Quick Guide to Program Curriculum Mapping

Contents

What is a Curriculum Map?........................................................................................................2

Steps to Build a Curriculum Map………………………………………………………………3

Using a Curriculum Map to Evaluate a Curriculum…………………………………………….5

Common Mapping Challenges………………………………………………………………….7

Resources Used to Create Quick Guide…………………………………………………………8

 2

What is a Curriculum Map?

A curriculum map shows where within a curriculum student learning outcomes are taught and
assessed. A curriculum map can be used to ensure that alignment exists between the expected
learning outcomes and what is taught in a curriculum. A curriculum map can be used as a
planning tool when a curriculum is initially developed to plan where within the proposed
curriculum the learning outcomes will be taught and assessed. A curriculum map can also be
developed for an existing curriculum to describe where within the curriculum the student
learning outcomes are currently taught and assessed. When created for an existing curriculum, a
curriculum map describes what is actually occurring in a curriculum. When created at the
program-level, a curriculum map shows where program learning outcomes are taught and
assessed in program courses and experiences.

Curriculum maps serve the following purposes:

1. Help ensure that all PLOs are adequately addressed by the curriculum.
2. Help identify potential structural concerns within the curriculum.
3. Help diagnose where and how to correct structural concerns
4. Help document what topics are addressed and where they are covered.
 3

Steps to Build a Curriculum Map

1. Write program learning outcomes in a separate column in the map template (see Image A)

2. Place courses and experiences in the rows on the map template (see Image A).

In step 2 identify the key/core courses and experiences that all students in your program should
take. Write each course and experience in a separate row in the table. Most student learning and
assessment occurs in courses. There are non-course experiences in a program curriculum in
which students are also taught and assessed. For example, student learning and assessment may
occur when a student presents a project at a conference, participates in an internship, or gives a
music recital. If there are critical student experiences in which student learning and assessment
occur, then these experiences can also be added to matrix. It is recommended to create an initial
curriculum map that only includes key/core courses and experiences because these are the main
places in which the teaching and assessment of student learning outcomes will occur. If elective
courses or support courses (e.g., general education courses) are critical to the program, then
include these courses. If possible and available, collect the student learning outcomes for each
course. The course-level learning outcomes can help determine when and to what extent the
program-level learning outcomes are taught and assessed in individual courses.
Image A: Map Template

3. Complete Mapping Stage 1. Place an "X" in a cell to indicate which courses support program
learning outcomes (see Image B, p. 4).
 4

Image B: Mapping Stage 1

4. Complete Mapping Stage 2. Place an I, R, or A in a cell to indicate different developmental

levels the student will experience through the curriculum. (See Image 3)

• Introduced (I) – The skills associated with the program outcome are presented in the
course. You may find this will happen in the lower level courses in your program. There
may be formative assessment.
• Reinforced (R) – The skills associated with the program outcome are being worked on at
a level above the introductory stage and/or the skills are being developed at a deeper
level. There may be formative assessment.
• Assessed (A) – Students should have developed a sufficient level of competency in the
skills associated with the program outcome to have mastered them. This is where the
assessment of the program learning outcome is done (or the artifact for analysis is
collected).
Image 3: Mapping Stage 3
 5

Using a Curriculum Map to Evaluate a Curriculum

A curriculum map can be used to identify gaps between expected student learning outcomes and
what is taught and assessed in a curriculum. A curriculum map can demonstrate if a course
sequence effectively scaffolds and prepares students to achieve the learning outcomes.
Identification of gaps and issues in a curriculum map can lead to curricular changes to improve
student learning opportunities. Below are questions that can guide analyses of, and discussions
related to, curriculum maps:

1. Are all program learning outcomes taught and taught with the appropriate sequence in the
curriculum?
2. Are all program learning outcomes assessed and assessed at the appropriate time?
3. Do all core courses support the development of at least one program learning outcome?
4. Are there any core courses that don't support the program learning outcomes?
5. Do the core courses sufficiently support the development of the program learning outcomes?
6. Is the sequence of how the learning outcomes are taught across the courses appropriate and
the most effective at supporting students' development of the learning outcomes?
7. What changes to courses, learning outcomes, sequence students take classes, and so on could
improve the alignment between student learning outcomes and the curriculum?

It is a best practice to engage all faculty members in analyses and discussion of a program-level
curriculum map. A curriculum map can serve as a catalyst for building a reflective practice
related to teaching and learning in a program.

Example of analyzing a curriculum map

A program is summarized in the curriculum map in Image 4. Following the map is an analysis of
the curriculum (this is modified from Allen (2004, p. 43)).

