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
A nursing graduate program is revising its curriculum after
stakeholder feedback that graduates lack systems-level
thinking. As a faculty member on the curriculum committee,
you must prioritize one initial activity to ensure revisions
address the gap while preserving program integrity. Which
Page | 1
,action best balances stakeholder input, program outcomes, and
curricular coherence?
Options
A. Convene a summit of external stakeholders to create a new
mission and outcomes, then redesign courses to fit.
B. Conduct a targeted curriculum mapping of existing courses
against program outcomes and systems-thinking competencies.
C. Replace courses judged weak by stakeholders with new
electives focused on systems thinking.
D. Implement a required systems-thinking capstone course
while leaving current course content unchanged.
Correct Answer
B
Rationale — Correct
Curriculum mapping aligns existing course content and
assessments with program outcomes and identifies precise gaps
in systems-thinking coverage. This approach preserves
coherence, provides evidence for targeted change, and
supports defensible curricular decisions. Mapping informs
whether new courses, content redistribution, or assessment
changes are required, consistent with curriculum development
principles.
Rationale — Incorrect
A. Creating a new mission without mapping risks misalignment
and ignores existing curricular strengths and constraints.
C. Replacing courses based solely on stakeholder impressions
Page | 2
,may discard effective content and lacks evidence of where
systems thinking is missing.
D. Adding a single capstone may not ensure progressive
development of systems-thinking across the curriculum and can
be a patch rather than systemic redesign.
Teaching Point
Start with curriculum mapping to identify specific competency
gaps before redesigning courses.
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 — Faculty role and responsibilities in curriculum
development
Stem
You are a junior faculty member invited to join a course revision
team. The team plans to change assessments to be more
competency-based, but budget and faculty time are limited.
Which faculty responsibility most directly supports a feasible
transition to competency-based assessment in this context?
Options
A. Redesign all course objectives to mirror national competency
frameworks immediately.
Page | 3
, B. Advocate for hiring assessment specialists before any
changes are made.
C. Pilot a single competency-aligned assessment with a clear
rubric and evaluate results.
D. Keep current assessments but increase formative feedback
frequency.
Correct Answer
C
Rationale — Correct
Piloting a competency-aligned assessment with a rubric is a
pragmatic faculty action that tests feasibility, psychometrics,
and faculty workload within constraints. It generates data to
support scaled adoption, aligns with faculty responsibility for
evaluation and continuous improvement, and mitigates risk
before widespread change.
Rationale — Incorrect
A. Immediate wholesale objective changes are resource-
intensive and risk misalignment without pilot data.
B. Insisting on hiring specialists may delay improvement; faculty
can initiate pilot work using existing resources.
D. Increasing formative feedback is valuable but does not move
assessment toward competency-based measurement.
Teaching Point
Pilot targeted competency-aligned assessments before broad
implementation.
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
A nursing graduate program is revising its curriculum after
stakeholder feedback that graduates lack systems-level
thinking. As a faculty member on the curriculum committee,
you must prioritize one initial activity to ensure revisions
address the gap while preserving program integrity. Which
Page | 1
,action best balances stakeholder input, program outcomes, and
curricular coherence?
Options
A. Convene a summit of external stakeholders to create a new
mission and outcomes, then redesign courses to fit.
B. Conduct a targeted curriculum mapping of existing courses
against program outcomes and systems-thinking competencies.
C. Replace courses judged weak by stakeholders with new
electives focused on systems thinking.
D. Implement a required systems-thinking capstone course
while leaving current course content unchanged.
Correct Answer
B
Rationale — Correct
Curriculum mapping aligns existing course content and
assessments with program outcomes and identifies precise gaps
in systems-thinking coverage. This approach preserves
coherence, provides evidence for targeted change, and
supports defensible curricular decisions. Mapping informs
whether new courses, content redistribution, or assessment
changes are required, consistent with curriculum development
principles.
Rationale — Incorrect
A. Creating a new mission without mapping risks misalignment
and ignores existing curricular strengths and constraints.
C. Replacing courses based solely on stakeholder impressions
Page | 2
,may discard effective content and lacks evidence of where
systems thinking is missing.
D. Adding a single capstone may not ensure progressive
development of systems-thinking across the curriculum and can
be a patch rather than systemic redesign.
Teaching Point
Start with curriculum mapping to identify specific competency
gaps before redesigning courses.
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 — Faculty role and responsibilities in curriculum
development
Stem
You are a junior faculty member invited to join a course revision
team. The team plans to change assessments to be more
competency-based, but budget and faculty time are limited.
Which faculty responsibility most directly supports a feasible
transition to competency-based assessment in this context?
Options
A. Redesign all course objectives to mirror national competency
frameworks immediately.
Page | 3
, B. Advocate for hiring assessment specialists before any
changes are made.
C. Pilot a single competency-aligned assessment with a clear
rubric and evaluate results.
D. Keep current assessments but increase formative feedback
frequency.
Correct Answer
C
Rationale — Correct
Piloting a competency-aligned assessment with a rubric is a
pragmatic faculty action that tests feasibility, psychometrics,
and faculty workload within constraints. It generates data to
support scaled adoption, aligns with faculty responsibility for
evaluation and continuous improvement, and mitigates risk
before widespread change.
Rationale — Incorrect
A. Immediate wholesale objective changes are resource-
intensive and risk misalignment without pilot data.
B. Insisting on hiring specialists may delay improvement; faculty
can initiate pilot work using existing resources.
D. Increasing formative feedback is valuable but does not move
assessment toward competency-based measurement.
Teaching Point
Pilot targeted competency-aligned assessments before broad
implementation.
Page | 4
