CTL's Curriculum Services is your comprehensive partner in creating, enhancing, and reviewing curriculum to ensure an enriching learning experience for students. We house a range of initiatives, including our Curriculum Services Repository that offers a wealth of evidence-based resources, and the Curriculum Project Engagement (CoPE) Grant, designed to facilitate sustainable and engaging curriculum practices. Our Curriculum Mapping Aid (CuMA) streamlines the curriculum mapping and reporting process thereby promoting alignment and efficiency. We also provide personalized support through customized workshops and consultations, addressing the unique needs and challenges of each Faculty and department. Beyond these services, our team is on hand to facilitate departmental and Faculty retreats, offering guidance and support in curriculum project management. Our curricular initiatives encompass both course and program design, bolstered by resources, consultations, workshops, and a credit course focused on the principles and practices of effective course design.
Curriculum Development and Review
Curriculum development and review is an iterative process. It begins with visioning and crafting learning outcomes which are constructively aligned with assessments and teaching methods. This ongoing process also involves curriculum mapping and is enriched by continual data collection, analysis, and review. A well-designed curriculum can significantly enhance the effectiveness of teaching and the student learning experience.
At the CTL, we actively support faculty and departmental work on curriculum with the following:
- Curriculum Project Engagement (CoPE) Grant – An initiative to support the creation and enhancement of sustainable, effective, and engaging curriculum practices and processes.
- Download the CoPE Grant Application
- Download a sample budget
- To review a list of past project summaries, visit past CoPE grant recipients.
- Curriculum Services Repository – An extensive array of evidence-based resources to support curriculum development at each stage of the process.
- CuMA - A Curriculum Mapping Aid – A tool that includes an archive of Senate-approved learning outcomes at the University of Windsor as well as curriculum mapping and reporting functions.
- Workshops, both university-wide and tailored to your specific needs.
- Consultations for individuals, groups, and program committees, including:
- Learning outcomes review and consultation
- Program review consultations
- One-on-one general consultations
- Facilitation of departmental and faculty retreats.
- Curriculum Project Management support.
For detailed information about these services and resources, please explore the Curriculum Services Menu. Additional resources supporting curriculum development (e.g., learning outcomes, assessment design, syllabus templates) are available on our Teaching and Learning Resources page. If you have questions or would like to set up a consultation or a faculty/department retreat, please contact Elizabeth Ismail at eismail@uwindsor.ca.
To dive deeper into curriculum development and review, visit the Curriculum Services Repository. You'll find helpful links and an interactive diagram that guides you through the key stages in the process of curriculum design and review:
- Visioning & Planning
- Data Collection
- Curriculum Design
- Program Approval
- Curriculum Analysis & Review
- Sustainable Practices
Course Design
The CTL offers several resources and means of support for course design. These include one-on-one consultations, workshops, courses, and tailored support for faculty and departments. For a complete listing of upcoming events, including workshops and courses, please visit the CTL Registration page. If you’re interested in consultations and tailored support, please contact the CTL at ctl@uwindsor.ca.
We also offer a credit course on curriculum design. Course Design introduces participants to the principles and practice of effective course design by actively involving them in course creation. The course is of particular interest to instructors, teaching assistants, and future members of the professoriate. For a complete course description and registration details, visit CTL Courses.
We also provide additional resources for course planning and redesign available on our Teaching and Learning Resources page.
Key Terms:
Curriculum: A curriculum is a structured program concentrated on facilitating student learning and development in a designated discipline. Curriculum integrates courses, content, teaching methods, learning activities, and evaluation strategies from entry to completion of a program to help students acquire knowledge, skills, and attitudes aligned with intended learning outcomes.
Constructive Alignment: A curricular approach that aligns intended learning outcomes, assessment methods, and teaching and learning activities for the purpose of building a coherent and effective curriculum that enhances student understanding and success. Constructive alignment is used at the levels of both curriculum and course design so that constructively aligned courses contribute to a constructively aligned curriculum and vice versa. For more information, visit the Constructive Alignment section of our Course Design resource.
Course Design: A process involving the identification of course content, learning outcomes, development of assessment strategies, lesson planning, sequencing, and the selection of appropriate instructional methods and materials. For more information, we invite you to explore our Course Design Resources.
Curriculum Mapping: Curriculum mapping is a process of documenting and visualizing the structure of a program, including whether and how individual courses contribute to program coherence and efficacy. Curriculum mapping involves collecting, recording, and analyzing data about curriculum structure based on past student achievement of program learning outcomes. For more information, visit our Curriculum Mapping FAQs.
Learning Outcomes: Learning outcomes are concise statements that communicate what students are expected to know, value, or achieve upon successfully completing a course or program. When used appropriately, intended learning outcomes are both assessable and assessed within a course or program. To be assessable, learning outcomes must describe observable, publicly verifiable results, rather than internal mental processes, activities, or states. For more information, we invite you to explore our Resource on Learning Outcomes.