Content Specification and Pedagogy

It is key to the design of any curriculum to have a clear understanding of what the students will be able to do upon graduation. This will be determined by the content of the programme and the educational approaches used in its delivery.

Please explain the rationale for the selection of the content of the programme and the educational approaches you have taken re its delivery. Please provide examples and evidence of excellence, where appropriate.

Examples of evidence

• Describe the extent to which the programme is integrated both horizontally and vertically (see glossary).
• Outline any vertical themes or strands which run through the programme and explain how they operate.
• Explain how you ensure that cognitive integration (see glossary) takes place for the learners and that it is not merely a timetabling exercise.
• Describe any interprofessional learning in the programme, including the nature of the interaction, which healthcare professionals and/or students are involved and what the level of interaction is. Outline how you promote teamwork in any other way, whether interprofessional or otherwise in your programme.
• Outline how student-centred your programme is. Describe the types of student-centred learning activities used in the curriculum. Please give some examples e.g. Case/Problem/Team Based Learning (see glossary for definitions). State how much student choice there is in your programme e.g. electives and selectives. Please give examples of particularly innovative projects that students have been involved in.
• Describe the extent to which your curriculum involves learning from real, simulated, virtual or paper-based patients. In particular, please explain how often and where students interact with real patients during the early years, outlining the nature of the interaction and explaining its purpose.