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HUMAN RESILIENCE:
BY DESIGN

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RECEIVE A CALL TO DISCOVER MORE

^{“Enjoy your day, in your life.”}
Tikvah Breimer, lead and founder StudioBlended

^{“I never even knew
that I needed teacher training. And now that I have had it with StudioBlended,
I cannot believe just how much it changed my life - the technique, the
pedagogy, the human resilience.”}
Patricia Samora, full professor architecture and urbanism, PUC Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Are you curious for more? Would you like to get in touch? Feel free to contact our lead directly for any questions or inquiries you may have. Tikvah Breimer (MSc MAEd MSc) Director tikvah@studioblended.com +31 6 42 47 29 69

EDITORIAL: SETTING THE SCENE

© 2026 STUDIOBLENDED https://www.studioblended.com/Human-resilience

We are witnessing a call for the revaluing of the craftmanship of the teacher, and of the teacher itself (see e.g. Bulterman 2024). Biesta started to make an explicit case for the rediscovery of teaching (Biesta 2017 in Biesta 2022, p. 62). He refers to the over-focus on effectiveness and “learnification” which have ‘moved “the learner” to the centre of the educational endeavour and manoevered the teacher to the side-line - coach, facilitator, felllow-learner, friend, critical or otherwise’ (Biesta 2022, p. 69).

Biesta (2012 in Biesta 2022, p. 62) writes: ‘This (rediscovery of teaching) is partly in order to restore teaching to its proper place in the educational endeavour - to give teaching back to education - and not to see it as something outdated and of the past that we should be embarrassed about as educators.’ Biesta (2022, p. 62) writes: ‘Wheareas learning is accidental to education, teaching, (...) is essential to education’.

Indeed, education is a verb, that is, something educators do (Biesta 2022, p. 58). Biesta does not focus on students and their learning, exactly because he considers education as a verb, and with a particular interest: in the grown-up existence-as-subject of those we educate (Biesta 2022, p. 58-59). ‘There is always the question what each of us will do with what we have learned and with how we have developed and, more specifically, what we will do when it matters’ (Biesta 2022, p. 75). ‘Without subjectification education runs the risk of becoming the “management of objects” (Biesta 2022, p. 76).

‘Educational work is a given, not taken - which means that the basic educational “gesture” is that of teaching’ (Biesta 2022, p. 75). You can also understand this as the difference between “learning from” or “being taught by” (see Biesta 2013, and also Roth 2011 in Biesta 2022, p. 59, Marion 1998, 2002, 2022, 2016 in Biesta 2022, p. 63-64, 69). (Biesta 2022, p. 59) explains: “Being taught by” is precisely not about what I try to learn from or about the world outside me, it is precisely not about how I try to make sense and come to a degree of understanding of what is outside me. ‘Being taught by’ is about what comes to me, what is given to me, what arrives with me, irrespective of what I was looking for and irrespective of what I desired or was hoping for - which means that it always interrupts. This interruption is not necessarily a bad thing, it’s first of all a fact of life, even if it can be an inconvenient fact.’

It is against this background, that we can understand the ‘human resilience’ of the teacher. For us, at STUDIOBLENDED the passion for the wellbeing of the teacher/trainer/coordinator runs deeper still, and started from our very own roots and lived experience as teachers.

Our independent senior advisor in curriculum design is originally a teacher, and a proud teacher. She is not an outsider but an insider with experience in a spectrum of institutions. We are not educational advisors or technocrats. Instead, we work with pedagogy and craftmanship. We really get the practice of teaching - and help you to realise good education - by design.

Where does this design angle come in?
Human resilience is not one thing we do, it is a deep value intervowen in every single technical curriculum design. That is how we make it concrete, and how curricula become truly sustainable, and resilient.

RECEIVE A CALL TO DISCOVER MORE

KEYNOTE

Curious about our philosophy for human resilience? Listen to the 15 min. keynote by Tikvah Breimer (MSc MAEd MSc) during our event in the conference on the Future of Europe, February 25, 2022. Here, Tikvah Breimer explains how technical and human resilience are intertwided; two sides of the same coin.

