As the new school year begins, many schools are in the process of mapping the curriculum to the educational standards of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Essentials.1 Historically, curriculum mapping has focused on identifying what is taught, how it is taught, when it is taught, and how it is evaluated.2 From analyzing the mapping, faculty can then draw 4 key conclusions, specifically that the curriculum is complete, strengthening is needed, there are gaps, and/or material is redundant.3 The process is designed to provide data that drive decision-making about curricular change. Although the purpose is clear, there are variations in mapping techniques.
Systematic curriculum mapping should aim to provide a detailed account of what learning occurs over the course of the program. The process of checking boxes to identify where material is "covered" is a subjective one that is teacher-centered. It doesn't require a description of the learner's actual activities, and checkoffs are at the discretion of the educator completing the mapping. Using this approach, it would be difficult to determine what learning the check mark indicates is occurring, which, in turn, makes analysis of the overall curricular activities indeterminate.
When mapping for competency-based education (CBE), a more student-centered methodology may be to map the outputs of the education process, namely, what the learner "does." Focusing on the outputs of education provides the objective data needed to determine what learning is occurring and how one activity provides the foundation for the next. By analyzing how learning achievements are scaffolded, educators can determine whether there is adequate layering of learning experiences across the curriculum to support learners in achieving required competencies.
The syllabus, course assignments, and classroom activities provide the basis for mapping what learners "do." To map to the AACN Essentials,1 a data file that lists the domains and competencies down the left-hand column can be used; mapping to the subcompetency level is not necessary, as several may be bundled together in a single learning activity. Three column headings across the top should include How the competency is met, Concepts, and Spheres if mapping for prelicensure level. A page can be created for each course in the curriculum. Faculty should map the courses they teach, populating the appropriate box with the description of the learning activities, clearly indicating what the learner does and identifying subcompetencies met by each activity behind it (see Supplemental Digital Content, Table, available at: http://links.lww.com/NE/B353).
All mapped courses should then be verified by a colleague to ascertain that listed activities are actually competency-based activities, removing items that are not. Once confirmed, all items from each course can be cut and pasted in a single master file. This provides a complete overview of the competency-based learning activities in the curriculum. Data are then analyzed for the presence and intensity of activities for each subcompetency, allowing reviewers to assess the adequacy and layering of learning opportunities while identifying gaps and redundancies. The final step is reporting findings of the analysis, sharing the master file with all faculty members, and beginning the work to eliminate redundancy and target the gaps.
As nursing education moves toward CBE, the focus should be on the outputs of education. A curriculum mapping process that includes creating a document of outputs, verifying the data, combining data in a master file, analyzing the data for the presence and intensity of subcompetencies, and reporting the findings will provide the comprehensive review needed to drive curricular decisions and create a path forward.
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