Curriculum Mapping Across the Disciplines: Differences, Approaches, and Strategies

Curriculum mapping can be used to document, align, visualize, and assess curricular data, such as learning outcomes, assessment materials, instructional techniques, and student pre- and post-testing scores. A cross-disciplinary Curriculum Mapping Initiative currently underway at the University of Toronto Mississauga aims to: (1) develop guidelines for the curriculum mapping process; (2) develop cross-disciplinary curriculum mapping templates and samples to guide departments through the curriculum mapping process; (3) communicate narratives for how to use curriculum mapping to inform curricular change; (4) develop visualization strategies for curricular data; (5) initiate a plan for dissemination and sustainability; and (6) initiate a plan for informing students about how to use curricular maps in their academic experiences. Through this curriculum mapping initiative, we have discovered that discipline-specific differences exist in approaches to curriculum mapping. The purpose of this paper is to communicate these cross-disciplinary similarities and differences in purpose, process, and utilization of curriculum mapping strategies. We found that different departments had some common ground in the curriculum mapping process, but also key differences. The differences could be categorized according to: purpose for initiating the curriculum mapping process; approach to curriculum mapping; dissemination of completed maps; dealing with pedagogical jargon; and faculty buy-in.