| Course | NUR 670 Curriculum Design for Nursing and Health Professions Education |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 1 |
| Paper type | Analytical discussion checkpoint post and peer post |
| Length | About 446 words |
| Format | Discussion post with APA 7 citations |
| School | Arizona State University |
| Program | MS in Nursing |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NUR 670 Module 1
Module 1 Checkpoint: Four Forces Pulling on One ADN Curriculum, and the One I Would Rank First
Four Forces, One Curriculum: Ranking What Should Drive Priorities in a Rural Associate Degree Nursing Program
Initial Post
A curriculum is never designed in a vacuum. Iwasiw et al. (2020) describe contextual factors as the conditions inside and outside a school that make some curriculum choices urgent and others optional. At our composite associate degree program, which runs a main campus and a smaller campus that serves many students from rural and tribal communities, four forces are pulling on the curriculum at once.
The licensure exam. The Next Generation NCLEX, in use since April 2023, is built on a clinical judgment measurement model that breaks a nurse's thinking into six linked steps, from noticing cues and making sense of them to choosing, acting and checking what happened. Dickison et al. (2019) explained how programs can build that model into existing frameworks rather than bolting it on. For a program whose graduates must pass one exam to practice, this force is impossible to ignore.
Practice readiness. Kavanagh and Sharpnack (2021) drew on employer assessments of newly hired nurses to argue that a gap in recognizing and managing changing patient conditions predates the pandemic and widened during it. Our clinical partners say the same thing in plainer words: new graduates can complete tasks but struggle when two patients deteriorate at once.
Health equity. The 2020-2030 future of nursing report asks schools to graduate nurses who can work on the social conditions behind illness and who understand how structural racism harms health (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2021). For a campus whose students will practice in counties with long travel times to care, this is not abstract.
Technology. Generative AI tools reached our students before our policies did. They change how students write care plans and study, and they will appear in the electronic records our graduates use.
Ranking. I would rank clinical judgment first, because the first two forces converge on it: the licensure exam measures it and employers say graduates lack it. Equity comes second, and I would teach it through clinical judgment rather than beside it, for example by asking students to treat a missed appointment or an unfilled prescription as a cue to analyze. Technology comes third, as a skill thread rather than a separate course.
Peer Post (Reply to Dana on Equity)
Dana, you argued that equity should come first because it shapes every patient encounter. I agree it cannot be an elective topic, but I wonder whether placing it first risks teaching it as content to recall. Could your program test it inside clinical judgment cases instead, so students practice spotting social cues the way they spot a falling blood pressure?
References
Dickison, P., Haerling, K. A., & Lasater, K. (2019). Integrating the National Council of State Boards of Nursing Clinical Judgment Model into nursing educational frameworks. Journal of Nursing Education, 58(2), 72-78. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20190122-03
Iwasiw, C. L., Andrusyszyn, M.-A., & Goldenberg, D. (2020). Curriculum development in nursing education (4th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Kavanagh, J. M., & Sharpnack, P. A. (2021). Crisis in competency: A defining moment in nursing education. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 26(1). https://doi.org/10.3912/OJIN.Vol26No01Man02
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2021). The future of nursing 2020-2030: Charting a path to achieve health equity. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25982
What the NUR 670 Module 1 instructions ask for
Module 1 of the posted syllabus, Contextual Forces, introduces the historical, social, economic, technological and professional pressures that shape curriculum in nursing and the health professions, with readings from Iwasiw, Andrusyszyn and Goldenberg and from Billings and Halstead. The checkpoint asks one question, what drives curriculum priorities, and the calendar sets the individual post for Sunday night with the peer post two days later. Treat the question as an invitation to argue, not to list. Name the forces at work in a setting you know, say how strong each one is, and decide which should come first. The syllabus describes these checkpoints as guided analytical prompts, so a post that weighs and ranks will read as analysis rather than summary.
Inside the NUR 670 Module 1 example
The post starts from the textbook's idea that contextual factors make some choices urgent, then names the composite program so every force has a place to land. Four short paragraphs follow, one for each force: the licensure exam's clinical judgment model, the practice-readiness gap, the health equity charge and AI tools. Each paragraph carries either a source or a local signal, such as what clinical partners report. A ranking paragraph closes the post and explains why clinical judgment leads, folding equity into it instead of setting the two side by side. The peer post agrees with part of a classmate's case for equity and proposes a way to test it inside clinical judgment cases. Four sources support the post, three of them peer reviewed or national reports.
Reading the NUR 670 Module 1 grading rubric
Each checkpoint carries 12 of the course's 100 points, and the six together are 72, so the discussion grade is most of the course grade. Canvas holds the rubric. Expect credit for analysis that applies module concepts to a real or composite setting, for use of the assigned readings and current evidence, for a reply that moves a classmate's argument forward and for meeting both deadlines. A post that ranks the forces and defends the ranking shows judgment, which an analytical prompt rewards more than coverage. Accurate APA citations and professional tone matter, since the syllabus asks students to protect privacy and write as educators. A peer post that adds an example or a question earns more than one that only agrees.
NUR 670 Module 1 help with common mistakes
The usual weakness is a tour of trends with no decision at the end. Choose a ranking and defend it in two or three sentences. Another is citing a force without evidence; a local signal, such as feedback from a clinical partner, counts when you describe it accurately. Keep the scope to one program, or the analysis thins out. Send the desk the setting you teach in or hope to teach in, and a draft post can be built around its real pressures. Read the module's assigned chapters first, because the checkpoint expects their terms. Post early enough that classmates can reply before Tuesday, and write the peer post as a question or a challenge, not a compliment.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Arizona State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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NUR 670 Module 1 questions, answered
Where can I find a free NUR 670 Module 1 sample paper?
This page carries a full NUR 670 Module 1 checkpoint sample on what drives curriculum priorities, with an initial post ranking four forces and a peer post.
What does the NUR 670 Module 1 checkpoint ask?
It asks what drives curriculum priorities, using the module's contextual forces, in an individual post by Sunday and a peer post by Tuesday.
How many points are NUR 670 checkpoints worth?
The posted syllabus lists six analytical discussion checkpoints worth 72 of 100 points, with a 10-point entry reflection and an 18-point exit reflection.
What is the clinical judgment measurement model?
A model behind the Next Generation NCLEX that breaks clinical judgment into recognizing cues, analyzing, prioritizing, generating solutions, acting and evaluating.
Which textbooks does NUR 670 use?
Iwasiw, Andrusyszyn and Goldenberg's Curriculum Development in Nursing Education and Billings and Halstead's Teaching in Nursing, plus the APA manual.