1/26/2026 - Week 3 / Meeting 4: Curriculum / Curriculum Design

 

 

 I

 Unit: Curriculum

Theme: Curriculum Design

Introduction

 

 Allow me to introduce you to Doug Neill, a curriculum designer who has decided to share publicly his creative process when designing a curriculum. He emphasizes defining and understanding his audience in order to create an empathy map in order to build something useful for them. Based on this, the course material will be not only more meaningful to students, but transforming, consistent and relevant.

 

II

 

Learning Objectives 

III

 

Main Lesson 

 

 1

Based on the ending statements of video "The American Curriculum (Part 2), In the 1970s, the implementation of the SATs resulted in going back to the basics.

 

 The Curriculum Wars by Tom Loveless

 https://www.hoover.org/research/curriculum-wars

 

2

Curriculum Design Part 1: The High-Level Planning (9:17)

Part 1 of 4 episodes on Curriculum Design in Doug Neill’s “Verbal to Visual” series.

Part 1 explores the questions that must be considered prior to detailed curriculum planning: Who’s your audience? What is the transformation sought? What is the mode of this curriculum? Using his own thinking about the “Verbal to Visual” series, Neill models how answers to these questions shape curriculum design.

 

 (1:58 - 8:24)

 The Verbal to Visual Classroom (Adapting it to the Moving Body)

Pieces to Have in Place Before Designing the Curriculum

1.  Understand who is your audience and what sort of situation they are currently in, who your students are and where they are in their particular stage of development.

2. What is the transformation that those students (your audience) will go through as a result of engaging with this curriculum you are designing.

3. What is the container for this curriculum (are writing a book?; are you teaching in a high school semester long class? are you producing a set of online videos? Thus, understand the container or context surrounding the learning experience.

 

 Question 1

1. When planning on writing your own  curriculum:

Who’s your audience? 

What is the transformation sought? 

What is the mode of this curriculum? 

 

2

Curriculum Design Part 2: The Clothesline Method (6:59)

Part 2 of 4 episodes on Curriculum Design in Doug Neill’s “Verbal to Visual” series. 

Part 2 shows how Steven Pressman’s “Clothesline Method” can be used to sequence and plan learning activities to effect transformation and support curriculum goals. Neal emphasizes the creative potential and inherent flexibility of this method.

 

(0:30 - 4:29)

Curriculum Desing / Part 2: The Clothsline Method 

Step 1

a. Where students art at

b. Transformation

c.Where you want them to end

Step 2

a. Add some depth (details) to each unit (explain what will happen in each of them).

b. Fell free to move ideas around

c. Plan the mechanics of the course

Question 2

 

2. In which way is Neill's method creative?

 

3

Curriculum Design Part 3: Producing The Material

Part 3 of 4 episodes on Curriculum Design in Doug Neal’s “Verbal to Visual” series.

Part 3 details a visual note-taking technique for creating course materials based on “empathy maps” of  students and their learning needs.

(0:40 - 2:11)

 

 

Producing the Learning Materials

 

Creating the empathy map

 

 

 Question 3

 

 3. Why are empathy maps important to develop the curriculum?

 

4

 

Curriculum Design Part 4: Iterate Over Time (8:36)

Part 4 of 4 episodes on Curriculum Design in Doug Neal’s “Verbal to Visual” series.

Part 4 reflects on how to make effective adjustments and improvements to curriculums over time.

 

 

 

Students gather in groups and discuss the article "Elementary Education." (10 main groups: 1) History of, 2) Colonial Period, 3) Early National Period, 4) Public Schools, 5 & 6) The Common School, 7) African American, Native American & Non-Public, 8) Goals, 9) Curriculum & Organization, 10) Standards

Question 4

4. Why are adjustments and improvements to the curriculum necessary?

 

IV

A Note to Remember

 The curriculum has to reflect the mores, values and principles of the community for which it is developed. The “Clothesline Method” can be used to sequence and plan learning activities to effect transformation and support curriculum goals. One way of putting this into practice is by creating empathy maps, which allow us to know our students' needs. Since the curriculum is a living document, improvements and adjustments should be made to make it current.

V

Case Study

 

 Collaboration Days for Curriculum Design

 

VII

Discussion Questions

 

1. When planning on writing your own  curriculum:

Who’s your audience? 

