According to the AAMC in 2017-2018, most medical schools in the US had either implemented or had a curriculum change in the planning or process stages for the previous 3 years. Given the number of schools implementing curriculum changes, understanding curriculum development is imperative. Curriculum consists of 3 parts. The first is the explicit curriculum which is what is planned for and taught. The second is the null curriculum which is the content that is explicitly left out. The final part is the hidden curriculum, which is taught through modeling, from the culture of the learning environment, and from peer to peer. Traditionally, only the explicit curriculum is designed without careful consideration of the null and hidden curriculum. Failure to explore the institutional culture and climate and to understand all parts of the curriculum can lead to unforeseen issues. In this session, we will explore how the 3 parts of the curriculum lay the foundation for curriculum development.

In this session, participants will understand the importance of the explicit, hidden, and null curriculum when planning a curriculum or making curriculum revisions. The goal of this session is to provide participants with a framework for utilizing the 3 components of the curriculum when making decisions related to curriculum design and development.
By the end of the session, participants will:
1. Be able to explain the difference between the hidden, explicit, and null curriculum.
2. Be able to use a template to explore and integrate the 3 components of the curriculum into curriculum design and development at their own institutions.