Defining the boundaries of physiological understanding: the benchmarks curriculum model.

We set out to develop an anatomy and physiology (A&P) curriculum with a content that was relevant and well rationalized. To do this, we developed a benchmarks curriculum process that helps us to determine what our students need to learn in A&P and then to make sure there is alignment between those learning objectives and what we teach and how we assess our students. Using the benchmarks process, we first set the broad skill and content goals of the course. We then prioritize the topic areas to be covered, allocating the course time accordingly, and declare the learning objectives for each topic. To clarify each learning objective, a set of benchmark statements are written that specify in operational terms what is required to demonstrate mastery. After the benchmarks are written, we assemble the learning activities that help students achieve them and write assessment items to evaluate achievement. We have implemented the curriculum in a relational database that allows us to specify the numerous links that exist between its different elements. In the future, the benchmarks model will be used for ongoing A&P curriculum development with geographically distributed contributors accessing it via the World Wide Web. This mechanism will allow for the continuing evolution of the A&P curriculum.