Running from April 2009 to March 2011

http://learning-maps.ncl.ac.uk

Funded as part of the JISC programme: Transforming curriculum delivery through technology

Project funded by

Dynamic Learning Maps

Stephen Ball (Project Director)

Simon Cotterill & Gordon Skelly (Project Managers)

John Peterson & Paul Horner (Project Officers)

Project funded by

Dynamic Learning Maps

Overview of Dynamic Learning maps

Interactive ‘Web 2.0Sharing , rating and reviewsHarvesting multiple sources (‘Mashups’ )Facilitating communities of interest

Curriculum MapsOverview , Prior learning, Current & Future learning

Personal LearningPersonalised, sharing , reflective notes and evidencing outcomes

Linking Learning ResourcesCurriculum & External Resources

e-Learning

Technical Overview (Newcastle)

Curricula databases

Library databases

ePortfolio/ blog

Repositories

ExternalFeeds

LearningResources

Life-longLearningRecord

ID-MAPsproject

Student Information

Systems

reflection

evidencing

discussion

adding resources,rating & reviewing

Learning Maps

(topic-specific)

Curriculum map

Personal learning

Community

Aims and objectives

• Core objective: to develop navigable curriculum maps, which will:– Support learners, teachers & curriculum managers by enhancing

understanding of complex curriculua and connections between different elements of the curriculum.

– support personal learning (mapping, making connections, reflection & portfolio learning)

– be interactive/participative(appropriate to the changing experience & expectations of modern learners)

– support extra-curicula opportunities & transferable skills (e.g. Graduate Skills Framework)

– provide an extra source of data to enhance curriculum management/QA (longer term)

• Technical objectives include:– Draw on existing curricula data and learning resources (where available)

– Use established standards & specifications, including life-long learning– Produce a ‘generic’ tool that will support different curricula/curriculum

elements, & be available to the JISC community

ProgressBaseline description and 5 user scenarios

Short review of Web-based mind mapping and other graphical information mapping tools

Engagement with JISC programme activities

Pilot evaluation with MBBS stage 1(n=69) and stage 2(n=124)

Technical developments:- initial developments based on a ‘connected nodes’ approach- interface (text and ‘mind-map’ views)- tool for curriculum managers to map programme outcomes to modules - initial links with portfolio (latest UK specifications for LLL)

CorePresentations

CasesCoreConditions

Units

Sessions

LearningOutcomes

Assessment

Learning maps:- interconnected nodes- strength of connections- types of ‘nodes’

PersonalLearningRecords

Curriculum Map(Medicine)

Diseases&

Conditions Anatomy&

Physiology

Community Maps

Mapping MBBS

MBBS CoreConditions

An individual student’s encounters

including rotations, electives & SSCs -diverse experience

Diseases & Conditions-reflects broader student experience-’gaps’ to map: curiosity / exploratory

-gateway to additional sources of reference

Curriculum Map-core conditions

Community Map-diseases and conditions

Why Community Maps as well as Curriculum Maps?

Ability to filtermaps to show onlycurriculum content

Initial Focus Group(following viewing concept demonstrator)

Informal focus group: year 4 medical students:• Very keen on concept• Would need training, especially for those less confident with IT• Could it be used as additional feedback from students to lecturers?

“This idea has engaged me from the outset and has potential, I believe, to revolutionise the MBBS course (as well as other courses) in many ways.”

From a students point of view, one could be much clearer on ‘the big picture’, as you have a curriculum map laid out in front of you, it is simpler and easier to find out curriculum content, learning outcomes and formal resources, all linked together, and also seeing how similar topics are interlinked throughout the course.”

“It seems a really good idea but it important that we get training on how to use it.”

and related information mapping softwareShort review of Web-based mind maps

Buzan style mind maps

Simple mind maps

Concept maps

Organisational diagrams

Image-richmind maps

3D topicscapes

Initial interfaces & user preferences

Text-based interface

Mind-map style interface

Forthcoming focus groups:explore options e.g. colour codingterminology e.g. ‘nodes’ or topics

• Refining the Learning Maps application• Student input, focus groups• Input from curriculum leaders & support staff• Populating the curriculum maps

• Focus Groups, late 2009 / early 2010• Psychology• Medicine• Speech Therapy

• Initial Piloting and evaluation (curriculum maps for a single academic year)• Piloting in Medicine in Semester 2, 2009• Piloting in Psychology & speech & language sciences?

• Evaluation• Questionnaires based in goals & baseline + focus groups• BOS approval , ethics approval

• Sustainability Review• Larger piloting from Sept. 2010 (Medicine, psychology, speech & language sciences)

Next steps

Baseline & Challenges

Curriculum Maps: elsewhere…Willett T.G. Current status of curriculum mapping in Canada and the UK. Medical

Education, 2008, 42, 786-93

• survey of Canadian and UK medical schools to determine the current status, characteristics, and challenging and successful aspects of their efforts in curriculum mapping.

• 31 Medical schools responded to a questionnaire:• the majority of schools are in the process of building maps • only 20% of schools have managed to complete them

• Great variation amongst Schools:

• software used to construct the maps• educational elements included in the

maps• variety of educational outcome

frameworks are employed for curriculum evaluation.

