Case Study 1: Development of Mandatory Orientation Curriculum
In my current role of Educator - Corporate Programs at Sidra Medical & Research Center, one of my key responsibilities was to design and deliver Mandatory Orientation for the organisation. In 2014, the organisation was a pre-operational hospital, aiming to meet accreditation standards for Joint Commission International (a worldwide accreditation body for hospitals), as well as meeting the local regulatory requirements dictated by Qatar's Supreme Council of Health (the national equivalent to New Zealand's Ministry of Health). To meet accreditation and regulatory requirements it was necessary for the organisation to provide orientation education for all staff, covering information as required by legislation, regulation, policy and standards.
Personally, I found this task to be challenging in nature when first starting the curriculum design. Compliance-based education was not something that I had previous experience in, and reflecting on my teaching philosophy, I felt it challenging to connect to the relevance of this type of education. Previously my work had always been in the delivery of education people wanted to learn, and not mandatory education people had been made to do. Throughout the process however I realised that although motivations of the learners may be different when it comes to compliance-based training, I could still incorporate other elements of my teaching philosophy, for example respecting learners' previous knowledge and providing tailored support. I will outline these key learning points throughout the case study below, as I talk through the various stages of curriculum design and development.
Personally, I found this task to be challenging in nature when first starting the curriculum design. Compliance-based education was not something that I had previous experience in, and reflecting on my teaching philosophy, I felt it challenging to connect to the relevance of this type of education. Previously my work had always been in the delivery of education people wanted to learn, and not mandatory education people had been made to do. Throughout the process however I realised that although motivations of the learners may be different when it comes to compliance-based training, I could still incorporate other elements of my teaching philosophy, for example respecting learners' previous knowledge and providing tailored support. I will outline these key learning points throughout the case study below, as I talk through the various stages of curriculum design and development.
1. Mapping Out the Content to Be Covered by the Mandatory Orientation Curriculum
In the beginning of 2014, an existing Mandatory Orientation program was in place, which consisted of a two-day classroom program. I started my role with the organisation in February 2014 and took over the management of this program of learning. A copy of the existing orientation objectives and agenda at the time is available below:
sidra_corporate_orientation_20_feb_2014_-extract.pdf | |
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The existing two-day program covered information typical of most organisational orientation programs, for example understanding how compensation works, evacuation procedures, organisational history and current plans, as well as the additional component of covering cultural information as most staff had relocated from abroad to come work there. However it did not cover all the needed information from a compliance perspective. For that reason, the required education from a legislation, regulation, policy and standards perspective needed to be mapped out for development.
Prior to when I joined the organisation, the organisation had gone through a process of mapping out the legislation, regulation, policy and standards that needed to be included in Mandatory Orientation for all staff regardless of their role. However in most cases although a relevant standard may have been outlined, the actual content that needed to be covered to meet these standards was unclear, as well as the mode of delivery. Taking this initial work, the following document was prepared.
Prior to when I joined the organisation, the organisation had gone through a process of mapping out the legislation, regulation, policy and standards that needed to be included in Mandatory Orientation for all staff regardless of their role. However in most cases although a relevant standard may have been outlined, the actual content that needed to be covered to meet these standards was unclear, as well as the mode of delivery. Taking this initial work, the following document was prepared.
mandatory_orientation_full_overview.pdf | |
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The above document outlines how in addition to the existing two-day classroom orientation, further modules were linked to various standards, primarily for delivery as eLearning, in addition to some practical workshops. eLearning was chosen as the best method for most staff to access needed learning, as it was not practical to extend the existing two-day classroom session. In addition as we had not yet occupied the hospital building, modules needed for working in the existing office environment and modules needed for a hospital environment were differentiated. For example, all staff needed to be aware of fire safety needs whether or not they were working in a hospital, but infection control procedures were only needed when working in the hospital environment.
2. Working with Subject Matter Experts to Collect Educational Content
After the mapping out the modules for the Mandatory Orientation, I needed to work with Subject Matter Experts to collect educational content. This was a new challenge for me as an Educator. In previous work I was very familiar with the content for courses being developed, but in this project I was dealing with content that I did not have expertise in. This required close collaboration with Subject Matter Experts who would provide the needed content, for me to then convert into courses following educational principles. I learnt a lot through this process, not only about subject matter I had previously been unfamiliar with, but also consultative and collaborative processes in the development of education. The roles of expert and consultant would shift between the Subject Matter Experts and myself throughout the development process. For example in the content development phase, I would consult with the Subject Matter Experts as they were the experts, but I would advise them on the type of content needed to impart to staff. However in the course development I acted as the expert in ensuring a course was designed that would meet desired learning outcomes and the Subject Matter Experts would act as consultants, advising whether needed content was being accurately covered in the education.
