Time for a curriculum overhaul.
We find that a central system that supports a shared investigation can mitigate some shortfalls in campus infrastructure (such as time for new curriculum development, availability of IT services) and provides collegial support for change.
In the OECD TALIS report on the teaching job with focus on professional development, Table 3.10 shows that on average about 25%% of the principals' time was used for curriculum related tasks, "including developing curriculum, teaching, classroom observations, student evaluation, mentoring teachers, teacher professional development".
This point was raised in Curriculum 2001 discussions, and debate needs to start in good time for the next curriculum standard.
Taking practice tests online can be done during scheduled computer periods, leaving more time for the everyday curriculum.
Teachers could take more time for a full curriculum and could have more time for collaboration, creativity and planning.
Perhaps this information could be used over time for course and curriculum evaluation purposes.
Last, to address the most common barrier to implementing authentic research experiences, faculty need time for professional and curriculum development, for example workshops funded by RCN-UBE, Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, and HHMI.
Staff who are planning for curricular conversion to standard PBL need to set a timeframe in the order of years to allow sufficient time for designing the curriculum, constructing the PBL problems and educating the staff in medical pedagogy and PBL skills.