• Major challenges include:• complexity • human resource demands • use of medical ontologies, • faculty development• interface design

Challenges for Curriculum Mapping ♯1

Stage 5 Stage 4 Stage 3 Stage 2 Stage 1

2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12

Student journeythrough thecurriculum

‘here and now’teaching focus

e.g MBBS: between major restructuring of the curriculum (aprox. every 5-7yrs): stable: units (modules), programme outcomes minor adjustments: sessions, cases, unit outcomes (responsive to evaluation / QA) more variation in assessment & differences in delivery by 4 ‘Base Units’ (stages 3 & 5)

Challenge: the curriculum changes over time

Challenges for Curriculum Mapping ♯2Stepped availability of study guides, cases and timetable data

Semester 2Available

Semester 1Available

Sept 2008 Jan 2009 Sept 2009 Jan 2010

i.e. a fully detailed / data-driven curriculum map for the current academic year would not be available until Semester 2.

A partial map would be no good at all! (Needs to be a semi-persistent map but drawing on latest information as it becomes available).

Resources (presentations etc) are uploaded into the VLE on a ‘just in time’ basis.

Challenges for Curriculum Mapping ♯3VLE / curriculum databases (baseline)

designed to support complex curricula with large number of contributors using familiar Word documents (well formatted ‘portal documents’) these populate databases and structure the VLE when they are uploaded supports changing curriculum with views by multiple academic years

Fit for purpose, but raise challenges for online curriculum maps:

Codes used in VLE and timetable are not persistent e.g. ‘PPD2.15’ may referrer to completely different teaching sessions from

one academic year to the next Problematic as resources are linked to these non-persistent codes

Key data is in the form of non-standardised text e.g. learning outcomes, core presentations / conditions etc. language is inconsistent between study guides (modified for context) hard to differentiate between unit-specific and programme outcomes & content

Demonstration:• Mapping outcomes to modules• Contextualising language

Challenge: Key data is in the form of non-standardised text

Challenge: overview of the curriculum – connecting it all together

Demonstration:• connecting different elements of the curriculum

• Challenge: where is x taught in the curriculum?Occasional teachers: quick overview of where a given topic in the curriculum• better contextualisation & appropriate level• reduced duplication (unintended)

Curriculum Managers: QA + External inspections

Example of what a list could look like:

Challenge: personal learning

Challenge: cross modular learning

Challenge: graduate skills framework / transferable skills

Challenge: community & changing nature and expectations of modern learners

-sharing, rating and commenting on external resources

Add, rate andcomment / review resources

Search High volumeof resultsmixed relevance

Saturation (too many Connections – ‘hairball’)

e.g. MBBS: 50+ learning outcomesper module. High-level outcomespresent in virtually every module.

Challenge: Getting the right balance

AutomationSpecificity & Granularity

Initially reliant on manually making connections(curriculum & community)

Maintenance costs as the curriculum changes

Refine relevancescoring

Data on connected topics used to improve future automation/specificity(related keywords / strength of connections)

Further Information

• S.J.Cotterill@ncl.ac.uk• Gordon.Skelly@ncl.ac.uk

• http://learning-maps.ncl.ac.uk

Stakeholders & diversity of requirements

Differences in perception of what curriculum maps are/should be

Group work

1. Individually read handout of ‘high-level’ educational objectives-rate in accordance of their relative importance to you (5 mins)

In groups:

2. Discuss the objectives and importance to stakeholder groupsPick 5 to ‘unpack’ and discuss in detail

Feedback key points to the

49%51%

Tree based lists Mind maps

I prefer ?

The map will help me better understand the MBBS curriculum?

18%

30%

25%

15%

7%

3%1%

It is easy to use?

8%

32%

38%

8%

11%

3%2%

The map would benefit my learning?

13%

33%34%

12%

3%1%

3%

I understand the concept of Learning Maps?

Stro

ngly Agre

e Agre

e

Somewhat

Agree

Neutral

Somewhat

Disa...

Disagre

e

Stro

ngly Disa

gree

30%32%

20%

8%6%

0%

5%

Knowing how a teaching session relates to the rest of the curriculum is important to me?

Stro

ngly Agre

e Agre

e

Somewhat

Agree

Neutral

Somewhat

Disa...

Disagre

e

Stro

ngly Disa

gree

26%

41%

10%

15%

3% 3%1%

Having the map will be useful for preparation before a teaching session?

Stro

ngly Agre

e Agre

e

Somewhat

Agree

Neutral

Somewhat

Disa...

Disagre

e

Stro

ngly Disa

gree

15%

22%

19%18%

7%9%

10%

Having the map will be useful for reviewing and reflecting after a session?

Stro

ngly Agre

e Agre

e

Somewhat

Agree

Neutral

Somewhat

Disa...

Disagre

e

Stro

ngly Disa

gree

22%

31%

27%

9%

3% 3%4%

Having the map will be useful for revision?

Stro

ngly Agre

e Agre

e

Somewhat

Agree

Neutral

Somewhat

Disa...

Disagre

e

Stro

ngly Disa

gree

40%39%

12%

4%

0% 0%

4%

It would be useful to add notes and reflections to teaching sessions and other parts of the map?

Stro

ngly Agre

e Agre

e

Somewhat

Agree

Neutral

Somewhat

Disa...

Disagre

e

Stro

ngly Disa

gree

37%

18% 18%

12%

3%

6%5%

I only want information and resources provided by teaching staff ?

Stro

ngly Agre

e Agre

e

Somewhat

Agree

Neutral

Somewhat

Disa...

Disagre

e

Stro

ngly Disa

gree

7%

12%

7%

10%

19%

25%

18%

I frequently supplement my learning with external resources on the web ?

34%

18%19%

6% 6%

9%7%

How often would you envisage using the map (once complete) ?

11%

48%

32%

10%