Ohio State University, College of Pharmacy, Columbus, OH, USA.
Ohio State University, College of Pharmacy, Columbus, OH, USA.
Am J Pharm Educ. 2023 Sep;87(9):100052. doi: 10.1016/j.ajpe.2022.12.009. Epub 2023 Mar 15.
Recently, there have been calls to action to address curricular expansion, including modifying standards, using curricular analytics, and optimizing interdisciplinary collaboration, all of which focus on program-level changes. The primary objective of this study was to describe how the process of backward design can be used as a strategy to reduce curricular expansion at the individual course level while maintaining student performance and decreasing student and coordinator stress.
Backward design was applied to a large, interdisciplinary, team-taught pharmacotherapy course to identify opportunities to reduce content volume and align assessment content with course objectives. Didactic content hours were measured and compared with historical controls. Student performance on examinations was measured and compared with previous years. Student feedback on examination alignment and other course-related stressors was gathered via semester-end course evaluations and compared with previous years. Course coordinator reflections before and after implementation were described.
The amount of didactic content hours delivered to students decreased by over 37 hours (33%), allowing space for the expansion of application-based practice, study time, and wellness breaks. Student performance on examinations was maintained, while student stress with examination content and the course design was decreased. Coordinators noted less stress and time spent negotiating didactic content time and examination content and alignment with individual instructors.
Using backward design as a framework to intentionally evaluate didactic content volume and assessment alignment can address curricular expansion while maintaining student learning and decreasing student and instructor stress.
最近，人们呼吁采取行动来解决课程扩张的问题，包括修改标准、使用课程分析和优化跨学科合作，所有这些都集中在项目层面的变化上。本研究的主要目的是描述如何使用反向设计作为一种策略，在保持学生表现和减少学生和协调员压力的同时，减少个体课程层面的课程扩张。
反向设计被应用于一门大型的、跨学科的、团队授课的药物治疗学课程，以确定减少内容量并使评估内容与课程目标保持一致的机会。测量了教学内容时间并与历史对照组进行了比较。通过课程结束时的课程评估收集了学生对考试内容和其他与课程相关的压力源的反馈，并与前几年进行了比较。描述了课程协调员在实施前后的反思。
向学生传授的教学内容时间减少了 37 多个小时（33%），为基于应用的实践、学习时间和健康休息留出了空间。学生考试成绩保持不变，而学生对考试内容和课程设计的压力则有所减轻。协调员表示，他们的压力较小，用于协商教学内容时间和考试内容与个别教师之间的一致性的时间也较少。
使用反向设计作为框架，有意评估教学内容量和评估一致性，可以在保持学生学习和减少学生和教师压力的同时解决课程扩张的问题。
