Health science curriculum reform: Outcome evaluation

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Research and Development in Higher Education Vol. 28: Higher education in a changing world

July, 2005, 639 pages
Published by
Angela Brew and Christine Asmar
ISBN
0 908557 62 0
Abstract 

The Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Sydney has recently undertaken significant undergraduate curriculum reform aimed at reducing the number of similar, overlapping units of study and increasing the opportunities for disciplinary mingling at an undergraduate level. This paper presents some preliminary findings concerning the impact of curriculum change in the context of a single cross-disciplinary unit of study in introductory research methodology that replaced five similar units taught in a mono-disciplinary format. The findings indicate that a significantly higher proportion of students reported satisfaction with the cross-disciplinary unit, although the student outcomes in terms of grades were not significantly different. Within the revised unit, a significantly higher proportion of students who carried out group projects with students from disciplines other than their own reported that they had developed their ability to work with people enrolled in other degree programs. These changes occurred in the context of reduced staff time required for administering several versions of similar units of study.

Keywords: curriculum change, interprofessional learning, student perception