A Curriculum Development Simulation in a Graduate Program

Objective:  To implement and evaluate a curriculum development seminar in which graduate students experienced circumstances that occur when faculty members develop and attempt to secure colleague approval for a curriculum.

Design:  Learning activities for the graduate seminar included classroom lectures, active learning, and a group project in which simulated faculty committees created new curriculums for the pharmacy practice department's 3 research areas.

Assessment:  Responses on pre- and post-seminar surveys indicated that graduate students’ self-confidence in their ability to conduct key curriculum development activities increased ( p  < 0.05). In a post-seminar focus group, graduate students stated that they valued participating in the faculty simulation, learning about curriculum development and research programs other than their own, and collaborating with their peers.

Conclusion:  A curriculum development faculty simulation was an effective tool for preparing graduate students for curriculum development responsibilities and generated valuable documents that the department could use in the revision of the 3 pharmacy practice graduate school curricula.