Uncharted Territory: Curriculum Mapping Multiple Majors Simultaneously - Winter 13 Issue 1 - Article 11

Oct 15, 2026

Curriculum mapping creates a visual representation of how teaching and assessment address learning outcomes within a degree, program, or major. Best-practice guidance often targets individual programs, which limits feasibility for large-scale efforts. This paper documents a large project mapping a Bachelor of Science degree and 24 related majors, engaging faculty across three colleges to map 400+ courses. It outlines key decisions, data collection and analysis, and dissemination to support curriculum change.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages30

Reading Time1 h 16 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Curriculum mapping purpose and scope

Large-scale mapping process

Key decisions, data collection and analysis

Dissemination and use for curricular change

The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning | Volume 13 | Issue 1 | Article 11 | | --- | --- | | Winter 02-15-2022
Uncharted Territory: Curriculum Mapping Multiple Majors Simultaneously
Jennifer Reniers
University of Guelph, [jreniers@uoguelph.ca](jreniers@uoguelph.ca)[ ](jreniers@uoguelph.ca)Clarke Mathany
University of Guelph, [clarke.mathany@exec.uoguelph.ca](clarke.mathany@exec.uoguelph.ca)[ ](clarke.mathany@exec.uoguelph.ca)Megan Farkas
University of Guelph, [farkasm@uoguelph.ca](farkasm@uoguelph.ca)[ ](farkasm@uoguelph.ca)Heather Pollock
University of Guelph, [hpollock@uoguelph.ca](hpollock@uoguelph.ca)[ ](hpollock@uoguelph.ca)[Brian C. Husband](Brian C. Husband)
University of Guelph, [bhusband@uoguelph.ca](bhusband@uoguelph.ca)
Follow this and additional works at: [https://www.cjsotl-rcacea.ca](https://www.cjsotl-rcacea.ca)
[https://doi.org/10.5206/cjsotlrcacea.2022.1.8553](https://doi.org/10.5206/cjsotlrcacea.2022.1.8553) | | Recommended Citation Reniers, J., Mathany, C., Farkas, M., Pollock, H., & Husband, B. C. (2022) . Uncharted territory: Curriculum mapping multiple majors simultaneously. The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 13(1) . [https://doi.org/10.5206/cjsotlrcacea.2022.1.8553](https://doi.org/10.5206/cjsotlrcacea.2022.1.8553) Uncharted Territory: Curriculum Mapping Multiple Majors Simultaneously Abstract Curriculum mapping is the process of creating a visual representation of the teaching and assessment of learning outcomes in a degree, program or major. Best practice recommendations about curriculum mapping typically focus on mapping individual programs. Therefore, many recommendations, such as meeting individually with faculty as they map their course, may not be feasible for large-scale mapping projects. This paper describes the process of a large-scale curriculum mapping project designed to map the Bachelor of Science degree and 24 of its associated majors. The project involved the participation of faculty from three colleges within a research-intensive University to map over 400 courses. We describe the key questions and decisions involved in carrying out the mapping project, our data collection and analysis process, and our dissemination efforts to ensure that the mapping results were used to inform curricular change. La cartographie de programmes d’études consiste à créer une représentation visuelle del’enseignement et de l’évaluation des résultats d’apprentissage dans un programme menant à undiplôme, dans un autre programme ou dans une majeure. Les recommandations pour les meilleurespratiques concernant la cartographie de programmes se concentre habituellement sur la cartographie de programmes individuels. Par conséquent, de nombreuses recommandations, telles que la rencontre individuelle avec les professeurs et les professeures alors qu’ils préparent la cartographie de leurs cours ne sont pas toujours possibles dans les cas de très grands projets de cartographie. Cet article décrit le processus d’un grand projet de cartographie de programme d’études conçu pour cartographier un baccalauréat en sciences et 24 de ses majeures associées. Le projet a impliqué la participation de professeurs et de professeures de trois collèges d’une grande université axée sur la recherche pour cartographier plus de 400 cours. Nous décrivons les questions et les décisions clés qui ont permis de mener à bien ce projet de cartographie, nos données et le processus d’analyse, ainsi que nos efforts de dissémination pour assurer que les résultats de la cartographie ont été utilisés pour effectuer les changements aux programmes d’études. Keywords curriculum mapping, assessment, learning outcomes, higher education; cartographie de programmes d’études, évaluation, résultats d’apprentissage, enseignement supérieur This research paper/Rapport de recherche is available in The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learni

FAQs

What is curriculum mapping in this paper?

Curriculum mapping is described as creating a visual representation of how teaching and assessment cover learning outcomes in a degree, program, or major.

Why is large-scale curriculum mapping challenging compared with mapping individual programs?

Many best-practice recommendations assume mapping can be done for single programs, such as meeting individually with faculty, which may not be feasible for large projects.

What does the study cover and how large was the mapping effort?

The project mapped a Bachelor of Science degree and 24 associated majors, involving faculty from three colleges to map more than 400 courses.

Oct 15, 2026

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