| Title | Bridging Learning Outcomes and Competencies for Student Success: Enhancements to a Curriculum Mapping Tool |
|---|---|
| Faculty/College/Unit | Forestry |
| Status | Active |
| Duration | 2 Year |
| Initiation | 04/01/2025 |
| Funding Details | |
| Year 1: Project Year | Year 1 |
| Year 1: Funding Year | 2025/2026 |
| Year 1: Project Type | Small TLEF |
| Year 1: Principal Investigator | Andrés Varhola |
| Year 1: Funded Amount | 35,892 |
| Year 1: Team Members | Andrés Varhola, Assistant Professor of Teaching, Forest Resources Management, Faculty of Forestry |
| Year 1: Summary | Curriculum mapping is essential for giving students a cohesive learning experience and addressing common issues such as content overlap, missing topics, and sequencing challenges. This project plans to enhance UBC Okanagan’s (UBCO) Curriculum MAP tool to help curriculum developers identify these gaps across courses and programs. Key upgrades include bulk uploads for learning outcomes (LOs) and accredited competencies, automated matching and similarity comparisons, outcome search capabilities, and Bloom’s Taxonomy verb analysis. These features will simplify curriculum mapping, making it easier to spot redundancies, gaps, and cognitive level distributions, visualized through word clouds for balanced curriculum design. Comprehensive reporting will enable faculty and administrators to refine course sequencing, improve alignment with accreditation standards, and integrate institutional priorities. By making curriculum data accessible and actionable, this project supports a cohesive learning experience for students and aligns with UBC’s Strategic Plan, particularly Strategy 12 – Program Redesign, by fostering collaboration and curriculum coherence. |
| Year 2: Project Year | Year 2 |
| Year 2: Funding Year | 2026/2027 |
| Year 2: Project Type | Small TLEF |
| Year 2: Principal Investigator | Andrés Varhola |
| Year 2: Funded Amount | 14,088 |
| Year 2: Team Members | Andrés Varhola, Assistant Professor of Teaching, Forest Resources Management, Faculty of Forestry |
| Year 2: Summary | This project aims to build upon UBC Okanagan's (UBCO) Curriculum MAP tool to streamline learning outcome mapping and help curriculum developers effectively identify overlapping learning objectives and gaps across related courses and programs. The proposed upgrades include course syllabi bulk upload and content extraction functionality, automated matching and comparison of learning objectives and accredited competencies, and the introduction of outcome search capabilities. These enhancements will facilitate the curriculum mapping process for multiple courses and programs, making it easier to identify gaps and redundancies and ensure better alignment with accredited standards. Comprehensive reporting will further support faculty and administrators in refining course sequencing and aligning with institutional priorities. By making curriculum data more accessible and actionable, this project will create a more cohesive learning experience for students and improve faculty collaboration, supporting UBC’s Strategic Plan, particularly Strategy 12 (Program Redesign). |