A Graph-Theoretic Approach to Improved Curriculum Structure and Assessment Placement

Abstract

Assurance of student learning is an important issue in modern education. Accrediting bodies and government entities alike have begun requiring proof that students actually learn the material taught in the classroom. To comply with this mandate, education programs are actively engaged in incorporating assessment procedures into their curricula. Unfortunately, there are no generally agreed upon methods on how to do this. This paper addresses the issue and answers several key questions concerning where to locate topic coverage, assessment data collection, and corrective action within the curriculum. The approach described and developed in this paper cast the curriculum problem into an abstract graph representation. Graph- theoretic metrics are calculated and visualization software is utilized to create a picture that helps answer the research questions. The result is a systematic, easy to understand approach that produces defensible output which should greatly aid faculty and administrators tasked with creating an assessment scheme