The purpose of this information is to make it conceivable for possible working group members to figure out if they will be a good candidate for a working group.
Curriculum Agility
Climate change, digitalisation, automation and AI – these are some of the global challenges that society and, therefore, our universities need to address in different ways. Other changes are more local and context specific. There are also changes that relate to individuals and their specific needs.
In order to meet these changes – and other changes we have not yet seen - there is a need for flexible, agile structures for learning in higher (engineering) education. Therefore, a working group has been initiated in the CDIO-network in order to explore and develop self-assessment on this topic. The aim of the group is two-fold: 1) Raising awareness for the need for curriculum agility in (engineering) higher education institutions, and 2) Creating a self-assessment tool for curriculum agility for CDIO members.
At the CDIO conference in Kanazawa 2018, a first workshop on curriculum agility was held and this resulted in the following synthesized definition:
An agile curriculum is responsive and adaptable to changes in society and industry, and to changing student characteristics and needs, by having the capacity to adjust structures, learning outcomes and learning activities where and when needed in a timely manner.
In order to continue the work on curriculum agility within the CDIO network, we are pleased to invite you to contribute to building a framework for agile curriculum development in higher education, during, but also after, the Aarhus conference. Experience on the topic is very welcome, but the working group is also the opportune moment to start thinking about and working on this theme in a constructive manner.
Mrs. Suzanne Hallenga-Brink, the Hague University of Applied Sciences, S.C.Hallenga-Brink@hhs.nl
The working group is co-lead by Mr. Carl-Johan Carlsson of Chalmers University and Mr. Fredrik Georgsson of Umeå University.
Application for joining the working group on curriculum agility is done by filling out the application form and emailing it to the working group leader (Suzanne Hallenga-Brink, the Hague University of Applied Sciences, S.C.Hallenga-Brink@hhs.nl)
Prior to the working group meeting in Aarhus we would like you to:
This will be input to start working with on the Monday of the conference.
At the conference working group meeting we will start a research by design approach to develop an assessment tool. In groups, concepts of an assessment tool will be made on the first full day, which can vary from a rubric, much like the CDIO standards, to an interactive flow chart mapping different assessment aspects and contexts in educational programmes. During this process, the group will define criteria, choose indicators, and specify the foreseen stages of agility. In the following days, the chosen curriculum agility assessment tool will be further refined while a report will be made of our joint efforts.
After the conference, the ‘design proposal’ will be described in the conference proceedings paper, based on the report some of the working group made during the conference. Next, it can be tested and iteratively improved during, and in-between, future CDIO meetings. Of course, those who built along will have the privilege to test it right away!
You do not need to have been part of the Kanazawa session to become a member of the working group now. And you can indicate if you want to be only involved on the Monday session in Aarhus, or continue to be active afterwards as well.