Develop a plan for a new or revised curriculum which you think is appropriate for your own context. As part of that plan you should create a proposal for a learning needs assessment and clear explanation and justification for the design decisions which are evident in your new/revised curriculum. The account of your design should incorporate critical review of relevant curriculum design theories, concepts and principles and integrate literature presented through this module and that associated with your own reading.

The inclusion of your curriculum matrix is an essential part of this summative work and you should ensure that the main discussion aligns with the information presented in the matrix.

Guidance on content, structure and word count

A title for your assignment

Create a meaningful title for your own assignment; think of something that will quickly orientate the reader to the nature of your curriculum development work.

Introduction (guidance: 5% of word count)

Introduce the context of your professional practice, your role, and the curriculum which is the focus of the assignment (this may be a new curriculum or revision of an existing curriculum). Articulate your critical analysis and understanding of the concept of ‘curriculum’  and present an outline of your approach to this assignment. Remember that the reader may not be familiar with your speciality, your place of work, particular contextual factors etc.

Part 1.  A proposal for a learning needs assessment (guidance: 20% of word count)

Present a proposal (i.e. a plan) for a learning needs assessment associated with your new/revised curriculum which is appropriate for your context. The proposal should include explanation of the purpose of the learning needs assessment, the type of needs to be assessed and justification of stakeholder selection and the broad approach to data collection and analysis. This section must include critical reflection on the strengths, limitations and practicality of the proposal considering the principles of learning needs assessment and the associated literature.

You are not expected to carry out the needs assessment but you may want to highlight where you have exiting data (e.g. module feedback or assessment outcomes) which would inform curriculum planning or (re) design; data that informs the ‘gap’ between the current situation and that which you aspire to. Remember this assignment is designed for you to demonstrate your engagement with the learning materials and outcomes.

Part 2. Development and justification of a new or revised curriculum (guidance: 50% of word count)

Create a curriculum matrix for a new or a revised curriculum and place this within an appendix. This forms the foundation for the main text. The main text should include clear, concise account and justification for the design decisions undertaken. The account should incorporate critical review of relevant curriculum design theories, concepts and principles and draw upon relevant literature from this module and your own further reading.

Key dimensions of the curriculum that you may consider in your discussion are: developing the overall purpose and aims and the relationship with the likely outcomes of a learning needs assessment; curriculum theories which inform design and structure; development of learning outcomes and the selection of learning activities and assessments (formative and summative). This section must include explanation and justification of your approach to curriculum evaluation. At a relevant point you should clearly indicate where you have integrated critical discussion of one of the ‘trends’ introduced in this module.

Part 3.  Identify local quality assurance (QA) and/or enhancement (QE) framework/s that are applicable to your curriculum and context and discuss how specific features of your curriculum design align with these frameworks (guidance: 20% of word count)

Define QA and QE in relation to the context of the proposed curriculum and briefly describe the supporting processes. Select one or two quality related criteria, relevant to your context, and discuss how your curriculum meets or is informed by these standards. Identify one dimension of your curriculum that could be improved in relation to the quality framework/s you have identified, present a rationale for selection and discuss how knowledge of QE approaches could inform curriculum improvement.

Note: In the absence of any local QA/QE framework, identify relevant elements from either the: World Federation of Medical Education (WFME) Quality Improvement in Basic Medical Education (2015), or the Postgraduate Medical Education WFME Global Standards for Quality Improvement (2015) documents.

Conclusion (guidance 5% of word count)

In this section you should state your conclusions, based upon the evidence and discussion that you have set out in your previous sections. Your conclusion needs to be linked to the intension you laid out in your title and introduction.

Declare the word count for the assignment on the coversheet

Note that in-text citations are included as part of the word count. The reference list is not included as part of the word count.

Reference List

Please only include those references actually referred to in the assignment, listed in alphabetical order without any bullets or numbering. Please refer to the CME referencing guide which conforms to the APA (2010) style.

 Appendices

The appendix must include your curriculum matrix document and you should refer to the matrix document at relevant points through your discussion. The matrix does not have to be limited to 1500 words (as the formative was) however it is recommended that you aim to keep the matrix as concise as possible.

Key points

Please note the key points below

Content

The assignment is not asking for extended descriptions of how you will assess the learners, nor extended description of learning/teaching activities. Do not lose sight that the focus of the assignment is upon curriculum design and evaluation theory, principles, and how these can be used by you/applied in your context.

There may be some knowledge and understanding that you draw upon from the Learning and Teaching and Principles of Assessment modules but this should not become the focus of your main text.

Perspective

A point worth stressing is that it is essential to show a questioning or critical perspective related to the curriculum design knowledge base; show the reader that you can question the applicability of some ideas.

For example, if you are using an outcomes-based approach to curriculum design, what are the known benefits and risks? What do you think about its applicability or usefulness in your setting?

If you present a definition of curriculum associated with your Professional or Regulatory body, tell the reader why you think this is useful. If you want to modify it, why are you doing that? What is your justification?

Format

The matrix in the appendix is in a table format, so information is presented in short sentences and bullet point lists. The main text of your assignment should be presented in essay format i.e. paragraphs organised around key points/arguments.