the curriculum. These tools will utilise standard data schemas to: permit the targeted querying of data rich resources such as course documents and student data; and export key information into downstream curriculum development tools. This proposal will assist the University to address the strategic goals “to enhance the quality of the student learning experience” and “to promote and foster creativity and innovation in curriculum. |