Curriculum Development or Revision In Nursing Education &Resources and Process
Resources for Curriculum Development In Nursing
When designing or revising curricula, it is important to consider the effects of various decisions on the resources that will be required to implement those plans in a manner that will ensure a quality outcome. This assessment and discussion requires collaboration between academic administration and the faculty leading the curriculum efforts.
It is most helpful to agree on assumptions regarding resources of faculty (full-time and clinical instructors or others), simulation and related materials, clinical sites, and support services. In some cases, resources will be constrained, requiring that curricula be created with that fact in mind.
Decisions regarding many of the curricular elements have implications for resources with three elements creating the most potential influence on resources: the organizing framework, learning outcomes, and pedagogical strategies.
As an example, should a problem based learning approach be identified as a major teaching strategy, additional faculty facilitators might be desirable for the same number of students. Or, if simulation activities are to be increased in amount and level of complexity, perhaps using simulated patients, the costs of these plans must be considered and approved before the process of curriculum change is completed, not after.
Academic administrators and faculty leaders would be well advised to outline
the scope of the curriculum development or change project, including an
assessment of and future assumptions about resources to avoid disappointment
and rework.
Another aspect of resources related to curricular design and change is the amount of faculty time and effort expended to accomplish this important work. Unfortunately, in many cases, curricular change is handled according to existing processes and meetings structures, which may be onerous, time consuming, and sometimes unclear.
Viewing the work of curricular change from the lens of project management and quality improvement leads to embracing tested models for data collection, assessment, and decision making within a prescribed timeframe versus an open-ended approach to completing the desired work.
More recently, various schools of nursing have reported accomplishing major curricular redesigns within 1 to 2 years; however, it is still common to see curriculum projects expand to 3 or more years.
Given that the timeline for receiving various institutional and regulatory approvals can be lengthy and delay curricular implementation even longer, there is the potential for a “new” curriculum to be dated before it has been implemented.
Some potential disadvantages of this more structured approach may include perceptions that faculty decision-making power relationships are shifted and that more time is needed to fully consider all of the issues and topics.
Appropriate strategies may be used to proactively
address these concerns to accomplish curricular change in an effective manner.
Given the central importance of resources in any curriculum, a clear
understanding of the assumptions related to and amount and type of available
resources will position a curriculum project for success.
Process
for Curriculum Development or Revision In Nursing
Faculty
have a responsibility to develop, evaluate, and revise their curriculum.
Curriculum evaluation and revision is an ongoing process. Because a significant
amount of faculty time is spent in this effort, faculty can consider effective
and efficient ways to approach this work.
One of the first steps is to identify the leadership and structure. The leader may be a consultant who is employed to consult or lead the development or revision process, but more often the leader is an appointed or elected faculty member. When undertaking a significant curriculum revision, it may also be helpful to consider using a small group of faculty to serve as co-leaders of the process instead of one individual.
In
this manner, there is shared responsibility for leading the curricular change,
which avoids overwhelming any one individual. Faculty must also determine if
the curriculum work will be done by the faculty as a whole, by volunteers, or
by faculty who are elected to represent a constituency and serve on the
curriculum committee on their behalf. Faculty must also have bylaws in place to
define the curriculum process.
Curriculum development or revision is a change process, and some faculty find it helpful to use a change model to guide the process. Several models include Rogers’s (2003) Difusion of Innovations; Lewin’s (1951) Force Field Analysis; or a Strengths, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat (SWOT) model.
Regardless of the model used, if any, faculty will benefit from establishing norms for change, identifying the benefits and risks of change, determining what must change and what can stay the same, and obtaining the needed resources to do the work.
Inevitably there will be barriers and resistance to change. Barriers can include lack of time; large numbers of inexperienced faculty; faculty with a sense of loss of control, lack of trust, or concerns about losing their area of expertise in the curriculum; or uncertainty related to the need to learn new clinical skills, teaching strategies, or content.
At the same time, faculty can use strategies to facilitate change. Having key faculty involved in the curriculum development and revision is important, as is having agreed on goals, a transparent process, and respect for everyone’s opinion.
Setting a timeline for completion of the
work is also important, or the work may stagnate and even become outdated
before it is implemented. Recognizing both the barriers and the facilitators
improve the curriculum development and revision process.
Although some traditional concepts of curriculum development continue to provide structure for an important, planned, and sequenced approach to achieving desired educational outcomes, aspects of nursing education are undergoing significant and sometimes disruptive innovations.
Although there is often growing support for change, faculty in schools of nursing are challenged to re-conceptualize their current curricula while continuing to teach in the current framework and teaching strategies. Major forces influencing curriculum changes provide the context for re-envisioning nursing curricula, using innovative yet evidence based approaches to achieve the desired learning outcomes and competencies.
An approach to designing and documenting curricula was reviewed along with exemplars to support effectiveness of selected elements or strategies. There are exciting innovations in nursing education today that are expected to result in enhanced outcomes for graduates and in a new excitement about the educator role in this process.
Systematic process and outcome evaluation of curriculum development, implementation, and outcomes will be crucial to learning how to best design education curricula to prepare graduates for the ever expanding and complex role of the nurses across the health care continuum to ensure comprehensive, high quality care for the populations served.
Reflecting on the Evidence In Curriculum Development In Nursing Education
1.
How does a faculty member know if a curriculum framework is providing adequate
structure to support the decisions faculty are making regarding curriculum
development and implementation?
2. What are some strategies that faculty can
adopt to ensure that their program curricula remain fluid and dynamic?
3. What are some of the strategies that
faculty may adopt to promote effective and satisfying curriculum change that
reflects evidence based and innovative concepts and practices.
Give your opinion if have any.