Curriculum Pathway Analysis for Educational Program Assessment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods struggle to quantitatively assess the effectiveness of educational programs, particularly in continuing medical education, and lack a methodology to evaluate individual learner pathways through multiple activities within a curriculum.
Innovation Solution
A curriculum progression pathway analysis is implemented, which involves receiving baseline and post-activity performance scores, organizing learners by completed tracks, calculating average scores, and identifying statistical differences using paired sample t-tests, with a report generated to describe these differences and inferences, compatible with Moore's outcomes framework for CME programs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional assessment methods are used to evaluate educational programs, then the assessment process is simple, but the measurement precision and ability to quantitatively assess program impact are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the educational program into multiple learner tracks and activities, with each track representing a distinct learning pathway. This segmentation enables precise measurement of progress along specific pathways while maintaining organizational structure through defined activities and performance indices.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a new dimension of assessment by organizing learners into groups based on track completion and calculating baseline versus post-activity average scores. This dimensional approach transforms qualitative program evaluation into quantitative statistical analysis, enabling precise measurement of program impact.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple learner tracks are implemented in the educational program, then the program versatility and adaptability improve, but the difficulty of detecting and measuring individual pathway progress increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses performance index tests as intermediary measurement tools that translate complex multi-track learner progress into quantifiable baseline and post-activity scores. These intermediaries enable statistical comparison across different learner groups and tracks, making individual pathway progress detectable and measurable.
Solution Approach 2:
By organizing learners into groups based on track completion and introducing statistical analysis dimensions (baseline vs. post-activity, different learner groups), the patent transforms the complexity of multiple tracks into structured, measurable data that reveals progress patterns across diverse learning pathways.
3Measurement precision
If comprehensive statistical analysis is performed on learner performance data, then the measurement precision and insight quality improve, but the loss of time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary organization of learners into groups based on track completion before conducting statistical analysis. This preliminary structuring of data reduces the complexity of subsequent statistical computations and enables more efficient processing of performance index scores across multiple learner cohorts.
Data Source
AI summary
A curriculum progression pathway analysis assesses an educational program having multiple activities defining multiple learner tracks by organizing the learners into groups based on the learner tracks and, for each learner group, calculating a baseline average score, a post-activity average score, and statistical differences between the baseline average score and the post-activity average scores. Any significant statistical differences are identified, and a report may be generated describing statistical conclusions and inferences. The invention can further provide a domain-based learner analysis for curriculum, a domain-based learner analysis for activities, and a learner retention analysis. In an application for continuing medical education the performance index test includes a clinical vignette, a set of statements which are moved to either a best practices column or a not best practices column, and an indicator for an allowable number of moves to achieve a perfect score.