Northcentral University

9 School UPDATES Yulia Watters, PhD Curriculum Director, SSBS Elaine Willerton, PhD Assessment Director, SSBS Curriculum Development Experiences – Faculty Focus Group Results Background As a follow-up to a faculty survey on curriculum development, three focus groups were held to gather in-depth accounts of curriculum development experiences. Faculty subject matter experts (SMEs) who had worked on a curriculum development (CD) project within the previous year were invited to join. Thirteen faculty attended the focus groups (9 full-time, 4 part-time). Each of the three focus groups included a mixture of faculty from Psychology and Marriage and Family Sciences. Questions • Is curriculum development something you felt interested in doing? How many CD projects have you worked on? • We want to hear about your experiences with the CD process, both positive and negative. When you think about your CD experiences, what stands out? • Any of the struggles or frustrations that came with developing a course? • What has been enjoyable about the CD process? Are there specific things you found helpful or supportive? • Do you have any suggestions for improving the CD process or advice you would give to another SME? Positive Aspects of Curriculum Development Creativity Numerous SMEs indicated that working on CD projects gave them a chance to exercise creativity. This was framed as an enjoyable break from the usual weekly routine. SMEs said they liked having time to be creative, scaffold material, and design meaningful assignments. One SME said that digging into the literature for a CD project was a nice way to stay current on a topic and to learn the latest information.

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