Professional Development Workshops for
Program Assessment Leaders
Marquette UniversityFebruary, 2013
MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY ASSESSMENT
MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY ASSESSMENT
“Use an appropriate empirical research method to describe and understand a social issue.”
“Demonstrate knowledge of the basic categories of theological reflection.”
“Identify the legal principles involved in journalism situations.”
Where in the coursework for the degree (or certificate) program is this program-level learning outcome addressed?
Where are the opportunities for students to be introduced to this outcome, practice it, and demonstrate mastery?
MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY ASSESSMENT
What is a curriculum map?
• A communication tool that visually aligns
learning outcomes with the content of individual
courses or experiences in the program.
• A curriculum map is typically designed as a
matrix, with the learning outcomes listed in the
first column and the individual courses or
experiences listed on the top row (or the other
way around).
MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY ASSESSMENT
Benefits of curriculum mapping for faculty:
1. Improves understanding of how the
curriculum fits together.
2. Helps with course sequencing.
3. Reveals strengths, gaps, redundancies the
curriculum.
4. Leads to more effective assessment.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
REQUIRED COURSES
101 102 201 220 250 301 302 303 401 402 435
490
Properly documents references and citations in APA style. X X X X X X
Demonstrates oral presentation skills appropriate to the field of psychology. X X X X X
Demonstrate knowledge of the historical context of the field of psychology X X X X
Demonstrate knowledge of the biological bases of behavior and
development.X X X X
Outline the major ideas behind the individual differences perspective. X X X X
Distinguish between major statistical tests and be able to choose appropriate
tests for specific data sets.X X X
Selects methodology appropriate to a particular research question generated
by the student.X X X
Demonstrates an understanding of the ethical principles of psychology as
established by the APA.X X X X
Evaluates real world examples in terms of course content and knowledge,
applying critical thinking skills.X X X X X X X X X X X
Overview Curriculum Map Example
Outcomes →
Experiences ↓
Demonstrate
knowledge of
concepts in
the discipline
Perform
research,
scholarly
activity
Communicate
subject matter
of discipline
Demonstrate
responsible
and ethical
conduct
Required courses
Seminar
Internship/practicum
Qualifying exam
Comprehensive exam
Dissertation proposal
Dissertation defense
MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY ASSESSMENT
Overview method:
Simplest curriculum map.
Just insert X or for those courses
that address a specific learning
outcome.
Identified through a review of course
syllabi, feedback from instructors.
MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY ASSESSMENT
Level of knowledge/skill method:
Describes the level that students are
expected to achieve on this learning
outcome in a given course.
Informs decisions on course sequencing.
Illustrates opportunities for acquisition of
disciplinary knowledge/skills before
mastery is expected.
MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY ASSESSMENT
1. Introduce, Emphasize, Measure
2. Introduce, Develop, Master, Assess
3. Introduce, Reinforce, Assess
4. Instruction, Practice, Feedback
MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY ASSESSMENT
Are there any courses without an indicator in any box?
How does that course contribute to the curriculum?
Does a particular learning outcome relate to every course?
Is this because the learning outcome is overly broad? Is it
because of redundancy in the curriculum? Something else?
Does a particular course relate to every learning outcome?
Is it an introductory survey course or capstone? If not, is
the course too broad?
Are there gaps? Each learning outcome should be
introduced, reinforced and mastered at least once across
multiple courses.
MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY ASSESSMENT
Best Practices in Curriculum Mapping:• The program curriculum map should reflect consensus of the faculty who are
teaching in the program. Multiple instructors of the same course should agree
on which outcomes are addressed in that course.
• Publish the completed map to faculty and students.
• Mapping should allow programs to justify each course in their curriculum. All
courses, required and elective, across all tracks, should relate to one or more
student learning outcomes.
• Is the program trying to do too much? Eliminate outcomes that are not highly-
valued and focus on the highly-valued ones, strengthening the curriculum to
address those outcomes more thoroughly.
• The curriculum map should be revisited during the assessment cycle, making
changes as disciplines evolve.