The Curious Path Curriculum
Thoughtful curriculum does not happen by accident.
My curriculum-design process brings together academic standards, child development, psychology, educational research, inclusive practices, and nearly 20 years of classroom experience. Every unit begins with what students need to learn, but it is shaped by what children need in order to engage, understand, remember, and apply that learning.
This page is growing alongside the curriculum.
The Curious Path Curriculum and this design portfolio are both works in progress. As I develop, review, test, and refine the curriculum, I will continue updating this page to reflect the standards, research, classroom experience, design decisions, and inclusive practices guiding the process. New examples, resources, and insights will be added as the work develops.
My design process
Curriculum design requires more than gathering activities around a topic. I begin with the intended learning, examine how knowledge develops over time, and then design multiple ways for students to access, practise, demonstrate, and connect what they learn.
Review national and state standards
I begin by examining relevant national and state learning standards to identify essential knowledge, skills, expectations, and progression. Standards provide the academic foundation, but they are interpreted thoughtfully so that learning remains coherent, purposeful, and appropriate for the students using it.
- National learning expectations
- State academic standards
- Grade-level skills and concepts
- Connections across subject areas
Study existing curriculum progression
I review curriculum frameworks, progression summaries, and existing programmes to understand how other designers sequence knowledge and skills. I consider what works well, where gaps or unnecessary repetition may occur, and whether the progression supports meaningful understanding rather than isolated practice.
- Strengths in existing approaches
- Gaps in content or progression
- Unnecessary repetition
- Opportunities for stronger connections
Identify what children need to learn
Academic expectations are only one part of meaningful learning. Students also need communication, problem-solving, self-advocacy, executive-functioning, social-emotional, and independence skills. I consider what children need now and what will help them continue learning successfully in the future.
- Academic knowledge and skills
- Communication and self-advocacy
- Problem-solving and flexible thinking
- Confidence and growing independence
Design for all learners from the beginning
Inclusive access is built into the curriculum rather than added later. I pay particular attention to the needs of neurodivergent learners, including students with autism, ADHD, communication differences, sensory needs, emotional and behavioural needs, trauma histories, and varied learning profiles.
- Clear language and visual supports
- Predictable structure and routines
- Multiple ways to engage and respond
- Sensory and regulation considerations
Apply psychology and child-development knowledge
My graduate study in psychology, with a child and family focus, informs how I think about development, motivation, attention, memory, behaviour, relationships, emotional regulation, and the effects of stress and trauma. This knowledge helps me design learning that reflects how children actually develop and learn.
- Child and adolescent development
- Attention, memory, and motivation
- Emotional regulation and wellbeing
- Behaviour as communication
Examine research and evidence
I review relevant educational and psychological studies to understand which approaches are supported by evidence, which require caution, and which may not work equally well for every learner. Research is considered alongside professional judgement, student response, classroom context, and the practical realities faced by teachers and families.
- Evidence-supported teaching practices
- Learning, memory, and engagement
- Inclusive and neurodiversity-affirming practice
- Evidence about what does not work
Draw upon nearly 20 years in education
Classroom experience provides an essential bridge between theory and practice. My work across mainstream, intervention, and specialist settings has taught me to recognise barriers, adapt instruction, create curriculum, support regulation, and design systems students and educators can realistically use.
- Students from early childhood through adolescence
- Mainstream and specialist environments
- Individual, small-group, and whole-class instruction
- Collaboration with families and specialists
Connect learning across subjects
The curriculum uses meaningful topics, including science and the natural world, as a foundation for connected learning. Literacy, mathematics, science, social studies, communication, and social-emotional development can reinforce one another rather than existing as unrelated pieces of the school day.
- Purposeful interdisciplinary connections
- Reading and writing in meaningful contexts
- Mathematical thinking and problem-solving
- Curiosity, observation, and investigation
An ongoing cycle of development
Curriculum development is iterative. Each element is reviewed and refined as the larger structure becomes clearer and new evidence, examples, and practical considerations emerge.
Designed with purpose
The Curious Path Curriculum is being developed as an inclusive, interdisciplinary approach to learning that combines academic expectations with genuine curiosity, thoughtful progression, and an understanding of the whole child.
This portfolio will continue to document the thinking behind the curriculum as well as examples of lessons, resources, adaptations, and student-learning pathways.
Every learner deserves curriculum that recognises both what they need to learn and what they need in order to learn it.
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