"The concept of looking at the curriculum from ‘big ideas’ appealed to me most about this programme. It calls for a broader view, reflecting on what we really need in education today to meet the big societal challenges of our time. Reflecting on this question and integrating the answers into our educational development is crucial. Thinking in terms of ‘big ideas’ also means thinking about what is really important.
I am also now really trying to switch between the metaphorical perspective of big ideas and social urgency on the one hand, and the practical work of educational development on the other. It is a constant balance between zooming out and zooming in, always looking for the fundamental importance of education.
This approach is relevant to anyone involved in curriculum development and revision. The interdisciplinary nature of this programme is hugely instructive. It helps to look at our own field from different perspectives and it brings surprising connections. For instance, I myself suggested the idea of working with the ‘big idea’ of ‘human and planetary flourishing’, from my affinity with the theology of flourishing. Although I could not fully integrate this idea into our programme myself, colleagues from other faculties found it inspiring to look at their own programme from this perspective."
Johan Roeland is associate professor of Media, Religion and Popular Culture and attended the Big Ideas in Curriculum Design course in autumn 2023.
Go to the course Big Ideas in Curriculum Design
