1/28/2026 - Week 3 / Meeting 5: Curriculum: The Holistic Curriculum

 

 


I

 

Unit: Curriculum

Theme: The Holistic Curriculum


Introduction

In education, a curriculum is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view of the student's experiences in terms of the educator's or school's instructional goals.


II

Learning Objectives

 

  • Understand the holistic approach 
  • Explain the main aspects of a holistic curriculum
  • Gain awareness of the benefits the holistic curriculum provides
  • Experience the planning of a holistic curriculum


III

Main Lesson

Brainstorming

 Educational learning theories

There are five primary educational learning theories: behaviorism, cognitive, constructivism, humanism, and connectivism. 

 
 
Gardner's Multiple Intelligences

The theory claims that human beings have different ways in which they process data, each being independent. The eight types of intelligence described by Gardner include: musical-rhythmic, visual-spatial, verbal-linguistic, logical-mathematical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal and naturalistic.

 

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

 
Maslow's hierarchy of needs is an idea in psychology proposed by American psychologist Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper "A Theory of Human Motivation" in the journal Psychological Review. Maslow subsequently extended the idea to include his observations of humans' innate curiosity.

 

1

Macro-Curriculum

In curriculum design, macro means understanding where you want to end up before you begin.

 

2

Micro-Curriculum

The micro-curriculum relates to the specific content within topics or sub-topics, set out as specific knowledge, skills and experiences.


3

a) Understanding the 4 C's of Mental Health

Connection: Building healthy relationships. Communication: Expressing thoughts and feelings clearly. Coping: Managing stress in healthy ways. Confidence: Believing in your worth and ability to overcome challenges. (5)

b) Four pillars of a healthy mind according to Dr. Richard Davidson

 Davidson shared the four pillars—awareness, connection, insight, and purpose— that he believes contribute to a healthy mind while acknowledging there may be other key elements yet to be discovered. (7)

 

c) Understanding the 4 Pillars of Mind Up

 MindUP used the four pillars of neuroscience, positive psychology, mindful awareness and social and emotional learning. The program uses the evidence-based CASEL competencies, which include social awareness, responsible decision making, relationship skills, self-management and self-awareness. (6)

d) How MindUP relates to Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
 
 MindUp is a social and emotional learning program intended to promote cognitive control, self-regulation, well-being, and prosocial behaviors in fourth- to seventh-grade students via a series of lessons in which “mindful attention” is taught and practiced in a classroom setting.(8)
 
 
Mind Up for Life

https://mindup.org


Go to Mind Up for Schools > Mind Up for Educators and Schools

Program Details: 

  • Designed with every classroom in mind

  • Positive School-wide culture and climate

  • Benefit for Teachers: An Optimistic Classroom


IV

A Note to Remember

 

While the micro focuses on the tiny details of a topic, the macro is the big picture, and too often, we can lose sight of it. In curriculum design, macro means understanding where you want to end up before you begin.


V

Case Study

Goldie Hawn

Goldie Jeanne Hawn (born November 21, 1945) is an American actress, producer, and singer. She rose to fame on the NBC sketch comedy program Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1968–1970), before going on to receive the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Cactus Flower (1969). Hawn maintained bankable star status for more than three decades.


Goldie Jeanne Hawn (born in Washington DC, November 21, 1945) is an American actress, producer, and singer. She rose to fame on the NBC sketch comedy program Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1968–1970), before going on to receive the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Cactus Flower (1969).

 

Hawn was raised Jewish. She began taking ballet and tap dance lessons at the age of three and danced in the corps de ballet of the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo production of The Nutcracker in 1955. She made her stage debut in 1964, playing Juliet in a Virginia Shakespeare Festival production of Romeo and Juliet.

 

By 1964, she ran and taught in a ballet school, having dropped out of American University where she was majoring in drama. In 1964, Hawn made her professional dancing debut in a production of Can-Can at the Texas Pavilion of the New York World's Fair. She began working as a professional dancer a year later and appeared as a go-go dancer in New York City and at the Peppermint Box in New Jersey.


 


(51:23 - 1:08)

Mind Up for Life


 

VI
 
Discussion Questions  
 
1. What would be a holistic approach to a school program?
 
2. Describe the optimistic classroom 

 
 
VII


Activity



Get in groups and (based on your previous design) plan a holistic curriculum that includes the elements listed bellow to achieve happiness for children. Integrate these elements with the curriculum you designed already during our previous class.

1. Brain Break

2. Teaching children how to learn about their brain and how to use it.

Brain Teaching
a) Focus
b) Happiness
c) Kindness
d) Gratitude journaling

3. Teach children Brain Fitness:
a) Resilience
b) Self-Awareness
c) Critical Thinking

4. Teach Children how to manage their own brain/reality.
 
Brain Management: What to do about it?


5. Work with parents.
 
Brain Maintenance: Follow up with parents so that the child's home environment is consistent with what has been taught in class.

6. Include evidence based research/Positive Psychology.
 
Brain Research: Familiarize yourself with the latest evidence based research in the Science of Learning that relates to ESL and Brain Fitness.
 
Conclusion
 
Brain-breaks and gratitude-journaling are two, very tangible (measurable), elements that can be added to the general curriculum.

VIII

Journaling

 

 IX

Glossary

macro-curriculum: The overall understanding of where you want to end up before you begin designing the curriculum.

micro-curriculum: the specific content within topics or sub-topics, set out as specific knowledge, skills and experiences.

brain breaks: In the classroom, brain breaks are quick, structured breaks using physical movement, mindfulness exercises, or sensory activities.

gratitude journals: journals where students reflect on their days and remember the good parts. Students who have tried out this exercise tend to express their gratitude for a variety of things, including friends and family, their teachers and school, and basic needs like food and clothing.

holistic curriculum: A holistic curriculum is the type of curriculum that doesn't just aim to teach academic subjects but also aims to develop a child holistically by fostering their psychological, emotional, moral, spiritual, and physical growth.

 

X

Sources

1. Understanding Macro in Curriculum Design. https://blog.eduplanet21.com/2018/09/25/understanding-macro-curriculum-design

2. Understanding Micro in Curriculum. Design.https://blog.eduplanet21.com/2018/09/25/understanding-macro-curriculum-design 

3. Gratitude Journals for Students. https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/gratitude_journal_for_students

4. Holistic Curriculum, and Benefits and Challenges of Progressive Education.https://scholainternational.com/blog/2021/05/20/holistic-curriculum-and-benefits-and-challenges-of-progressive-education/

5. Lemon Bay Mental Wellness Center.  https://lemonbaymentalwellness.com/what-are-the-4-cs-of-mental-health/

 6. Mind Up. Be You. https://beyou.edu.au/resources/implementation-tools/programs-directory/m/mindup

7.  Human Flourishing and the Mind-Body Connection. https://www.fammed.wisc.edu/human-flourishing-and-the-mind-body-connection/

XI

Student's Work


Destiny Curry
RE: Curriculum Design/ Holistic Approach (Brain Fitness) - Jan 28th

TIPS to include in the curriculum 

Check ins 

Incude Brain Breaks 3 times a day. 

Breathing excersises ( taking a brain break) 

Gratitude journaling ( can include maybe an act of kindness) 

Something to measure you own outloook or your own reality 

Closing 



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