Ramesh Mehay, Course Organiser, Bradford Vocational Training Scheme

DEVELOPING A CURRICULUM USING THE SPICES MODEL

AFTER HARDEN ET AL 1984 (UNIV. DUNDEE)
Purpos o! "# SPICES $o%&'
1. to revew an exstng currcuum to see where mprovements can be made
2. to deveop a new currcuum from scratch
3. to tacke specc questons or ssues reatng to a currcuum
4. to hep decde on what sort of teachng methods to use on a course
5. decde what format the assessment shoud take
M($o()*
S student centred vs teacher centred T
P probem based vs nformaton gatherng I
I ntegrated vs dscpne based D
C communty based vs hospta based H
E eectve vs unformed/standard U
S systematc vs apprentceshp A
Ho+ "o Do I"'
You need to map out on the charts where you are now and where you
fee you need to be. There s no such thng as an dea pace to be; t
vares and depends on the ams and ob|ectves of your course.
Sde the green arrow to where you are now.
Sde the orange star to where you woud ke to be.
Then try and st some possbe reastc methods of change that woud
enabe a move towards the dea (orange star).

STUDENT CENTRED , TEACHING CENTRED

student centred teacher
centred
SUMMAR-
Learners nvoved n currcuum desgn
Teachng content based on earners agenda
Leaner centre methods used eg sma group work
Expert outsde speakers/resources tte used
Encourages sef drected earnng
Requres hard work to organse (and can be
expensve)
Factators may need nstructon and tranng
SUMMAR-
Teaches desgn the currcuum
Teachng content prescrbed by teachers on bass
of what they fee earners shoud know
Largey dctatora eg ectures
Expert resources often used (and often dever on
ther own agenda!)
Encourages a st and sten approach
Easy to organse (and cheap)
Most ecturers are used to ths mode
FACTORS .HICH SUPPORT A MOVE TO.ARDS THAT END OF THE
SPECTRUM
Most of the emphass s on the earner Most teachers are famar wth ths method
- no extra tranng costs etc
Increases earner motvaton Fewer demands on teachers (one type of
teachng method rather than a whoe
repertore of sks to be acqured)
Prepares earners for feong sef drected
educaton
Learners are used to ths method too
(schoo, undergraduate)
PRO/LEM /ASED VS INFORMATION GATHERING
Problem based information
gathering
Ramesh Mehay, Course Organiser, Bradford Vocational Training Scheme
SUMMAR-
Rds the rreevance of the mounds of knowedge
whch earners have to acqure
nvove patent probem scenaros, heath care
devery probems and ethca ssues
deveopment of an ntegrated body of knowedge
that s deeper, more ehectve, and has greater
content reevance n the approprate context
Core messages of a dscpne mght be mssed
wth ths approach
SUMMAR-
Rds the rreevance of the mounds of knowedge
whch earners have to acqure
Superca knowedge whch soon becomes out of
date
Enabes each dscpne to convey ts core
messages
FACTORS .HICH SUPPORT A MOVE TO.ARDS THAT END OF THE
SPECTRUM
Heps deveop probem sovng sks Understandng the fundamentas and
vocabuary of each dscpne
Heps deveop an ntegrated body on
useabe knowedge
The deveopment of a ogca progresson of
concepts n a dscpne
Actve partcpaton of the earner Learners may fee nsecure wth the
prevousy un-encountered "probem based
approach"
Heps dea wth an overcrowded currcuum;
hghghts concepts rather than knowedge
INTEGRATED VS DISCIPLINE /ASED
integrated discipline
based
SUMMAR-
Integraton between the varous dscpnes - e
how they reate to each other
SUMMAR-
Learners have to gure out the ntegraton bt
themseves
key concepts of a dscpne are conveyed whch
may otherwse be ost n an ntegrated approach
FACTORS .HICH SUPPORT A MOVE TO.ARDS THAT END OF THE
SPECTRUM
Reduces fragmentaton of courses Content and fundamentas of a dscpne
may be mssed by the other approach
Motvates earners and shapes atttudes by
beng abe to apprecated reevance of what
s beng studed
Better teachng as teachers are teachng
sub|ects they have a ove for
Improves educatona ehectveness of the
teachng because what s taught s reevant
Teachers may be used to ths method and
therefore more comfortabe
Hgher eve ob|ectves (ess focus on
knowedge acquston)
Integrated teachng can have an adverse
ahect of student career gudance (f earners
dont see departments, how can they decde
what they want to be?)
Promotes stah communcaton and
coaboraton as departments are beng
ntegrated
Ratonases teachng resources - experts
from dherent facutes but wth the same
ed nterest are brought together (teachng
