Will students notice the difference? Embedding graduate capabilities in the curriculum

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Research and Development in Higher Education Vol. 32: The Student Experience

July, 2009, 715 pages
Published by
Helen Wozniak and Sonia Bartoluzzi
ISBN
0 908557 78 7
Abstract 

This paper describes the way in which Macquarie University is implementing graduate capabilities in the curriculum. It asks: What potential is there for graduate capabilities defined at an institutional level to improve student experience? In embedding graduate capabilities in the curriculum, is it possible to move beyond rhetoric and enact positive changes for learning and teaching? Without academic and student engagement, any changes are likely to have a limited impact. There are three key challenges involved: interpreting the guiding principles and graduate capabilities in terms that are meaningful and relevant to different disciplines; embedding graduate capabilities in the curriculum at unit and program level through constructive alignment; and demonstrating that units and programs provide students with opportunities to develop the desired capabilities. Three case studies – from Chiropractic, Health Studies and Accounting – are presented to demonstrate the importance of a discipline or program specific approach in the implementation phase to ensure that students notice the difference.

Keywords: graduate capabilities, curriculum, student learning