iMap curriculum mapping project

At Imperial College School of Medicine, 'iMAP' is a toolkit being used to evaluate and develop the undergraduate medical curriculum and help it meet the GMC’s requirements as detailed in Tomorrow's Doctors (TD'09). TD’09 includes 154 specific learning outcomes, arranged under several more ‘general outcomes’, which students need to demonstrate before they graduate. The iMAP project encompasses various elements:

  • In 2009-2010, iMAP guided the development of 16 domains based on TD’09 general outcomes, which are used to structure examination blueprinting. These were approved by the Examinations and Assessments Committee. Blueprinting involves examination leads/teams constructing a blueprint whenever an examination is drafted, either manually or using Question Bank software. These blueprints are grids which indicate which topics and domains are covered by the respective examination questions or stations. Examination leads/teams can then evaluate whether there are any gaps and modify examinations accordingly to ensure adequate assessment coverage. To help leads/teams know which domains are covered by the respective courses, blueprints can be cross-referenced with year and/or course outcomes maps categorised into the same domains. These maps are discussed below…
  • In 2010-2011, iMAP mapped course learning outcomes across Years 3, 5, and 6 (and some courses in the earlier years) against TD’09 ‘Outcomes for Graduates’, categorised into the blueprinting domains described above). Each course has its own map. In addition, there is an amalgamated overview Learning Outcomes map [Excel].
  • In 2009-2010, iMAP constructed an Assessment map [Excel]. This mapped assessments against TD’09 outcomes using previous years’ examination questions and in-course assessments as source material. This Assessment map was updated in October 2011 following discussions in various Education Committees and further evaluation. An updated document [Word] describes the TD’09 outcomes that were originally deemed as requiring further development with regard to assessment, as well as subsequent curricular changes which help meet this requirement.

Updating iMap. Following discussion at recent Education Committees, course leads are invited to update maps whenever courses change their respective learning outcomes or assessment events. To do this follow the step-by-step guide.

If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me or Chris Harris, Quality Assurance manager.

Dr Aaron Vallance
Academic Lead for the iMAP Project
May 2012


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This page was last updated: July 25, 2012 1:27 PM