Assessment Primer: Curriculum Mapping

Plan for designing and delivering learning outcomes:
In designing course outcomes

• Start first with the broad outcomes expected of all students
• Then work backward to design academic program outcomes
• Finally design course outcomes that will lead to the achievement of both program and institutional outcomes

When the program is delivered, students experience the system in reverse

• Students first participate in experiences that address lesson outcomes
• The learning that results from these experiences accumulates as students proceed through the courses and other experiences in the program
• The curriculum is designed so that it provides a coherent set of experiences leading to the development of desired knowledge and skills – students show increasing levels of sophistication and integration of skills as they progress through the program

(Learner-Centered Assessment on College Campuses: shifting the focus from teaching to learning by Huba and Freed 2000)

Curriculum mapping makes it possible to identify where within the curriculum learning objectives are addressed.  In other words, it provides a means to determine whether your objectives are aligned with the curriculum.

Alignment – the curricula must be systematically aligned with the program objectives.  Alignment involves clarifying the relationship between what students do in their courses and what faculty expect them to learn.  Analyzing the alignment of the curricula with program objectives allows for the identification of gaps which can then lead to curricular changes to improve student learning opportunities.

Approach to determining the alignment of courses with the program objectives – create a matrix:

Aligning course objectives to program objectives may be accomplished by a curriculum alignment matrix which maps each onto the other; a checkmark indicating coverage or an indication of the level of coverage can be used.