Knowledge-Rich Curriculum and Neurodivergent Learners
- NiE Project
- 6 days ago
- 1 min read
A knowledge-rich curriculum outlines the knowledge, skills and practices that students should learn, not just encounter, in a specific and coherent sequence. Some neurodivergent learners will approach acquiring, grappling with, retaining, using and demonstrating knowledge in ways that are different from the norm. Educators are the interface between curriculum and learners, and need to keep the core goal of real learning, not just encountering knowledge, at the forefront.
Knowledge
Some neurodivergent learners may organise knowledge in more connected, conceptual or associative ways. Kaiako can structure content around connected conceptual "chunks," loop back and forward within them, and explicitly draw out and model those connections for students.
Flex
Teachers have flexibility in how they implement a knowledge-rich curriculum. Depending on how students are responding, they can flex pace, repetition, transcription (focusing on the most important knowledge rather than just transcribing), and transformation (giving rich, varied ways to transform knowledge, a common strength for neurodivergent learners).
Emotions
Invite emotions into the learning experience, forecast "adaptive" emotions, and respect students' privacy and tolerance for sharing. Remember to include uncomfortable emotions as part of learning, even your own as an educator.
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