SERIES OF THREE-DAY WORKSHOPS ON ‘ESSENTIALS OF CURRICULUM PLANNING & DELIVERY’ – A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN NDHPE AND NCL/RD DTE

In the world of academia, curriculum is a multifaceted term which calls for an in-depth knowledge and thorough understanding so as to impart quality education to the learners. It is a sophisticated blend of educational strategies, course content, learning outcomes, educational experiences, assessment, educational environment, and students’ individual learning styles and timetables.

NUMS Department of Health Professions Education (NDHPE) and NUMS Center for Lifelong Learning / Resource Development (NCL/RD Dte) joined hands to conduct a sequence of three-day workshops on ‘Essentials of Curriculum Planning & Delivery’ from 5th July 2022 to 25th August 2022 at AFPGMI and NUMS PWD Campus. The workshops effectively garnered interest and were ardently attended by the faculty members of College of Nursing, NUMS Department of Public Health (NDPH), NUMS Department of Nutrition and Dietetics (NDND), NUMS Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences (NDSBS), NUMS Department of Psychology (NDP), and NUMS Department of Biological Sciences (NDBS).

Day one of the workshops were centered on Curriculum Development. It has three approaches: content, process, and product. It aims to polish the skillset of graduates by refining their leadership and management skills, problem solving, policy making, knowledge base, collaboration, innovation, adaptability, and ethical practices.

While day one featured the techniques of making curriculum outcomes, day two was all about Curriculum Delivery. Its primary focus was on choosing suitable teaching and learning tools aligned with the session and course outcomes. It underlined the application of appropriate model of instructional design to teaching sessions to facilitate learning. Socrative App was discussed as an effective tool to gather instant feedback about students’ understanding. Also, the concept of ‘flipped classroom’ was defined where the content becomes available to students beyond usual classroom time, thus preparing them to ask intelligent questions from their teachers.

Day three of the respective workshops were principally focused on Assessment. Assessment not only motivates the students to identify their learning deficiencies including ways to overcome those deficiencies, but also communicates the faculty ways to improve teaching methods and content modification.

NDHPE resource persons called to audience’s attention the significance of the said topic through the following hands-on activities:

  1. Developing a course related to the faculty members’ respective specialty, and a session for the teaching strategy assigned to the group
  2. Improving MCQs according to best evidence

Over a period of two months the workshops enjoyed great participation from a total of 77 diversified faculty members. The well-versed resource persons handled the challenging topic with their impressive teaching skills and poised personalities. Correspondingly, NCL/RD Dte played a crucial role in ensuring flawless facilitation of the sessions in the face of uncertainties. It was a great team effort towards achieving the bigger goal of NUMS faculty development by eating the elephant one bite at a time.

This workshop by NDHPE and NCL/RD Dte is undertaken in relation to SDG 4 (Quality Education).