Image 4. Example of curriculum map.

PLO 1

There is good alignment between PLO 1 and the courses. PLO 1 is introduced early in the
program, reinforced in intermediate courses, and reinforced and assessed in upper-level courses.

5
 6

PLO 2

PLO 2 is introduced, but not taught or assessed elsewhere in the curriculum. Students may not be
developing advanced knowledge related to PLO 2 and the program is unable to determine the
extent to which students have achieved that outcome. One reason for the pattern is that the
outcome isn't important; therefore, faculty members don't emphasis the outcome in classes.
Alternatively, the outcome could be critical to the curriculum; however, it was not realized until
the creation of the curriculum map that that outcome wasn't addressed in the courses. Depending
on the reason for the pattern in the curriculum map, the learning outcome could be eliminated or
modified, or the faculty members could modify the focus of teaching in the courses to ensure that
that outcome is taught.

PLO 3

PLO 3 is not formally introduced in the curriculum. However, it is reinforced in intermediate

courses and reinforced and assessed in upper-level courses. Faculty members will need to
determine why the outcome isn't introduced in core program courses. Sometimes programs
expect that general education classes will introduce learning outcomes to students. For example,
a program may expect that an introduction to written communication will occur in a general
education class. If an outcome is expected to be introduced in a general education class then
program faculty members will need to work with the general education class faculty members to
ensure that the learning outcome is introduced in those courses.

PLO 4

The PLO was not included in the curriculum. Faculty members will want to determine if that
outcome was an old outcome that is no longer relevant and can be eliminated. Alternative, there
may have been an oversight and the curriculum may need to be modified to include teaching
related to that outcome.

PLO 5

PLO 5 hasn't been introduced in introductory, intermediate, and most advanced classes. It is
reinforced and assessed in one advanced-level class. Faculty members teaching the advanced
class may have assumed that the learning outcome was taught in previous courses; however, it
has not been addressed earlier in the program. Students may not be sufficiently prepared for this
learning outcome. Commonly, research method skills are reinforced and assessed at advanced
levels and may not be introduced and reinforced earlier in a program.

PLO 6

There is good alignment between PLO 6 and the courses. The outcome is introduced early in the
program, reinforced in intermediate courses, and reinforced and assessed in upper-level courses.

6
 7

Mapping Challenges

Here are some typical challenges you might encounter when guiding program faculty through the
mapping process.

1. What courses to include?

• Generally, it’s best to start out simple and only include the required courses in
your program. Once these are set, you can branch first into the support courses,
then into the program elective courses, and finally into LAC-type courses. In this
expanded case, be aware that not all students take the same electives and the same
set of LAC courses, so you cannot assume the same level of SLO coverage as you
can with required courses.

2. Single course with multiple instructors

• This requires coordination among instructors who teach the course. It also
requires some standardization as to what is covered and what assessments are
used, especially if the course is used for program assessment data collection.
Bring all instructors together for a conversation about which PLOs the course
supports and how best to assess learning. Emphasize that the course is part of the
program curriculum, so faculty need to come to consensus.

3. Does the curriculum drive assessment or the reverse?

• The curriculum should drive the assessment; however, the PLO’s should shape
the curriculum. The overriding objectives need to considered first. This concept
will be foreign to some programs that have allowed the curriculum to be shaped
by short-lived trends and the interests of individual professors. A good
curriculum should be planned and designed; not merely something that randomly
evolves over time. When analyzing your curriculum with a map, be sure to keep
the PLOs, not the courses, central to the conversation.

4. What if another group controls the course?

• This is typically the case with support courses and LAC. It is best to begin with
required courses that the program controls. Once that assessment is in place, the
program can conduct an audit of courses taught outside the program to determine
if the courses map to the PLOs. If courses outside the program map to the PLOs,
have a conversation with your colleagues about how the PLO might be
introduced, reinforced, and assessed formally.

7
 8

Resources Used to Create Curriculum Map Quick Guide

Allen, M. (2004). Assessing academic programs in higher education. San Francisco, CA: Anker
Publishing.
Maki, P. L. (2010). Assessing for learning: Building a sustainable commitment across the
institution. 2nd edition, Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, LLC.
University of Connecticut. (N.D.) Assessment primer: Curriculum mapping. Retrieved January
30, 2015 from [Link]
University of Hawaii Manoa. (2013). Assessment how-to: Curriculum Mapping / curriculum
matrix Retrieved January 30, 2015 from
[Link]

Quick Guide Developed by Lyda McCartin and Audrey Tocco, November 2020.