by approprate peope)
COMMUNIT- /ASED VS HOSPITAL /ASED
community based hospital
based
SUMMAR-
Drect contact wth the communty the earners
are beng taught to serve
See a wde varety of condtons at a wde varety
of stages
SUMMAR-
See ony a sma subsecton of the communty
See specased dseases usuay n extrems
Soca and economc aspects of ness often
gnored
Ramesh Mehay, Course Organiser, Bradford Vocational Training Scheme
Learners earn about the soca and economc
aspect of ness
Learners see patents n ther own homes
No consderaton of the patents envronment
Can provde focused nstructon n specased
areas
FACTORS .HICH SUPPORT A MOVE TO.ARDS THAT END OF THE
SPECTRUM
Provdes communty orentaton Much easer to organse than communty
based teachng
The communty provdes usefu earnng
experences eg contnuty of care, whch
cannot be seen n hosptas
The teachers n hosptas are aready there.
Must need a carefu seecton procedure for
seectng teachers from the communty!
Makes use of untapped resources - as
doctor numbers ncrease, rather than
ncreasng hospta teachng factes - how
about ncreasng communty teachng
resources. The number of patents n the
communty s endess!
Experenced ganed n the hospta context -
a concentrated form of experence of
dsease than can be ganed n the
communty
Avods student wse patents - who know
what to say
Enabes earners to expore specast
medcne as a career
Introduces earners to the heath care
system - patterns of devery, manpower,
economcs, decson makng, quaty contro,
heath resources.
ELECTIVE VS UNIFORM
elective
uniform
SUMMAR-
Aows currcuar exbty
Enabes earners to expore further nterests n
more detas; matchng to the earners needs
Can see heath devery n a state esewhere
(secondments)
Promotes sef drected earnng
SUMMAR-
Standard programme through whch a must go
through
No such opportunty. But does provde "core"
experence whch s prescrbed.
FACTORS .HICH SUPPORT A MOVE TO.ARDS THAT END OF THE
SPECTRUM
Eectves are a good way of deang wth an
overcrowded currcuum (too much medca
knowedge these days! Learners can now
dentfy and tacke areas n whch they fee
they are decent.
Eectves can overoad teachers wth work-
may overburden an aready heavy
burdened facuty
Eectves provde earners wth ncreased
responsbty for ther own earnng
Eectves can ahect other course work
Eectves can factate career choces by
earners
Probem of assessment wth eectves
Eectves can meet ndvdua earner
aspratons
Some beeve eectves are better taken
after quacaton (when earners are easer
to engage????)
Eectves can brng about an atttude of
change n earners
S-STEMATIC VS APPRENTICESHIP /ASED
systematic apprenticeship
SUMMAR-
Tranng s more dened and structured eg a
checkst of the type of condtons that must be
seen and managed (or rotatng through speced
specates)
Core competences dented and abeed
Teachng s structured and organsed
SUMMAR-
Learners exposed to a far proporton of the
patents that pass through the system over a
xed perod of tme
Over tme, earners may see a fary
representatve sampe of probems they are
expected to dea wth
Ramesh Mehay, Course Organiser, Bradford Vocational Training Scheme
Many teachers may be nvoved; deveopng a 1-1
reatonshp mght prove dmcut
Better for revadaton and accredtaton purposes
What s taught depends on the decences
dented based on what has come through
Teachng s argey opportunstc; some say t
shoud not be eft to chance.
Heps bud a cose 1-1 reatonshp between
earner and teacher and yeds a sense of
beongng to the earner
FACTORS .HICH SUPPORT A MOVE TO.ARDS THAT END OF THE
SPECTRUM
Learners need to be exposed to a varety
and range of heath probems
Organsatona advantages - foows the
servce commtments of those aready
nvoved
Enabes competences to be dened and
ratonased - what s essenta and what s
not
Contnuty of teachng and sense of
beongng on the part of the earner s
mantaned
Aso ratonases tme - earner can become
competent and condent wth the east
waste of tme and resources
DISCUSSION
Athough the poston on the SPICES contnuum s often carred out by the teacher,
t woud be worthwhe repeatng ths wth other stakehoders on your scheme
(other traners and earners for exampe. How much do your perceptons dher?).
REFERENCES
Further readng : (strongy recommended)
Harden et a (1984) Educatona Strateges n Currcuum Deveopment : The Spces
Mode, ASME Medca Educaton Booket No. 18, Frst Pubshed n
Medca Educaton (1984) Voume 18, No 4, 284-297