| Unit name | Curriculum development and course design |
|---|---|
| Unit code | MEEDM0031 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52) |
| Unit director | Ms. Tricia Thorpe |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
Successful completion of the TLHP Certificate units or equivalent from another institution. |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | Teaching and Learning for Health Professionals |
| Faculty | Faculty of Health Sciences |
Why is this unit important?
Are you burning to improve an existing unit or keen to design a new, short course? Are you actually or potentially likely to be involved in curriculum development? If so, this unit is for you! It aims to develop your ability to critically apply educational literature and research to the designing of a course or development of curriculum and whilst it presupposes knowledge from the Certificate, it does not require prior experience of course design.
The unit will therefore be useful to anyone already planning and runnin gcourses but also to those who intend to be involved in this activity in the future.
A course may range from (roughly) a half day to an entire module. The unit will also support anyone participating in curriculum development, be it in higher education or a Royal College.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This unit contributes to the TLHP programme’s overarching objectives to:
The unit also reflects key elements of the programme’s philosophy of learning as a social enterprise in which there is an active exchange of ideas, between students and also between students and tutors.
An overview of content
We will review current issues relevant to course design, along with elements of curriculum theory. The summative assessment entails the planning (or revising) of part, or all, of a course or unit. The learning activities, along with formative peer and tutor feedback, will support you in developing key elements of your design.
How students will be different as a result of the unit
You will draw upon your knowledge from the post-graduate Certificate and extend it to a consideration of learning, teaching and associated elements from the broader vantage point of a whole course or curriculum. This will equip you to be further involved in managing or participating in curriculum development and the design of new courses in healthcare education.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this unit, you will be able to:
1. evaluate course designs and curriculum development by exploring past and present curricula and curriculum theory
And you will have
2.engaged with a process for course design that includes learner needs analysis, constructive alignment, assessment, course evaluation and quality assurance, taking account of current good practice in educational design.
3. designed a course taking into account and applying a critical review of relevant learning theory and literature including aspects of learner engagement, diversity and sustainability issues.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks:
Formative assessment will include:
All the above activities will contribute to your thinking/planning of your own
new course.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark
Summative assessment: (50% each towards unit mark):
When assessment does not go to plan
In the event of your assignment not reaching a pass at first submission, you may be given the opportunity to resubmit depending on previous unit results. In the event of a resubmission, you will be offered a one to one tutorial to support you and ensure you understand what you need to do in order to meet the criteria with your resubmission. In this unit, we may request that a resubmission should be in written format rather than an oral presentation, depending on circumstances.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. MEEDM0031).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
