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Specifications & Curriculum Customization. Barry McNeill Vice Chair Mechanical Engineering and Lynn Bellamy and Veronica Burrows Chemical Engineering Arizona State University. Overview of Presentation. Four Questions To Answer When Defining a Curriculum
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Specifications & Curriculum Customization Barry McNeill Vice Chair Mechanical Engineering and Lynn Bellamy and Veronica Burrows Chemical Engineering Arizona State University
Overview of Presentation • Four Questions To Answer When Defining a Curriculum • The Role of Specifications Relative to the Four Questions • Taxonomies of Learning • Specifying a Curriculum Using an Articulation Matrix • Specifying a Course (Learning Module) Using a Competency Matrix
Four Questions in Defining a Curriculum (Ralph Tyler) • What educational purposes should the school/program seek to attain? • What educational experiences can be provided that are likely to attain these purposes? • How can these educational experiences be effectively organized? • How can we determine whether these purposes are being attained?
Specifications and Educational Purpose (Question 1) • In design a specification is a performance metric with an assigned value • In curriculum design a specification is a program outcome with a desired level of mastery (e.g., solvefirst order ODE’s) • A set of specifications quantify (define) a Program’s Purpose
Program Graduates Students leave demonstrating mastery of all required outcomes Desired State
Specifications and Educational Experiences (Question 2) • If you know the desired state (a program specification) • and • If you know a student’s present state (current or initial level of mastery for the metric) • It is possible to define a set of learning experiences that will move the student from the present state to the desired state • The set of experiences defines a program curriculum
The Impact of a Curriculum Curriculum . . . Students leave demonstrating mastery of all required outcomes Students arrive with a variety of skills and attitudes Present State The Path Desired State
Specifications and Experience Organization (Question 3) • There are many ways to bundle the learning experiences together • A set of bundled experiences defines a course • It often happens that the movement from the present state to the desired state takes several courses • When several courses are involved in achieving the desired state it is important to know the specifications for each course
Traditional Education Process Students leave demonstrating mastery of all required outcomes Students arrive with a variety of skills and attitudes Every student takes the same path Present State The Path Desired State
Specifications and Assessment (Question 4) • Assessment is possible when you have specifications • A program specification sets a measurable standard for benchmarking a student’s performance • The benchmarking can be done by the student, the faculty, or an independent assessor
Customized Education Process Students leave demonstrating mastery of all required outcomes Students arrive with a variety of skills and attitudes Each student takes a customized path Present State The Path Desired State
Customized Education Process Students leave demonstrating mastery of all required outcomes Students arrive with a variety of skills and attitudes Each student takes a customized path Present State The Path Desired State
Specifications Some Sources • Educational Metrics • ABET’s a through k • Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences • Special constituency needs • Educational Value • Bloom’s Taxonomy • Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy • SOLO Taxonomy (Biggs & Collis) • Program Defined Taxonomy
Linguistic Logical-Mathematical Spatial Bodily-Kinesthetic Musical Interpersonal Intrapersonal Naturalist (Existential, possible candidate) Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences
Original Taxonomy Knowledge Comprehension Application Analysis Synthesis Evaluation Revised Taxonomy Cognitive Processes Remember Understand Apply Analyze Evaluate Create Knowledge Types Factual Conceptual Procedural Meta-cognitive Bloom’s Levels of Learning
Sample Program Articulation Matrix McNeill ASU - ASME Clearwater Beach April 2002 16
Sample Articulation Matrix 17 McNeill ASU - ASME Clearwater Beach April 2002
Summary of Presentation • Four questions to answer when defining a curriculum were presented • The impact of specifications relative to the four questions was presented • Several taxonomies of learning including Bloom’s taxonomy were presented • Two examples showed how to define a program/course using specifications