A curriculum is a pedagogical document that sets out educational goals, content and methods as well as the principles for student assessment. It provides guidance to teachers, students, and other educational stakeholders on the objectives and delivery of teaching.
Developing a curriculum is a collaborative process involving educational administrators, teachers, institutional leadership, learners and their parents, and, if necessary, representatives of employers and other partners. This process is based cooperation and aims to produce a document that guides teaching and responds to the needs of learners and the wider society.
Teachers can use the curriculum as a framework for planning their teaching goals, content, methods and assessment practices. The curriculum provides a clear structure to teaching, helping to ensure the delivery of high-quality, consistent and student-centred teaching. In addition, the curriculum fosters collaboration among teachers.
Taking a competence-based approach
At Tampere Universities, curricula are designed according to a competence-based approach. This means that teaching is planned by first identifying the academic and general competences specific to different disciplines as well as generic competences. Defining these competences relies on research-based knowledge and dialogue with society and the world of work.
The aim is to develop a shared understanding and vision of valuable and relevant expertise and competences that are created through multifaceted discussion. Since competence is a key concept in competence-based learning, it is important to understand what it means. A shared understanding among staff within degree programmes is particularly important, so that everyone is aware of the goals and the competence development that is being supported.
The competence-based approach focuses on questions such as:
- What competences should a student have upon graduation?
- What does competence mean in different disciplines and fields of study? How do we accommodate the development of interdisciplinary competences in the curriculum as well as generic, transferable skills?
- How do we ensure sufficient variation in study modes across courses within degree programmes? How do we ensure the chosen study modes support broad-based competence development?
- What skills should students possess upon completion of an individual course and an entire study module? What competences will they possess upon graduation?
- How do we ensure that the learning outcomes of a degree programme and its courses form a streamlined and coherent whole?
- How and in what ways do students share and make their competences visible?
- How can competences acquired earlier or elsewhere be identified and recognised, and how can these be integrated into studies and degrees?
- What do employers expect from graduates and how does education respond to these expectations? How can individuals with a higher education degree contribute to the development of working life?
- How can we prevent content overlap in the curriculum?
Learning outcomes as part of the curriculum process
A competence-based curriculum places the focus on students and their learning. The key objective is to help students identify the discipline-specific knowledge and skills as well as the general competences that they acquire during their studies. Planning competence-based learning begins at the degree programme level and is implemented at the course level through learning outcomes, course delivery and assessment. When teaching follows the principle of constructive alignment, learning outcomes, teaching methods and student assessment are aligned to support one another.
Learning outcomes are part of the curriculum process and its evaluation. The learning outcomes of courses and modules are formulated to reflect the overall objectives of the degree. They should also reflect the progressive accumulation of expertise across all interconnected courses. Learning outcomes represent the desired state, expressed as knowledge, skills and attitudes.
Assessment must support the achievement of learning outcomes. Learning outcomes must be clearly defined and recorded so they can be assessed, tested or measured in some way. They must be achievable, and assessment must be based on how well they are met. Assessment guides the learning process: students focus on what they know will be assessed. Consequently, assessment methods must be aligned with learning outcomes and support their achievement. Students must be informed of the assessment criteria and methods no later than the start of each study unit.
Clearly defined assessment criteria aim to standardise the evaluation of learning and competence. This increases the transparency, predictability and fairness of assessment from the perspective of students. Shared assessment criteria also provide students with a tool for identifying and demonstrating their competences and setting goals for their studies.
Curriculum enables efficient studying
The curriculum is planned to facilitate smooth progress of studies and the completion of 60 study credits in one academic year. The smooth progress of studies / Efficient studying can be promoted though the curriculum by
- ensuring that the content of successive study units is cumulative;
- ensuring that consecutive study units are also organised in the correct order;
- ensuring that the curriculum does not have any limitations that obstruct the progress of studies, such as unnecessary prior information requirements, overlapping content or other inconsistencies;
- ensuring the adequacy, timelines and accumulation of studies that promote the build-up of learning skills and techniques as well as continuous learning skills in a consistent manner throughout the degree;
- including alternative completion methods and forms for study units and other parts of study modules and degree programmes in the curriculum;
- ensuring the diversity of teaching and assessment methods as well as completion methods within the degree programme;
- increasing the availability of options between study units and participating in cooperation across degree programme, faculty and higher education institute borders when planning the elective studies;
- securing sufficient counselling resources and efficient guidance arrangements.