Curricula for your Culture

Education of all types and contexts tends to start with what someone, somewhere has decided is important content and then considers the delivery and assessment process only to ensure that the “important” learning has taken place.

This process of curricula or program design has some problems, a few are listed below:

  • Often misses the content that the learner really needs
  • Is slow to innovate as it can be stuck at a “top down” level
  • The teaching delivery is ineffective as it is isolated from content
  • Assessment, set to the content, is not used as a tool to innovate
  • Frequently the learner becomes disconnected and uninspired
  • The teacher or trainer, aware of the problems, is not consulted


-John Holt

What makes a Curriculum for your Culture?

The processes we use are designed to upend the assumptions of school or workplace training through a research process with the people and practices that make up your culture. Some examples of practices we have used before include:

What does the learner value as important? Let’s begin with what they see as necessary to their work. Then we can move onto learning needs and preferences to harness their best skills. Each learner will have varying capabilities, how can we enhance their skills whilst working with their capacity?

What does the trainer or teacher need for us to know in designing the content? How can the curriculum enhance their ability to teach and engage the student? During their engagement experiences, what do they notice has success?

What can the people who need “the job done” learn from the learner and teacher? How can this feedback impact on the content and assessment choices? What is the culture we have found and how do we work with it or how do we design the process of change to shift it?

Components of the program

We will design a program to suit your culture and needs. Some core program inclusions usually include:

Community ID
Community ID

Before we can start anything there is always the need to ID your community. For examples, profiles of cogntive styles, developmental stages and belief structures.

Culture Capture
Culture Capture

Using an approach tailored to your context we will capture the practices, stories, beliefs, rituals and habits of your culture.

Challenge Deck
Challenge Deck

Often a community will find that they need aspirational processes in-place to work towards. By setting those goals into a challenge deck, the whole community can take on the challenge for change.

Curriculum Map
Curriculum Map

Once we have the content, teaching method and form of assessment, we can map out the curriculum, teaching and assessment you and your community want and need to learn.

Every Culture is Different

This design package is tailored to your culture, your timeline and finances. For further information CONTACT Jen.