Innovating curriculum to improve learning

the case of the degree in Medicine of the University of Minho

Abstract

In this text, some of the data gathered through the analysis of the principles and of the curricular organisation of the degree in Medicine of the University of Minho are shared. To that effect, we have analysed the degree’s structuring documents and institutional evaluation reports. We have also conducted interviews with elements of the degree’s management, teachers and students. The analysis of the information thus gathered allowed us to identify the following categories: purposes and structure of the curriculum; challenges and possibilities for a culture of curricular innovation. The degree under analysis stands out by presenting a differentiated and innovative curriculum.

Acknowledging curriculum innovation as a reinvented intercultural experience, epistemologically and socially constructed and sustained by an inclusive curriculum, we conclude the degree under analysis is innovative as it recognizes other forms of knowledge production (ethical, cultural, popular…), it incorporates the socio-historical dimension of knowledge, promotes the shared management of pedagogical actions by reflection, and understands medical knowledge as complex, passible of reconfiguration and (re)constructible in curricular justice scenarios. To conclude, the present study lends visibility to innovative experiences and demonstrates their potential for a more inclusive, intercultural and democratic higher education.

Full Article