Before course design work took place, Subject Matter Experts provided input documents based on the content outlined in the previous phase. Below examples of these input documents can be found.
Input Document for Module of Equality, Diversity and Cultural Awareness
Before course design work took place, Subject Matter Experts provided input documents based on the content outlined in the previous phase. Below examples of these input documents can be found.
Input Document for Module of Equality, Diversity and Cultural Awareness
med-equality_diversity_and_culture-content-jk.docx | |
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Input Document for Module of Quality Improvement and Culture of Safety
accreditation_incidents__quality_orientation_feb_2014.docx | |
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One of the challenges encountered during this phase, as can be seen from the examples of input documents collected in the above examples, was that Subject Matter Experts provided material in different formats, and in many cases provided information that went beyond the scope of what was needed as part of the Mandatory Orientation curriculum for all staff. In the case of some modules, rather than a single input document a collection of various files were sent that then had to be deciphered. Based on this experience, for future courses developed a Learning Agreement Plan template was developed to collect information in a more standardised way, collecting information like the scope of the work, needed content, and module of delivery.
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After meeting with Subject Matter Experts to review and clarify content based on the Mandatory Orientation curriculum framework, I then moved forward to designing the individual units and corresponding assessments.
3. Unit & Assessment Design
As outlined in the Mandatory Orientation Matrix listed in the first section of this case study, 8 units of learning were initially identified for our pre-operational office environment (in addition to one introductory module, hands-on information systems training, and role specific orientation needs). Having gathered content from Subject Matter Experts, my role was now to design units and assessments based on this content.
As part of this process I created lesson plan summaries for the relevant units, covering the key objectives that needed to be covered. Some examples of which can be found below:
As part of this process I created lesson plan summaries for the relevant units, covering the key objectives that needed to be covered. Some examples of which can be found below:
lesson_plan_summaries.pdf | |
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Educational theory related to learning objectives informed my design of these units. Two main considerations I had was the purpose of the education and the mode of delivery. As compliance based learning, the objective for most of these units was to impart information but there was not necessarily a requirement to apply all of this information as part of base-line mandatory education (outside of the Mandatory curriculum opportunities for application were provided instead for those who needed additional support, an example being workshops on Cross-Cultural Communication to build on the foundation developed during the mandatory unit on Equality, Diversity and Cultural Awareness). Furthermore, as the majority of education was to be delivered online, opportunities to apply learning would be more limited than possible in classroom or on-the-job education. That is why the units' objectives typically, using Bloom's Taxonomy, focused more on objectives relating to remembering or understanding content, but not on the application or analysis of this content.
Based on the above, assessment design had to relate to the specific objectives. In this case multiple choice assessments for each modules, based on the recollection and understanding of content, were used. An extract of one of these unit assessments can be found below:
Based on the above, assessment design had to relate to the specific objectives. In this case multiple choice assessments for each modules, based on the recollection and understanding of content, were used. An extract of one of these unit assessments can be found below:
med008-quality_improvement_and_culture_of_safety-assessment_questions.pdf | |
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A significant consideration during this period of unit and assessment design was recognition of prior knowledge. The nature of mandatory orientation education is that for accreditation and regulatory purposes we needed to show all staff had the knowledge required regardless of their specific role in the organisation. Afterwards specific roles would then require additional education based on the nature of their role. As an example, that would mean both the office assistant and the neurosurgeon would both require the same base-line education on topics like Quality Improvement in Healthcare, but the neurosurgeon would require further education afterwards. This led to two challenges.
First for already highly qualified clinical staff, such as doctors and nurses, they were expected to complete education that was of a very basic nature, that they may have already been very familiar with given their qualifications and experience. As part of unit design, the modules were therefore designed for learners to skip the content and jump straight to assessment, as if they were able to demonstrate knowledge the learning requirements for accreditation and regulatory purposes were met. This design reflects adult learning principles proposed by Knowles (2012), as adult learners like to be respected, and by designing the modules in this way respect for learners' prior knowledge and experience was shown. This also was a business consideration, as ongoing education demands for theses roles are high, fast-tracking areas where they were already able to demonstrate needed knowledge saved time.
