Can Social Semantic Web Techniques Foster Collaborative Curriculum Mapping In Medicine?

Abstract

BackgroundCurriculum mapping, which is aimed at the systematic realignment of the planned, taught, and learned curriculum, is considered a challenging and ongoing effort in medical education. Second-generation curriculum managing systems foster knowledge management processes including curriculum mapping in order to give comprehensive support to learners, teachers, and administrators. The large quantity of custom-built software in this field indicates a shortcoming of available IT tools and standards.ObjectiveThe project reported here aims at the systematic adoption of techniques and standards of the Social Semantic Web to implement collaborative curriculum mapping for a complete medical model curriculum.MethodsA semantic MediaWiki (SMW)-based Web application has been introduced as a platform for the elicitation and revision process of the Aachen Catalogue of Learning Objectives (ACLO). The semantic wiki uses a domain model of the curricular context and offers structured (form-based) data entry, multiple views, structured querying, semantic indexing, and commenting for learning objectives (“LOs”). Semantic indexing of learning objectives relies on both a controlled vocabulary of international medical classifications (ICD, MeSH) and a folksonomy maintained by the users. An additional module supporting the global checking of consistency complements the semantic wiki. Statements of the Object Constraint Language define the consistency criteria. We evaluated the application by a scenario-based formative usability study, where the participants solved tasks in the (fictional) context of 7 typical situations and answered a questionnaire containing Likert-scaled items and free-text questions.ResultsAt present, ACLO contains roughly 5350 operational (ie, specific and measurable) objectives acquired during the last 25 months. The wiki-based user interface uses 13 online forms for data entry and 4 online forms for flexible searches of LOs, and all the forms are accessible by standard Web browsers. The formative usability study yielded positive results (median rating of 2 (“good”) in all 7 general usability items) and produced valuable qualitative feedback, especially concerning navigation and comprehensibility. Although not asked to, the participants (n=5) detected critical aspects of the curriculum (similar learning objectives addressed repeatedly and missing objectives), thus proving the system’s ability to support curriculum revision.ConclusionsThe SMW-based approach enabled an agile implementation of computer-supported knowledge management. The approach, based on standard Social Semantic Web formats and technology, represents a feasible and effectively applicable compromise between answering to the individual requirements of curriculum management at a particular medical school and using proprietary systems.

Curriculum mapping for health professions education: a typology

“…Less granular maps capture generic graduate outcomes at the level of a course and may only include a select number of courses, topics or areas in an educational program (Britten et al, 2014;Collins et al, 2017;Keijsers et al, 2015;Malone et al, 2015;Narayanasamy et al, 2013;Robley et al, 2005;Taleff et al, 2009;van den Heuvel et al, 2017), two to three interconnected datasets (Figueroa et al, 2015;Malone et al, 2015;Neiworth et al, 2014) and, occasionally, whole programs from different institutions (Fritze et al, 2018). More granular maps capture all graduate outcomes (profession-specific and generic) at the level of individual learning and assessment activities in all courses of an education program (Balzer, Hautz et al, 2016;Dexter et al, 2012;Hege & Fischer, 2012;Hege et al, 2010;Kelley et al, 2008;Spreckelsen et al, 2013;Steketee, 2015;Watson et al, 2007;Zelenitsky et al, 2014) and often include topic lists and taxonomies (Balzer, Hautz et al, 2016;Dexter et al, 2012;Komenda, Schwarz, Švancara et al, 2015;Komenda, Víta et al, 2015;Stoddard & Brownfield, 2018), with six or more interconnected datasets. Some maps capture what is taught in the current calendar year (Keijsers et al, 2015;Narayanasamy et al, 2013;Plaza et al, 2007;Robley et al, 2005); some are retrospective and capture what was taught in the previous year (Britten et al, 2014;Malone et al, 2015;McGrath et al, 2006;…”

“…This dimension considers the various human processes used to map a curriculum, such as how and when mapping is introduced into an educational program, what data sources are used, who is involved in collecting, reviewing and validating data and how often data are revised. The literature suggests that the direct involvement of students or trainees in reviewing curriculum maps (Plaza et al, 2007;Wong & Roberts, 2007;Zelenitsky et al, 2014) and of teachers in providing, entering and revising curriculum data (Balzer, Hautz et al, 2016;Mazurat & Schonwetter, 2008;Taleff et al, 2009;Watson et al, 2007;Zelenitsky et al, 2014) promotes a sense of collaboration and pedagogical reflection (Fritze et al, 2018;MacNeil & Hand, 2014;Sarkisian & Taylor, 2013;Spreckelsen et al, 2013) that is sometimes lacking from audit-like mapping processes where curriculum administrators or evaluators collect, validate and analyse data on a teacher's behalf (Figueroa et al, 2015;Keijsers et al, 2015;Malone et al, 2015). Maps that form an integral part of a curriculum development and review process (Al-Eyd et al, 2018;Balzer, Hautz et al, 2016;Dassel et al, 2018;Fritze et al, 2018;Olmos & Corrin, 2011;Steketee, 2015;Talbot et al, 2007;Zelenitsky et al, 2014) and are updated at regular intervals or continuously in real-time are considered more pedagogically useful than one-off mapping exercises that mostly form part of an audit or monitoring process (Britten et al, 2014;Collins et al, 2017;Malone et al, 2015;Neiworth et al, 2014).…”

“…There is considerable diversity in the tools used to document, organise and, ultimately, display curriculum maps. For example, while many medical programs use online curriculum maps that are driven in the background by a database application (Al-Eyd et al, 2018;Hege & Fischer, 2012;Olmos & Corrin, 2011;Spreckelsen et al, 2013;Steketee, 2015) and have used such systems for some time (Denny, Smithers, Armstrong, & Spickard, 2005;Denny, Smithers, Armstrong, & Spickard, 2003;Lee et al, 2003;Salas et al, 2003;Watson et al, 2007), other health professions and higher education disciplines use stand-alone maps developed using a text file or spreadsheet application (Baecher, 2012;Britten et al, 2014;Collins et al, 2017;Dintzner, Nemec, Tanzer, & Welch, 2015;Dintzner, Nemec, & Tanzer, 2016;Fraser & Thomas, 2013;Joyner, 2016;Kertesz, 2015;Matveev et al, 2010;Oliver, 2013;Perlin, 2011;Romkey & Bradbury, 2007;Zelenitsky et al, 2014).…”

How we avoid patient shortage with an integrated analysis of learning objectives and clinical data during development of undergraduate medical curricula

“…Learning opportunities mapped with ICD-10 codes represent a part of the ''content'' window. Within this context, the well-established standardisation of the ICD codes enables linkage to other resources (Spreckelsen et al 2013).…”

Indicators and functionalities of exploitation of academic staff CV using semantic web technologies

“…This work by Spreckelsen et al [9] focused on data modelling and on the web tool to use the CV. They introduce a semantic MediaWiki (SMW)-based Web application for the elicitation and revision process of the Aachen Catalogue of Learning Objectives (ACLO).…”