What is the transformation sought? 

What is the mode of this curriculum? 

2. In which way is Neal's method creative?

3. Why are empathy maps important to develop the curriculum? 

4. Why are adjustments and improvements to the curriculum necessary?

 

VIII

Activity

 

 Share your work with the rest of the class. Create your group portfolio and create your first post.

IX

Journaling

 

X

Glossary

 

mores 

empathy maps

 

XI

Sources

 

Elementary Education  

https://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1950/Elementary-Education.html

 

XII

 

Students' Work 

------------------

Competency Based Curriculum 

 https://www2.dadeschools.net/students/cbc/index.asp

Dance

Curriculum

Who is your audience? 

What is the transformation sought? 

What units do we want the students to learn? 

 

 Amanda Drobes      

Curriculum

We are teaching students grades 9-12.  We are teaching at an intermediate level the ability to be confident and proud with their dance style, which will take a total of 30 mins. We will have learners and dancers. We will make sure to use very basic language so it can be understood by all different levels of dancers. They will learn about body, energy, space, timing, and relationships, which will aid them in growing overall as a dancer. They will focus on the 5 elements of dance so they can be a more confident individual and feel more secure in their relationships. The end goal is to dance and express their bodies in intresting ways that they haven't explored before. In the end, the students will perform and will show their parents what they have learned. 

 

 Taylor Shirk

Marco Sloane

We are creating the curriculum for Pre-K. 

The transformation: Use their words instead of crying, being able to get along with their friends, follow routines, trying new things/eating new foods, and being able to share and take turns. 

Class container: A place where kids feel safe, where there are clear rules but they are still able to make mistakes and learn from them, where these young kids are cared for, and a place that is ultimately welcoming and parents feel comfortable dropping their kid/kids off there. 

Core Skill: Move their bodies, stop and go, balance, follow the teacher, move safely with friends, show feelings with movement. 

5 Pieces: Hello & Get Ready
Sit or stand together, say hello, wake up bodies

Move & Warm Up
Stretch, shake, move big and small

Learn a Movement
Copy the teacher, jump, turn, stop, balance

Free Dance
Kids move their own way to music

Slow Down & Goodbye
Slow movements, breathe, say goodbye

Sofia Yarosh

Audience: 5-8 year old grade school children 

Transformation: Learn dance and terminology

Container: To teach 

First objective is to learn elements on dance, second ob

 jective has to do with self confidence, growth, and expression. 

Introduction (core principles of this course)

The 5 pieces (of the elements of dance): learning about body, energy, space, time, relationships

The point: ability to dance, express themselves through movement and create meaning

Outro: performance (proof of learning and teaching).

 

 Ang Bontemps

1. When planning your own curriculum

Who’s your audience?

My audience is adults between the ages of 20 and 30 who have little to no previous dance experience and are interested in learning dance for fitness, confidence, and self-expression.

What is the transformation sought?

The transformation sought is for students to go from feeling nervous, stiff, or intimidated by dance to feeling confident, comfortable in their bodies, and capable of learning and performing basic dance technique and movement combinations.

What is the mode of this curriculum?

The mode of this curriculum is an in-person, beginner-level adult dance program taught over the course of a semester or multi-week session, combining technique, simple choreography, and creative movement in a supportive environment.

2. In which way is Neill’s method creative?

Neill’s method is creative because it allows the curriculum to be built around the students’ starting point and their end goal rather than forcing a rigid structure. The Clothesline Method helps the instructor visualize the learning journey and creatively arrange lessons in a way that supports gradual growth, flexibility, and confidence-building.

3. Why are empathy maps important to develop the curriculum?

Empathy maps are important because adult beginners often bring fears, insecurities, and self-doubt into the classroom. Empathy maps help the teacher understand what students are feeling, thinking, and struggling with, allowing lessons to be designed in a way that is encouraging, supportive, and accessible.

4. Why are adjustments and improvements to the curriculum necessary?

Adjustments and improvements are necessary because every group of students is different and progresses at a different pace. Since curriculum is a living document, it must be adapted based on student progress, feedback, and needs in order to remain effective, relevant, and supportive.

Introduction: style of dance, working in groups, videos, (body energy space time relationships) teaching them how to use all 5.