Multi-national, multi-lingual, multi-professional CATs: (Curriculum Analysis Tools)

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Curriculum Development and Analysis
• Educational Technology

Background:

• A consortium of dental and allied health programs initiated a project in 1991 to create an end-user modifiable curriculum database.
• The initial beta version (Beta 2.5) of Curriculum Analysis Tools (CATs) was released in 1994, with subsequent development leading to Beta 3.0.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a versatile software tool, Curriculum Analysis Tools (CATs), for institutional curriculum analysis and modification.
• To create a program adaptable to various health professions curricula across different countries and languages.

Main Methods:

• Development of CATs software, initially in FoxPro(TM), with subsequent redesign for broader compatibility (Macintosh(TM), Windows(TM)).
• Incorporation of multilingual capabilities and integration with the Unified Medical Language System for curriculum documentation.
• User-defined parameters for data entry, including source of curriculum information (course directors or students) and validation measures (internal/external).

Main Results:

• Beta 3.0 is designed for international use, supporting English and French, with future language expansion planned.
• The software allows for detailed curriculum analysis through user-selected data points and validation measures.
• Institutions using the beta version reported satisfaction with functionality and provided feedback for enhancements.

Conclusions:

• Curriculum Analysis Tools (CATs) provides a flexible and powerful platform for health professions curriculum analysis.
• The program's adaptability and user-centric design facilitate comprehensive curriculum evaluation and improvement.
• Anticipated release of CATs in the first quarter of 1995.