While this was the case for those with clinical qualifications and experience, the experience of those from non-clinical backgrounds also needed to be considered. For many in administrative roles, particularly those who had not worked in clinical environments before, the regulatory nature of the healthcare industry was a new experience, and topics to be covered in the Mandatory Orientation Curriculum may have been more challenging. In addition, as an organisation heavily reliant on expatriate workers, the diversity in cultural and language backgrounds meant that some may struggle with understanding the content to then successfully complete the assessments required. Assessments were therefore designed to allow three attempts, after which staff would be offered alternative classroom based sessions, so that as an educator I could offer more hands-on assistance to learners who struggled with content. An example of the classroom sessions can be seen in the following presentation prepared for the unit of Fire Safety Management:
First for already highly qualified clinical staff, such as doctors and nurses, they were expected to complete education that was of a very basic nature, that they may have already been very familiar with given their qualifications and experience. As part of unit design, the modules were therefore designed for learners to skip the content and jump straight to assessment, as if they were able to demonstrate knowledge the learning requirements for accreditation and regulatory purposes were met. This design reflects adult learning principles proposed by Knowles (2012), as adult learners like to be respected, and by designing the modules in this way respect for learners' prior knowledge and experience was shown. This also was a business consideration, as ongoing education demands for theses roles are high, fast-tracking areas where they were already able to demonstrate needed knowledge saved time.
While this was the case for those with clinical qualifications and experience, the experience of those from non-clinical backgrounds also needed to be considered. For many in administrative roles, particularly those who had not worked in clinical environments before, the regulatory nature of the healthcare industry was a new experience, and topics to be covered in the Mandatory Orientation Curriculum may have been more challenging. In addition, as an organisation heavily reliant on expatriate workers, the diversity in cultural and language backgrounds meant that some may struggle with understanding the content to then successfully complete the assessments required. Assessments were therefore designed to allow three attempts, after which staff would be offered alternative classroom based sessions, so that as an educator I could offer more hands-on assistance to learners who struggled with content. An example of the classroom sessions can be seen in the following presentation prepared for the unit of Fire Safety Management:
fire_management_al_nasr_tower_classroom_session.pdf | |
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4. Collaborating with eLearning Instructional Designers to Develop eLearning Units
After unit design, it was necessary to turn these units into working eLearning modules for staff to access. In the organisation we contracted 7 instructional designers to work on eLearning development, as rolling out these modules was a top organisational priority. I had the opportunity to work very closely with these designers as we developed the units for launch to staff members.
At the time, the internal relationships between all the various stakeholders became quite complex. Although I was working day-to-day with the designers, we had Subject Matter Experts who were regularly involved in reviews, our Communications team wanted to ensure that visual design complied with organisational branding, and Clinical Educators wanted to contribute to what base-line education was provided to all staff before continuing their own curriculum with clinical staff. This was a new challenge for me as I needed to ensure educational objectives were met, while managing the expectations of many different stakeholders.
At early stages of design, feedback and review was more informal, but this quickly led to challenges, as feedback came in many different formats and collating feedback for designers to act upon became challenging. For this reason in collaboration with the designers I created a standard review form. An example of a completed review form from one of our stakeholder for the unit of Equality, Diversity and Cultural Awareness can be found here:
At the time, the internal relationships between all the various stakeholders became quite complex. Although I was working day-to-day with the designers, we had Subject Matter Experts who were regularly involved in reviews, our Communications team wanted to ensure that visual design complied with organisational branding, and Clinical Educators wanted to contribute to what base-line education was provided to all staff before continuing their own curriculum with clinical staff. This was a new challenge for me as I needed to ensure educational objectives were met, while managing the expectations of many different stakeholders.
At early stages of design, feedback and review was more informal, but this quickly led to challenges, as feedback came in many different formats and collating feedback for designers to act upon became challenging. For this reason in collaboration with the designers I created a standard review form. An example of a completed review form from one of our stakeholder for the unit of Equality, Diversity and Cultural Awareness can be found here:
review_document_example.xlsx | |
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Once this review form was implemented, feedback was easier to action and changes recorded. As can be seen by the attached example, at this stage of the process as content was already agreed, feedback tended to be more simple in nature, e.g. spelling errors, as opposed to significant redesign work or content changes.
Some examples, exported into Microsoft Word, of the final visual design and content of the eLearning units I was responsible for leading development of can be found below:
Some examples, exported into Microsoft Word, of the final visual design and content of the eLearning units I was responsible for leading development of can be found below:
med006_-_equality_diversity_-_an.doc | |
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med008-quality_improvement_and_culture_of_safety-an.doc | |
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I thoroughly enjoyed the process of collaborating with eLearning Instructional Designers to create eLearning modules, as this was the first opportunity I had in my career to work on an eLearning design project. This gave me an opportunity to work with people with different skill sets to look at other modes of education delivery. As previously mentioned in Attribute 2, critical reflection requires not only reflecting on practice but turning that into action and challenging the status quo. In this case it meant expanding my skill set beyond traditional classroom delivery to learn more about eLearning technologies as a mode of delivery.
