** Poster Award Nominee

WESTERN RESERVE₂ CURRICULUM:  IMPLEMENTING AND measuring change

Klara Papp*¹, Siu Yan Scott¹,  Amy Wilson-Delfosse¹,  Dan Wolpaw¹ , Terry Wolpaw¹, Murray Altose^2*,  ¹Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Oh 44106 U.S.A., ²Louis B Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, Oh, 44106 U.S.A.  

Purpose
This is the decade of change for medical school curricula, yet the effects of major curriculum changes are not well studied. Our faculty redesigned an organ-based curriculum to include a more learner-centered format with frequent formative assessment, self-reflection, and self-regulation.  New content areas include population medicine, civic professionalism, and leadership.  Outcomes are defined in nine competencies. This study asks: do students who participate in this curriculum have more positive perceptions and higher achievement when compared to historical controls?

 

Methods
A series of online questionnaires were administered to students in the historical control group as well as in the new curriculum to assess perceptions of the courses and learning environment.  Student achievement was measured using both essay as well as multiple-choice type questions.

 

Results
Data collection is ongoing and will be conducted through the graduating Class of 2011 using benchmarks such as performance on licensing examinations as well as accomplishments in the nine competencies.  Student perceptions of each section are compared to previous cohorts.  To date, we have data on the first three sections of the new curriculum; the students’ responses to the integrated basic science content within the foundations courses are favorable.

Conclusion
Meaningful curriculum evaluation requires early start and careful alignment of guiding principles, curricular design, and measurable outcomes. Tools are available to support the assessment of a variety of outcomes including the learning environment, leadership, lifelong learning, and scholarship.  Students and faculty are interested in participating in the process and outcomes of curriculum evaluation.