The Thomas More Law School at the Australian Catholic University has just completed its first ever curriculum mapping project. This project has just won the Faculty of Law and Business “2022 Innovation Award”. The Project mapped each of the 19 core/compulsory units in the accredited Bachelor of Laws degree. The map discloses the extent to which the course curriculum is constructively aligned – that is, whether the stated intended learning outcomes of each unit are taught and assessed. The map discloses where curricula are deficient in alignment and the extent to which the curriculum is scaffolded for effective learning.

Now the Law School has a curriculum map, it is possible to ensure better alignment and a more thorough approach to andragogy through targeted learning and teaching in the core areas of the law curriculum as well as a more affirmative and targeted approach to the teaching and assessment of graduate attributes. The teaching of graduate attributes will be divided between cornerstone (initial years), keystone (mid years) and capstone units (final years) and assessed at all levels to ensure each student has evidenced improvements in their learning journey.

David Spencer