Consensus-Driven Curriculum Development

The faculty of the School of Architecture, Design, and the Built Environment (ADBE) at Nottingham Trent University recognized the need to enhance teaching and learning resources on “research methods.” This initiative responds to the fragmented and discipline-specific nature of research methods instruction in built environment education, which often leads to inconsistent learning experiences and redundant resource development across departments. To address this, the school developed an online platform for Flexible Research Methods Learning, integrating “research methods” as a core objective for undergraduate and postgraduate students. These online resources have been shared among students across various courses. To develop and adopt these digital resources, the project employed the Delphi technique, an iterative method for gathering expert opinions and reaching a consensus among ADBE faculty involved in research teaching and supervision. Their input was crucial in shaping the platform’s content and structure to meet diverse faculty and student needs. After two rounds, participants reached a consensus on fifteen learning units. The project influenced fifteen modules shared across thirty-one courses, with the new resources introduced in the 2022–2023 academic year. The Delphi technique was valued for its efficiency and flexibility, though concerns arose about anonymity limiting discussions. Its non-linearity and reliance on facilitator collaboration raised questions on scalability and sustainability. A critical assessment of these limitations could offer deeper insights into its effectiveness.