Curriculum Models, Themes & Threads

©2018, B.M. Coppard

The curriculum is the heart and soul of every Occupational Therapy program. Think about it - prospective students are often attracted to a particular program’s curriculum. The curriculum requires faculty expertise to teach the explicated curriculum. Specialized accreditation is a high-stake review of the curriculum. Much of what a program does on a day-to-day basis is driven by curriculum. Thus, the curriculum should: be informed by data (e.g., local, state, regional needs assessment), address societal occupational needs, and produce competent practitioners.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog that addressed curriculum development theories. In this blog, I will address curricular models, themes and threads. Current ACOTE (2011) standards in the A.6.0. section, specifically, standards A.6.7. states that “…the design must identify curricular threads and educational goals and describe the selection of the content, scope, and sequencing of courses”. Now, let’s review the definitions of a curricular model, theme and thread.

A curricular model is a theoretical framework that should explain curricular decisions and explicate connections to the mission, philosophy and curricular themes and threads. A curricular theme is a major or primary conceptual area that leads to student outcomes. Thus, one should be able to map courses to themes and program goals or student learning outcomes. A theme does not necessary warrant every course to incorporate the theme. However, a collection of courses definitely contributes to the theme expression. A curricular thread is woven through every course. Often times, threads are values or concepts that apply to every course (e.g., leadership, professionalism, ethics, etc.).

A well-written syllabus connects the curriculum model to the course. A linkage among program and course goals and themes and threads are explicated in the syllabus. For example, after the course description is stated, the syllabus explains how the course fits within the curriculum model. Course objectives may be categorized by curricular themes. These connections and linkages can be formatted into a table in the syllabus. Curricular threads should be addressed by explaining how the thread is integrated in the course.

If your program needs help in determining any of these important curricular issues, contact me at http://www.coppardconsulting.com.