DEVELOPING HEALTH

SCIENCES CURRICULA:
PRINCIPLES AND PROCESS

Only workbook for HSE 3704

“The success of tomorrow’s students will be built upon the

education we design today” Dr Linda Price

HSE 3704 Curriculum Development workbook Compiled: Dr JC Lubbe Page 1

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HSE 3704 Curriculum Development workbook Compiled: Dr JC Lubbe Page 2

 HSE 3704 Curriculum Development workbook

Contents
Section A .................................................................................................................... 1
1. Welcome ....................................................................................................... 4
2. Purpose and Module outcomes..................................................................... 5
3. Prescribed and/or recommended reading ..................................................... 6
4. The Internet / Worldwide Web ....................................................................... 8
5. What are you expected to do to complete this module successfully? ........... 8
6. Assessment................................................................................................... 9
7. How does this workbook work? ..................................................................... 9
8. The personal e-portfolio ................................................................................ 9
9. Reflections are good (mirror-mirror on the wall…) ...................................... 10

HSE 3704 Curriculum Development workbook Compiled: Dr JC Lubbe Page 3

 Pre-Week
0
8 hours

Section A
1. Welcome

A warm welcome to you as a HSE3704-student!

You’ve received this workbook, because you are currently registered for your third
year module(s). This implies that you have passed your second year modules and
are now in the final year of your BA Cur degree. Well done! A few more stretches to
go and you will have your degree.

I am so proud of you that you did not decide to opt-out and register your nursing
education ‘qualification’ with SANC without completing your degree. We need
dedicated, academically strong students like you in our profession. You are the
future nurse educators who we desperately need. Currently, only 13 056 of the
129 000 Professional Registered Nurses (PRNs) have an additional qualification in
nursing education. In the next 5 -10 years, a large number of these nurse educators
will be retiring. You will need to fill that gap. I believe that the combination of all the
HSE-modules has (or will) equip you for this highly rewarding challenge. Two video-
clips worth watching at this point: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPpPcg26M2Q
and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kCKcnuUx8E .

To prepare you for your future role as a nurse educator in this highly digital world, I
have included a variety of activities to make this module fun, informative, engaging
and contemporary. (In short: It will be so worth your time and effort!!)

To enable you to make the most of this interactive workbook, you will need:
 A computer
 Access to the internet
 Some computer skills – you do not need to be an expert. If you can use most
of the functions of MS Office, you’ll be able to create the content.

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If you do not own a computer or have access to one, I have wonderful news for you.
Unisa has negotiated discount for the students to enable them to buy a notebook or
electronic device and data bundles. Please visit myUnisa for more detail (e-solutions
for students).

As you are most probably aware of (and I would be concerned if you did not know
this), this module forms part of one of the following undergraduate degrees:
 Bachelor of Arts in Nursing Science Health Services Management and
Education (0216X - HHS)
 Bachelor of Arts in Nursing Science Health Services Management, Education
and Community Health (0216X - HSM)

The Education and Training Quality Assurance bodies (ETQAs) for this qualification
is the South African Nursing Council (SANC), the Council for Higher Education
(CHE), as well as the South African Qualification Authority (SAQA). Therefore the
content will adhere to SANC’s regulation, R.118 (of 23 January 1987) and the SAQA
approved course (SAQA ID_____).

This module is on a NQF-level 7 and the credit weight of this module is 12 credits.
Each credit calculates to 10 notional hours. This implies that it will take the average
student 120 hours to reach the outcomes of this module. These 120 notional hours
include the time you spent reading the content and completing the activities and
assessments. Therefore, if your semester is only 14 weeks long, you will need to
spend at least 8½ quality hours per week on this module (120 hours ÷ 14 weeks =
8½ h/week). That calculates to nearly 2 hours per weekday. Please plan your study
time accordingly.

2. Purpose and Module outcomes

The purpose of this module is to equip you as a student with Bloom’s higher
cognitive skills of analysis, evaluation and synthesis. We further want to guide you
towards your own professional identity and integrity. We want you to purposefully
practice critical thinking skills in the application of the theory of curriculum
development in health sciences education.
In short, we want you to be an excellent creative educator!

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In this module you will be introduce to curriculum theory in general, and the
curriculum development and evaluation process in particular. This module is aimed
at developing your understanding of what a curriculum is, how it is developed and
how it is evaluated to determine the requirements for curriculum revisions.

On completion of this module (Developing Health Sciences Curricula: Principles and

Process) you should be able to:
 participate in curriculum planning, design and evaluation
 contribute towards enhancing the relevance of a proposed curriculum by
means of planning and conducting a situation analysis

In general, the issues that we will cover are:

 what a curriculum is and its components
 theoretical underpinnings of a curriculum
 how a curriculum is developed
 how educators can explore the curriculum context by means of a situation
analysis
 how a curriculum is evaluated

3. Prescribed and/or recommended reading

As this is a dynamic and interactive module, the aim is to gradually move away from
specific paper based prescribed textbooks and rather make use alternative electronic
sources as found on the Worldwide Web (Internet). However, books that you will
usein this module include:
 Billings, DM & Halstead, JA. 2009. Teaching in nursing: a guide for faculty. 3 rd
edition. St Louis: Elsevier Saunders.
 Jacobs, M, Vakalisa, N & Gawe, N. 2004. Teaching-learning dynamics: a
participative approach for OBE. 3rd edition. Sandown: Heinemann.
 Gultig, J, Hoadly, U & Jansen, J (eds). 2002. Curriculum: from plans to
practices reader. Oxford: SAID and Oxford University Press.

