Instructional Resources

Curriculum Renewal – A Brief Overview

This article provides a brief overview of curriculum renewal, beginning with definitions, a statement of some of the benefits of conducting a curriculum renewal process and the stages involved, and a listing of some relevant resources.

Definitions

Curriculum

The term ‘curriculum’ has been defined by scholars and practitioners to mean various things, depending on the context in which it is employed. At a macro level, curriculum can include all of the course content included in a full undergraduate or graduate program, and at the micro level, it can refer to just the content included in a class session or within a specific course offering. El-Astal (2023) completed a meta-analysis of 30 definitions of curriculum and concluded:

Curriculum is a prescriptive content that illustrates what will be taught in a given educational program (input or subject matter), who will teach (teacher), who will be taught (learner), with what tools and in what context (milieu), with what effect (output/outcomes), and how that will be assessed (assessment). (p. 194)

Curriculum Renewal

Curriculum renewal involves a variety of processes that can ultimately lead to the improvement of course and program curricula. It can include the development or redevelopment of a course so that it better aligns with overall program learning outcomes, or it can involve the development or redevelopment of an entire program. It is typically undertaken by an academic unit that “seeks to evaluate, analyze and/or improve some element of a program’s curriculum” (University of Toronto, n.d., p. 1).

Benefits of Curriculum Renewal

There are many benefits afforded to academic units and faculty who engage in curriculum renewal.  According to DiPietro et al. (2022), the curriculum renewal process can

  • enhance teaching and learning by incorporating evidence-based approaches.
  • ensure programs and courses are current.
  • improve program transparency for administrators, faculty, staff, students and stakeholders.
  • improve faculty understanding of how specific courses fit within the larger program.
  • encourage program design that fosters consistency, fairness, quality and effectiveness.
  • promote equity, diversity, and inclusion by incorporating universal design and fostering a decolonized curriculum.

Curriculum Renewal Process

The curriculum renewal process can take many forms, but there are specific components that are included in most models. Typical components/stages include:

  • Determination of Needs: Identification of the purpose of the development/re-development, identification of the planning/development team(s), identification of evidence and data to inform development/redevelopment, and determination of the timeline for the process.
  • Visioning: Clear articulation of the strategic direction for the new or redeveloped program.
  • Development (Redevelopment) of Program Outcomes: Development of high-level program learning outcomes that would include discipline-specific learning outcomes and possibly, graduate attributes.
  • Curriculum Mapping: The process of associating course learning outcomes with their relevant program-level outcomes that results in the development of a curriculum map, which is a matrix noting those associations.
  • Implementation: A complete or phased-in delivery of the new or redeveloped program.
  • Evaluation: Formative and/or summative reviews of the implemented program to determine if it met its intended goals and determination of any modifications required.

Resources and Links

The list below includes selected resources that provide additional information pertaining to curriculum development and renewal. Although not exhaustive, the list of resources noted here collectively provide insight into curriculum renewal practices occurring within other Canadian universities:   

As well, A Comprehensive Guide to Working with Higher Education Curriculum Development, Review & Renewal Projects (DiPietro et al., 2022) is a valuable resource that provides great detail of each aspect of the curriculum renewal process.

References

Resource created by: Jim T.

Originally Published: August 29, 2024

Last Updated: August 29, 2024

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