Reimagining the Curriculum

By Theresa Carroll (CONHP), Alberto López Martín (World Lang & Culture), and Karen Hernes (CONHP)

Several of your colleagues have been working to increase underrepresented voices in their courses as part of the “Reimagining the Curriculum” (RIC) Initiative. These faculty attended a three-part workshop series last spring and then implemented their curricular projects this year. In this article, Theresa Carroll (CONHP) talks about a case study she used for occupational therapy students, Alberto López Martín (World Lang & Culture) explains how he included texts from the diasporic communities and migrants in Spain in a recent course, and Karen Hernes (CONHP) describes her new seven-week course on inequities in our healthcare system. The RIC initiative was sponsored by the team implementing one aspect of the Action Agenda for Racial Equity and Inclusion.

Case Study for Occupational Therapy Students: Theresa Carroll (CONHP)

For my RIC project, I developed a case study for occupational therapy students that fostered rich discussion about the influence of race and social determinants of health on an individual’s life. Additionally, I hope to create a matrix of case studies for our occupational therapy program that will ensure that we have diverse representation of clients across the curriculum. It is important for students to have a variety of case examples that prepare them for how race, disability, gender identity, and other factors influence the way we interact with clients and plan their care. Through RIC, I received coaching and feedback on how to have difficult discussions with students in the classroom in a respectful and educational way. I benefited greatly from collaborating with faculty across campus, both in learning from their expertise and in sharing my own. I highly encourage all faculty to consider participating in the RIC program. 

Global Hispanophone Authors in Spanish Culture and Society: Alberto López Martín (World Lang & Culture)

My RIC project focused on the class “Spain: Studies in Culture and Society” that I taught in fall 2023. My goal was to feature the cultural contributions of the so-called “Global Hispanophone,” the diasporic communities and migrants who are from Spanish-speaking territories beyond the Latin American/Iberian divide. We dedicated two full course modules (one-third of the semester) to examining recent Spanish history through the literary and artistic texts of Equatoguinean migrants, Sahrawi exiles, Afro-descendants and other minorities. These texts have played an important role in the construction of the “Spanish cultural imaginary.” We also discussed the reasons why these groups have been frequently overlooked and stereotyped in mainstream Spanish culture. My students really appreciated the opportunity to get to know a key part of contemporary Spanish culture that seldom gets any academic attention. The conversations with organizers and peers during the RIC workshops were deeply enjoyable and enlightening, and they provided me with invaluable feedback for the success of my project.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice in Healthcare: Karen Hernes (CONHP)

My participation in the Spring 2023 “Reimagining the Curriculum” was helpful as I was building and planning to teach a new nursing course in the fall. Information and conversations I had during the workshops greatly helped my course construction, specifically assignment and activity planning.

The course “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice in Healthcare” was launched as a seven-week asynchronous online course in fall 2023. Our students all had associate degrees in nursing; this course was the final course in their completion of their Valparaiso University BSN degree.

Despite the busy lives of all of my students who were not only taking courses but also working, I was pleased with their interest and engagement with the topics each week. One student commented: 

I really enjoyed this class, and I learned a lot more than I expected to. I also got a lot angrier than I thought I would because I never realized the true level of injustice that was occurring for so many people. Each week, the topics have given me things to talk about at home and at work, and changes that I would like to bring to work as well as within the community. I am so grateful that this class was part of our curriculum – I enjoyed it immensely. Thank you for teaching it!

I am grateful for the reading and resources we received during the workshops and the

connections I made with other faculty who provided resources for my course development and added helpful perspectives and ideas to my planning. This, along with the feedback from students will allow me to continue to develop and change this course as needed to make it even more applicable as we continue to address healthcare injustice concerns.

FINAL NOTE: The “Reimagining the Curriculum” Initiative is ongoing. A new cohort started this spring and invitations for next year will go out in the fall. If you want to learn more about it, you can contact Pete.Johnson@valpo.edu.