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Free e-books or sources include:
 Uys, L.R & Gwele, N.S. 2005. Curriculum development in nursing. Process
and innovation. New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis group. [electronic
resource].
 Ebook: Curriculum development and evaluation in nursing, Second Edition @
http://dch360.com/file/8035788
 Ebook: The ethical component of nursing education @
http://dch360.com/file/e800e92
 Ebook: Innovative teaching strategies in nursing and related health
professions @ http://dch360.com/file/42eee31
 The nature of curriculum. Chapter 1. Sage Publications @
http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/44334_1.pdf
 Curriculum development and implementation. Chapter 10. Sage Publications
@ http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/44331_10.pdf
 Curriculum evaluation. Chapter 12. Sage Publications @
http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/44333_12.pdf
 Braun, H.; Kanjee, A.; Bettinger, E. And Kremer, M. 2006. Improving
education through assessment, innovation, and evaluation @
https://www.amacad.org/publications/braun.pdf

You will also need to take cognisance of the Acts, White Papers and policies
pertaining to your specific country. For the South African students, the follow are
important:
 SA Higher Education Act: 101 of 1997 as amended
 Higher Education Qualifications Sub-Framework
 National Qualifications Framework Act 67 of 2008
 White Paper for Post-School Education and Training
 Framework for Programme Accreditation, 2004
 Criteria for Programme Accreditation

Important publications by the Council on Higher Education (CHE) South Africa:

 A proposal for undergraduate curriculum reform in South Africa: The case for
a flexible curriculum structure
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  Framework for Institutional Quality Enhancement in the Second Period of
Quality Assurance (QEP)
 Flexible curriculum:
http://www.che.ac.za/sites/default/files/publications/Full_Report.pdf

4. The Internet / Worldwide Web

Each section in the workbook will contain hyperlinks to electronic resources that you
need to consult or use to enable you to complete the activities. You need to be
connected to the internet to be able to access the links. When you scroll over the
links with your cursor, an arrow or hand should appear. You can then just press
Ctrl on the keyboard (hold it in) and left click with your mouse on the hyperlink.

Alternatively you can do the following:

- highlight the link
- right click on it
- left click and select copy (or copy hyperlink)
- in the address bar on your computer (internet page), left click
- then choose “paste & go”
- the link should open

In this digital age, it is incredibly important that you as an educator remain credible
and are therefore skilled in the use of different electronically applications and
programs.

5. What are you expected to do to complete this module successfully?

You are required to:
 Read and follow all the instructions in Tutorial 101
 Complete this entire workbook (e-portfolio)
 Submit the assignments on or before the due date. No extensions will be
granted.
 Participate in the weekly online discussions on myUnisa

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  Write the reflective reports. Peter Pappas (2010) has created guidelines to
assist students (and educators) with their reflections. We will make use of his
guidelines to do our reflections.

6. Assessment
For HSE3704, there is no Summative (end-of-semester) assessment or exams. Yes,
your eyes are not deceiving you. No end-of-semester exams! But for that no-exam
privileged, assessment will be continuous (which is good and preferable). This entire
workbook as well as the electronic e-portfolio will be assessed for your final mark.
Activities that must be submitted will be indicated and graded. This is going to be
fun!

7. How does this workbook work?

The content of this workbook is scaffold – each section of the workbook builds upon
the previous section. This implies that you need to start at the beginning of the book
and work your way through to the end of the book. You therefore need to master a
specific section BEFORE moving forward to the following section.
Because this workbook will be assessed and marks will be allocated, you need to
complete this book by yourself. Group work is encouraged, but the final product must
be your own.
** Remember to sign the declaration at the end of the workbook.**

8. The personal e-portfolio

Apart from the workbook, you need to create an e-portfolio. The value of the e-
portfolio is that you can use it in future when you apply for a position or promotion to
provide evidence of your accomplishment (of the stunning and creative content that
you as an educator have created). It is much more convincing to say “See what I can
do” than telling the panel that you are capable of creating content. You might want to
consider the following resources for future references:

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  Seldin, P., Miller, JE., and Seldin, CA. 2012. The teaching portfolio: A practical
guide to improved performance and promotion/tenure decisions. San
Francisco: John Wiley & Sons (Chapter 9, pg 62-70)
 Effective Practice with e-Portfolios. 2008.
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/publications/effectivepracticeeportfolio
s.pdf
 Dr. Helen Barrett, Using Technology to Support Alternative Assessment and
Electronic Portfolios. http://electronicportfolios.com/portfolios.html
 Innovations in Education http://electronicportfolios.org/balance/

Creating an e-portfolio is really not as difficult a task as you might think.