5. Ongoing Review and Development
The nature of compliance-based training is that educational content needs to be reviewed as compliance needs change. In the case of this Mandatory Orientation curriculum, the purpose was to cover all information required as per legislation, regulation, policy and standards. An example of needing to change occurred when Qatar introduced it's Patients' Bill of Rights and Responsibilities that all staff in healthcare had to be educated on. I reviewed the content of all units of the curriculum and implemented the changes as shown in the matrix attached below. The key changes related to topics such as confidentiality, the right to be treated with dignity, and safety.
patient_bill_of_rights_and_responsibilities_orientation_matrix.docx | |
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In some cases, Subject Matter Experts would highlight changes in legislation, regulation, policy and standards so that changes to the curriculum could be made. However this was not always the case, and it meant as an Educator I had to be proactive in my approach to curriculum review. Moving forward, I look to keep on top of changes in the healthcare industry which is important as it means I can better engage in conversations with subject matter experts about their areas of speciality to better understand the education needs of the area, examples include continuing professional development completed through the Institute of Healthcare Improvement (an example seen below), which informs the area of Quality Improvement, but also implementing annual reviews of modules, which is about to occur as I prepare this case study nearly one year on from the completion of these modules.
Also, the release of eLearning modules, also gave me an opportunity to review the existing classroom two-day program. An extract from the new presentation used during this program can be seen below:
sidra_corporate_orientation_v54._5_august_2015_-_extract.pdf | |
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By providing blended learning opportunities through both classroom and eLearning modules, some content was better suited to eLearning that had originally sat in the classroom session, for example details around organisational history, for more efficient delivery of the overall curriculum. Looking at the blend of learning between in-person and online education will continue to be a priority as we look at rolling out education that is relevant for hospital opening. An example is Infection Control, where all staff need to be aware of general principles which can be covered online, but all need practical training of proper hand-washing technique.
Finally, the ongoing design and review work needed has meant I have had to develop my own eLearning design skills since the Instructional Designers have left as they were on set term contracts. I received training from them on eLearning design tools to be able to make minor changes to courses which meets the needs of most reviews, while major reviews still require outsourcing for completion. Expanding my skill-set has been valuable as part of my ongoing development as an Educator. Below is a reference from Christopher Cook, one of our former Instructional Designers, who helped me develop these skills:
Finally, the ongoing design and review work needed has meant I have had to develop my own eLearning design skills since the Instructional Designers have left as they were on set term contracts. I received training from them on eLearning design tools to be able to make minor changes to courses which meets the needs of most reviews, while major reviews still require outsourcing for completion. Expanding my skill-set has been valuable as part of my ongoing development as an Educator. Below is a reference from Christopher Cook, one of our former Instructional Designers, who helped me develop these skills:
Summary & Connection to Graduate Attributes
This case study outlines one of the most challenging yet rewarding educational projects I have ever had to work on. Initially given the nature of compliance-training it was something I was not excited about, as it was education people didn't choose to pursue, but it was something required of them. Ensuring a supportive organisational climate, by engaging line managers in the completion of learning modules became crucial. This included regularly tracking and benchmarking module completions across different departments in the organisation to increase incentives for line managers to support implementation. As identified by van der Sluis (2004) manager support is an important predictor of workplace learning.
As the project unfolded it provided new challenges for my growth as an Educator. Given this was content that I was in many cases unfamiliar with, the project required collaboration with multiple stakeholders in order to create a curriculum that met educational and organisational needs. As an Educator I felt it was a valuable experience to learn from these stakeholders, while applying educational principles and design that I had been employed to be an expert in. In addition it provided my first experience with eLearning design, as previously I had only had experience with the use of off-the-shelf eLearning education materials.
The above case study demonstrates the following Graduate Attributes:
Attribute 2: Advance learning and teaching through critical self-reflection, evaluation and research
As evidenced from the case study above, I realised many shortcomings throughout the design process, and implemented changes accordingly. This included changes to the content collection and review processes to ensure information was more easily actionable. Also I identified my own shortcoming in eLearning design capabilities, and developed basic skills to advance my own education practice.
Attribute 4: Practise and continues to develop their own cultural competence
As evidenced in unit and assessment design, by providing alternative means for staff with cultural and language differences to successfully complete the needed curriculum.
