GETTING STARTED IN TEACHING FOR
NURSING AND THE HEALTH
PROFESSIONS
1ST EDITION
• AUTHOR(S)JUDITH A. HALSTEAD;
DIANE M. BILLINGS
TEST BANK
1
Reference
Ch. 1 — Introduction to curriculum development
Stem
Your school is moving from teacher-centered content lists to a
competency-based curriculum. As a newly appointed
curriculum committee member, you must recommend the first
step the committee should take to ensure alignment across
courses and clinical experiences. Which action best initiates a
valid, program-level competency alignment process?
Page | 1
,Options
A. Convene faculty to rewrite course objectives using Bloom’s
lower-level verbs for clarity.
B. Map program-level competencies to expected learner
outcomes and existing course/clinical experiences.
C. Replace existing syllabi with standardized course templates
without changing outcomes.
D. Ask clinical partners to submit evaluation forms to justify
current clinical hours.
Correct answer
B
Rationale — Correct (B)
Mapping program-level competencies to expected learner
outcomes and existing course and clinical experiences
systematically reveals gaps, redundancies, and misalignments.
This is the foundational curriculum-development activity that
enables downstream decisions about content, assessment, and
sequencing. Halstead & Billings emphasize alignment as the
organizing principle for competency-based redesign.
Rationales — Incorrect
A. Rewriting objectives with lower-level verbs may increase
clarity but misses program-level alignment and risks
emphasizing recall over competencies.
C. Simply standardizing syllabi without revising outcomes
preserves misalignment and masks curricular deficiencies.
D. Collecting partner evaluations is useful later for validation,
Page | 2
,but it does not establish program-to-course alignment as the
initial step.
Teaching Point
Begin curriculum design with a program-to-course competency
map.
Citation
Halstead, J. A., & Billings, D. M. (2025). Getting Started in
Teaching for Nursing and the Health Professions (1st Ed.). Ch. 1.
2
Reference
Ch. 1 — Introduction to curriculum development
Stem
During a curriculum audit you identify substantial content
repetition in first- and second-year courses. As curriculum lead,
you must evaluate whether to keep, condense, or remove
duplicated content. Which evaluative approach best supports a
defensible decision?
Options
A. Remove all duplication immediately to shorten program
length.
B. Conduct a learning-outcomes analysis to determine whether
repetition supports mastery or is unnecessary redundancy.
C. Leave duplication because repetition helps retention.
Page | 3
, D. Assign duplication review to junior faculty as a routine
administrative task.
Correct answer
B
Rationale — Correct (B)
A learning-outcomes analysis assesses whether repeated
content supports progressive mastery (scaffolding) or is
unnecessary redundancy. Evidence-based curriculum work uses
outcomes and level-of-practice expectations to justify retention
or removal of content. Halstead & Billings recommend
outcome-driven decisions rather than ad hoc elimination or
preservation.
Rationales — Incorrect
A. Immediate removal risks eliminating needed practice or
reinforcement without evidence.
C. Assuming repetition is beneficial ignores sequencing and
level-of-cognitive demand; some repetition is intentional, some
is wasteful.
D. Delegating to junior faculty without faculty-wide analysis
risks biased, inconsistent decisions.
Teaching Point
Use outcomes analysis to judge content repetition vs.
purposeful scaffolding.
Page | 4
NURSING AND THE HEALTH
PROFESSIONS
1ST EDITION
• AUTHOR(S)JUDITH A. HALSTEAD;
DIANE M. BILLINGS
TEST BANK
1
Reference
Ch. 1 — Introduction to curriculum development
Stem
Your school is moving from teacher-centered content lists to a
competency-based curriculum. As a newly appointed
curriculum committee member, you must recommend the first
step the committee should take to ensure alignment across
courses and clinical experiences. Which action best initiates a
valid, program-level competency alignment process?
Page | 1
,Options
A. Convene faculty to rewrite course objectives using Bloom’s
lower-level verbs for clarity.
B. Map program-level competencies to expected learner
outcomes and existing course/clinical experiences.
C. Replace existing syllabi with standardized course templates
without changing outcomes.
D. Ask clinical partners to submit evaluation forms to justify
current clinical hours.
Correct answer
B
Rationale — Correct (B)
Mapping program-level competencies to expected learner
outcomes and existing course and clinical experiences
systematically reveals gaps, redundancies, and misalignments.
This is the foundational curriculum-development activity that
enables downstream decisions about content, assessment, and
sequencing. Halstead & Billings emphasize alignment as the
organizing principle for competency-based redesign.
Rationales — Incorrect
A. Rewriting objectives with lower-level verbs may increase
clarity but misses program-level alignment and risks
emphasizing recall over competencies.
C. Simply standardizing syllabi without revising outcomes
preserves misalignment and masks curricular deficiencies.
D. Collecting partner evaluations is useful later for validation,
Page | 2
,but it does not establish program-to-course alignment as the
initial step.
Teaching Point
Begin curriculum design with a program-to-course competency
map.
Citation
Halstead, J. A., & Billings, D. M. (2025). Getting Started in
Teaching for Nursing and the Health Professions (1st Ed.). Ch. 1.
2
Reference
Ch. 1 — Introduction to curriculum development
Stem
During a curriculum audit you identify substantial content
repetition in first- and second-year courses. As curriculum lead,
you must evaluate whether to keep, condense, or remove
duplicated content. Which evaluative approach best supports a
defensible decision?
Options
A. Remove all duplication immediately to shorten program
length.
B. Conduct a learning-outcomes analysis to determine whether
repetition supports mastery or is unnecessary redundancy.
C. Leave duplication because repetition helps retention.
Page | 3
, D. Assign duplication review to junior faculty as a routine
administrative task.
Correct answer
B
Rationale — Correct (B)
A learning-outcomes analysis assesses whether repeated
content supports progressive mastery (scaffolding) or is
unnecessary redundancy. Evidence-based curriculum work uses
outcomes and level-of-practice expectations to justify retention
or removal of content. Halstead & Billings recommend
outcome-driven decisions rather than ad hoc elimination or
preservation.
Rationales — Incorrect
A. Immediate removal risks eliminating needed practice or
reinforcement without evidence.
C. Assuming repetition is beneficial ignores sequencing and
level-of-cognitive demand; some repetition is intentional, some
is wasteful.
D. Delegating to junior faculty without faculty-wide analysis
risks biased, inconsistent decisions.
Teaching Point
Use outcomes analysis to judge content repetition vs.
purposeful scaffolding.
Page | 4
