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Before the first class: Engaging students early in curriculum design to support program reform.

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Title: Before the first class: Engaging students early in curriculum design to support program reform.
Authors: Steenhof N; Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.; The Wilson Centre, University of Toronto and University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada., Abela H; Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada., Ye S; Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada., Vuong A; Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada., Perry L; Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada., Kellar J; Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada., Lake J; Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada., Ho C; Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada., Crown N; Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Source: Medical teacher [Med Teach] 2026 Oct; Vol. 48 (10), pp. 1637-1640. Date of Electronic Publication: 2025 Oct 16.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Language: English
Journal Info: Publisher: Informa Healthcare Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 7909593 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1466-187X (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 0142159X NLM ISO Abbreviation: Med Teach Subsets: MEDLINE
Imprint Name(s): Publication: London : Informa Healthcare
Original Publication: London, Update Publications.
MeSH Terms: Students, Medical*/psychology , Curriculum*, Humans ; Focus Groups ; Program Evaluation ; Models, Educational ; Program Development
Abstract: What was the educational challenge? Curriculum reform is often something done to students, not with them-particularly before implementation. This top-down model limits the responsiveness of reforms and risks overlooking student priorities and expectations that could otherwise improve curricula. What was the solution and how was it implemented? In the context of a transition to a 3-year PharmD curriculum underpinned by adaptive expertise, we developed a low-resource model to meaningfully engage students during early-stage curriculum design. Using orientation materials and facilitated focus groups, we captured student insights on draft curricular blocks before launch, yielding actionable improvements and a foundation for program evaluation. What lessons were learned and what are the next steps? Engaging students in curriculum design before implementation is both feasible and valuable. With minimal time, coordination, and materials, focused discussions provided actionable insights that improved clarity, organization, and alignment in the proposed curriculum. This approach is scalable, adaptable, and bridges a longstanding gap between design and lived experience-inviting students into upstream decision-making with minimal cost or infrastructure. Our future work will explore how this engagement model can be integrated at key milestones across the curriculum lifecycle and scaled to support continuous, collaborative curriculum renewal.
Contributed Indexing: Keywords: adaptive expertise; curriculum design; program evaluation; student engagement
Entry Date(s): Date Created: 20251016 Date Completed: 20261001 Latest Revision: 20261001
Update Code: 20261001
DOI: 10.1080/0142159X.2025.2572994
PMID: 41100753
Database: MEDLINE
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  Data: Before the first class: Engaging students early in curriculum design to support program reform.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Steenhof+N%22">Steenhof N</searchLink>; Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.; The Wilson Centre, University of Toronto and University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Abela+H%22">Abela H</searchLink>; Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Ye+S%22">Ye S</searchLink>; Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Vuong+A%22">Vuong A</searchLink>; Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Perry+L%22">Perry L</searchLink>; Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Kellar+J%22">Kellar J</searchLink>; Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Lake+J%22">Lake J</searchLink>; Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Ho+C%22">Ho C</searchLink>; Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Crown+N%22">Crown N</searchLink>; Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%227909593%22">Medical teacher</searchLink> [Med Teach] 2026 Oct; Vol. 48 (10), pp. 1637-1640. <i>Date of Electronic Publication: </i>2025 Oct 16.
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  Data: <i>Publisher: </i><searchLink fieldCode="PB" term="%22Informa+Healthcare%22">Informa Healthcare </searchLink><i>Country of Publication: </i>England <i>NLM ID: </i>7909593 <i>Publication Model: </i>Print-Electronic <i>Cited Medium: </i>Internet <i>ISSN: </i>1466-187X (Electronic) <i>Linking ISSN: </i><searchLink fieldCode="IS" term="%220142159X%22">0142159X </searchLink><i>NLM ISO Abbreviation: </i>Med Teach <i>Subsets: </i>MEDLINE
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  Data: <i>Publication</i>: London : Informa Healthcare<br /><i>Original Publication</i>: London, Update Publications.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Students%2C+Medical%22">Students, Medical*</searchLink>/<searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Students%2C+Medical+psychology%22">psychology</searchLink> <br /><searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Curriculum%22">Curriculum*</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Humans%22">Humans</searchLink> ; <searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Focus+Groups%22">Focus Groups</searchLink> ; <searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Program+Evaluation%22">Program Evaluation</searchLink> ; <searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Models%2C+Educational%22">Models, Educational</searchLink> ; <searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Program+Development%22">Program Development</searchLink>
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  Data: What was the educational challenge? Curriculum reform is often something done to students, not with them-particularly before implementation. This top-down model limits the responsiveness of reforms and risks overlooking student priorities and expectations that could otherwise improve curricula. What was the solution and how was it implemented? In the context of a transition to a 3-year PharmD curriculum underpinned by adaptive expertise, we developed a low-resource model to meaningfully engage students during early-stage curriculum design. Using orientation materials and facilitated focus groups, we captured student insights on draft curricular blocks before launch, yielding actionable improvements and a foundation for program evaluation. What lessons were learned and what are the next steps? Engaging students in curriculum design before implementation is both feasible and valuable. With minimal time, coordination, and materials, focused discussions provided actionable insights that improved clarity, organization, and alignment in the proposed curriculum. This approach is scalable, adaptable, and bridges a longstanding gap between design and lived experience-inviting students into upstream decision-making with minimal cost or infrastructure. Our future work will explore how this engagement model can be integrated at key milestones across the curriculum lifecycle and scaled to support continuous, collaborative curriculum renewal.
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  Data: <i>Keywords: </i>adaptive expertise; curriculum design; program evaluation; student engagement
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  Data: 10.1080/0142159X.2025.2572994
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