Attribute 5: Develop and promote professional, inclusive relationships with all learners in their care, relevant employers and the wider community & Attribute 11: Foster collaboration and collegiality in order to catalyse team solutions to enhance learning
Throughout this process I had to work collaboratively and professionally with a broad variety of stakeholders, including Subject Matter Experts, Instructional Designers, and other organisational departments, as well as having to understand the needs of regulatory bodies, in order to design a curriculum that met educational and organisational needs.
Attribute 7: Design, facilitate and guide learning for each individual's success, using a wide range of context-appropriate strategies
In addition to what was already mentioned in Attribute 4, another example was recognising the prior learning of well-qualified and exprienced staff and giving them an opportunity to demonstrate knowledge directly through assessment. This illustrates adapting to the needs of different learners based on their backgrounds and needs.
Attribute 8: Lead evidence-based assessment practices for learning in a range of contexts, including APL and work based learning
In this case, assessment was designed based on the need to recall and understand knowledge, understanding that application was the focus of learning beyond the scope this curriculum.
Attribute 9: Monitor developments and trend in tertiary education, technology and practice, and anticipate changes and adapt teaching accordingly
This case study outlines a process whereby new technology was used to convert an existing two-day classroom program of learning, into a comprehensive curriculum delivered through blended learning, using both class-room and online modes of education delivery.
Attribute 10: Foster communities of practice, identifying and sharing good practices across the organisation and beyond
Although not shared already in the outline of the development process above, our delivery of compliance education via eLearning was also shared with others outside our organisation. An example of this was Qatar Foundation's Health and Safety Team, as Qatar Foundation is an organisation we work closely with, who were very interested in our online Fire Safety Training as they were considering moving their classroom education to an online mode of delivery.
As the project unfolded it provided new challenges for my growth as an Educator. Given this was content that I was in many cases unfamiliar with, the project required collaboration with multiple stakeholders in order to create a curriculum that met educational and organisational needs. As an Educator I felt it was a valuable experience to learn from these stakeholders, while applying educational principles and design that I had been employed to be an expert in. In addition it provided my first experience with eLearning design, as previously I had only had experience with the use of off-the-shelf eLearning education materials.
The above case study demonstrates the following Graduate Attributes:
Attribute 2: Advance learning and teaching through critical self-reflection, evaluation and research
As evidenced from the case study above, I realised many shortcomings throughout the design process, and implemented changes accordingly. This included changes to the content collection and review processes to ensure information was more easily actionable. Also I identified my own shortcoming in eLearning design capabilities, and developed basic skills to advance my own education practice.
Attribute 4: Practise and continues to develop their own cultural competence
As evidenced in unit and assessment design, by providing alternative means for staff with cultural and language differences to successfully complete the needed curriculum.
Attribute 5: Develop and promote professional, inclusive relationships with all learners in their care, relevant employers and the wider community & Attribute 11: Foster collaboration and collegiality in order to catalyse team solutions to enhance learning
Throughout this process I had to work collaboratively and professionally with a broad variety of stakeholders, including Subject Matter Experts, Instructional Designers, and other organisational departments, as well as having to understand the needs of regulatory bodies, in order to design a curriculum that met educational and organisational needs.
Attribute 7: Design, facilitate and guide learning for each individual's success, using a wide range of context-appropriate strategies
In addition to what was already mentioned in Attribute 4, another example was recognising the prior learning of well-qualified and exprienced staff and giving them an opportunity to demonstrate knowledge directly through assessment. This illustrates adapting to the needs of different learners based on their backgrounds and needs.
Attribute 8: Lead evidence-based assessment practices for learning in a range of contexts, including APL and work based learning
In this case, assessment was designed based on the need to recall and understand knowledge, understanding that application was the focus of learning beyond the scope this curriculum.
Attribute 9: Monitor developments and trend in tertiary education, technology and practice, and anticipate changes and adapt teaching accordingly
This case study outlines a process whereby new technology was used to convert an existing two-day classroom program of learning, into a comprehensive curriculum delivered through blended learning, using both class-room and online modes of education delivery.
Attribute 10: Foster communities of practice, identifying and sharing good practices across the organisation and beyond
Although not shared already in the outline of the development process above, our delivery of compliance education via eLearning was also shared with others outside our organisation. An example of this was Qatar Foundation's Health and Safety Team, as Qatar Foundation is an organisation we work closely with, who were very interested in our online Fire Safety Training as they were considering moving their classroom education to an online mode of delivery.