Activity 1: Go to www.weebly.com or www.mahara.org and create, free of charge,
your e-portfolio.
You will post your weekly reflections and tasks in this portfolio. Post the link to your
portfolio here: http://zolakedama.weebly.com as well as in the myUnisa discussion
forum under the heading: E-portfolio.

Remember to also paste all the activities in this workbook, as you will submit this
workbook for grading purposes (and an electronic copy will possibly be retained for
moderation purposes). To assist you, I have made a demo portfolio for myself. You
can take a sneak preview @ http://irenelubbe.weebly.com/

9. Reflections are good (mirror-mirror on the wall…)

Before embarking on an academic journey, one needs to reflect a bit. Part of
reflection is not only asking yourself why you are doing a specific course, but also
looking at the path you have travelled to get to this 3 rd year module. Therefore,
before we start with this module, I want you to do the following:

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Activity 2: Get 3 photo’s – two of yourself, (1) young and (2) recent, looking very
professional) and (3) one of you with your family or friends. Paste it in the spaces
provided below.
Me (then)
Me (now)

Me and the rest of Me

Wow, just look at you!

Now complete the sentence: At 18 I wanted to be lawyer. I am a very analytical
person and I enjoy discussions and debates. Convincing me is never an easy
task.
And now I am a Nurse. To be a nurse is one of the best things that has ever
happened. I enjoy the daily interaction with different people from different
cultures. The opportunity of being able to work anywhere in the world is a
lifetime opportunity.

I am sure you can guess the reason(s) for this scrapbook exercise …

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Photo 1 and 2: As an individual you have developed and changed over the years –
you are very different from the scared 18-year old student who had to give a bed
bath for the first time. But, although you have changed, you are still YOU. With your
own convictions, principles, beliefs and values.

Photo 3: Although you are your own unique person, you are part of a family, a group
and a community. You exert an influence on them and they on you.

But, “So what?” What does this have to do with Curriculum development?
Everything!

First: As an individual you are important (and so is your curriculum), but you are not
an island. And neither are our modules; the students we work with; or the patients.
We need to see it all in the bigger context.

Secondly: Just as we are not the same as we were 5/10/20 years ago, our
curriculums cannot stay the same. As our profession and our context changes, our
curriculum needs to change and adapt. It cannot stay stagnant. Change is good as it
indicates development and growth. But despite the changes, there are always things
that stay the same. This is the core values and guiding principles – the things that
directs our lives and choices - and in the case of our modules, our curriculum.

Take a few moments to reflect on your personal values and beliefs. In Column A,
write down your 5 highly valued and non-negotiable values that you hold dear.

Column A: My values Column B: The values of my employer

Respect Confidentiality
Trust Privacy
Honesty Teamwork
Accountability Transparency
Fairness Truthfulness

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Now, in Column B, write down the values that underpin the organisation or institution
where you work. They should align (more or less). If not … you and your manager
need to talk!

We now know where we are coming from, where we currently are, but do we know
where we want to go. What is our vision (our dream) for our own lives?

Complete the sentence: In 5 years’ time I want to have a Masters in Nursing

Science.
My goal is to work for a media company. My aim is to one day champion
awareness of government health related policies and their impacts on an
individual, community and the nation in order for them to be able to make
informed decisions. My awareness campaigns will mainly over the following
areas:
1. DRUGS ANS SUBSTANCE ABUSE
2. ABORTION
I would love to sit down and discuss with people who opted for arbortion
how do they feel 5 years following arbotion.Abuse of legal arbotions by
patients and medical staff.i.e back streets arbortions.
3. ORGAN TRANSPLANT
 Illegal trade of body parts.
 Theft of body parts.
4. RAPE
5. IMPACT OF COOMUNICABLE DISEASES:
Communicable diseases such as HIV AIDS and TB.
6. CIRCUMCISION
Traditional versus Western methods of practice
7. TRADITIONAL MEDICINE VERSUS WESTER MEDICINE
8. ABUSE OF LEGAL MEDICINE
We will address the dream for your curriculum a bit later, but you can scribble a few
words down – just so that you do not forget.
My dream for a curriculum is for a curriculum that is culturally congruent and
dynamic. It should be objectives directed. It should focus on all domains of

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learning with CARING as the main Theme. Sometimes we forget the essence of
nursing. Nursing is about, more than anything else, CARING. Regardless of
the challenges that affects nursing and nursing practice, CARING should
never be forgotten.

Let’s quickly take a closer look at the place where you are employed – or where you
want to work once you have obtained your nursing education qualification.

The name of your Institution:

National Guard Health Affairs

The vision of your Institution:

To deliver best quality care to all National Guard employees and its
dependents.

The mission of your Institution:

To deliver comprehensive secondary and tertiary health care to all National
Guard employees and dependents.

Why is this so important to know?

 Because our vision tells us about the “WHAT/WHERE”; where do we see
ourselves in a specific time in the future – what are we working towards.
 Our mission tells us about the “HOW”; the methods we will use to get there.
 Our principles and values are the things that guides and directs us – the
compass – that keep us on our intended path.

We can never compile a curriculum without taking into account the vision, mission,
values and principles of the institution that employs us and where the curriculum will
be offered.

And now we can start!

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