Curriculum 2010

Goals of the Curricular Change

The primary goal of Curriculum 2010 is to improve horizontal integration of the curriculum through systems-based teaching, in which focus will shift from basic science courses (such as anatomy) to body systems.  Systems-based teaching will allow the integration of relevant content from multiple disciplines and it will promote vertical integration by increasing the opportunities for students to learn basic science and its application in the context of real clinical problems.

A second goal of the change will be to implement learner-centered teaching strategies with a balance of learning modalities.  These modalities will include: lectures, faculty-led tutorial groups, team-based learning sessions, laboratory exercises and self-directed learning modules, as well as correlations with clinical scenarios.  These strategies will have the advantage of increasing the development of skills for life-long study- including critical thinking, problem-solving and the independent identification, analysis and synthesis of relevant information.

A final goal of the curriculum change will be to increase flexible time for patient contact in the first two years of instruction in order to more easily allow the integration of patient experiences with the basic and clinical sciences.

Blocks of study have been approved by the faculty and detailed schedules for 2010-2011 are completed. The Adult Learning and Assessment Group has developed a toolbox of active learning strategies to be incorporated into each block.

Contact person: Siobhan Corbett, MD at 732-235-7348 or corbetsi@umdnj.edu