Prefer to read? Transcript

HUMAN RESILIENCE

Typically, course/training/degree coordinators are highly educated people who need a lot of autonomy, mastery, and purpose in their work to feel job satisfaction. At the same time they face enormous pressure to perform: to publish, to bring in finance for research or projects, to ensure high ranking of education at their institution.

We have seen coordinators’ wellbeing suffer due to this pressure which often results in low staff retention at their institutions. At our Studio we include human resilience as a design quality.

Elsewhere the focus is mainly on how academic staff can improve their own skills and capabilities to become more resilient.

The cutting edge of our Studio is a focus on the systemic pre-conditions in the curriculum design necessary to become and remain resilient whilst designing, developing and delivering a course/training.

We believe that human resilience and technical resilience of your curriculum design, are two sides of the same coin. This design angle ensures the course/training developed and delivered is in step with its teaching staff, so that instead of being exhausted, cynical and losing confidence in their capacity to perform, the coordinator’s work enriches and enlivens them.

Imagine a course or degree that holds space for your most important asset, your teaching team. Not only their health and wellbeing, also their passion for their field, their expertise, their honest needs in quality of work.

That’s where STUDIOBLENDED comes in - by design.

KEY PROJECTS

RE-DESIGN OF A COURSE for capacity development
—
2025
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STUDIOBLENDED came alongside the course coordinator of the longest running short course at IHS/Erasmus University in its 105th edition. It went from being a 6 months course, to a 3 months and this year even a 5 weeks course for the first time. The problem of this client? Overload in the curriculum and schedule, it’s simply too much! Packed.

Tikvah Breimer (MSc MAEd MSc) gave advice on the simplification of the content, the modular approach, and on the schedule. There was special attention for the lecturers, as this took the lionshare of the time and budget. And equally, there was attention for the human resilience of the course coordinator.

Result: The course coordinator and lecturers are enabled to teach with clarity, doing less so that participants learn more. The coordinator gains insight and skill in how to effectively interact with lecturers on how their session fits within a certian module and the overall body of knowledge of the course. Through that the coordinator is equipped in how to maximize the impact of the lectures on the learning curve of the participants.

^{“Tikvah made me feel like I
am not alone in the challenges of overloaded curriculum, stressed course
participants and lecturers, and overworked course coordinators in the struggle
to achieve quality adult learning experience.

I was
in a moment in my carreer where I missed challenge, and so longed for something
refreshing and for experimenting. And with the Studio(Blended) we started
daring to do that.

So often, course
coordinators are seen as just administrative and logistic coordinators,
handling all the participants, schedules, lecturers, excursions, solving issues
etc.

By starting to work with the Studio’s open-building framework for the big ideas
of the course – and communicating with clarity to each and every lecturer which
learning objectives I wanted them to focus on in their sessions – suddenly I
was back firmly in the content seat. I am now the CEO of this course: advising
the lecturers, how their session contribute to the whole of the body of
knowledge of the course. I feel so much more acknowledged as a course
coordinator that gives direction to the content of the course, and receive very
positive reactions from all involved.“}
Charmae Pyl Wissink-Nercua (she/her)
Specialist in Urban Land, Housing Development and Capacity Building
Course Manager, Sustainable Urban Development (SUD)
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS), Erasmus University, Rotterdam

RESILIENCE COURSE - remote teacher training in technical and human resilience

—
2021
—

^{“During the pandemic, we had to learn how to use
new pedagogical tools to work remotely away from the students. This new way of
working seemed full of infinite alternatives and I felt too overwhelmed to look
into it. What makes the most sense for my practice? How can I find time to
learn new techniques given I already have an overloaded schedule? It is in this
aspect that Tikvah’s advise and training was so effective for me. In my case, it felt like a
revolution.

I never even knew that I needed advise and training on curriculum design. And now that I have had it with StudioBlended, I cannot believe just how much it changed my life - the technique, the pedagogy, the human resilience.

From my very first meetings with Tikvah, she
guided me on a journey through my own routine.

In addition to a calmed agenda, I learned from Tikvah how to develop a clear,
simple, and effective structure for the design of the courses I teach. I now
have more quality time to dedicate to other activities, such as research and
individual student guidance. My anxiety has diminished, and the students also
realized that my courses are well organized and rooted in strong guidelines.

And it works because, instead of another "method", what Tikvah
delivers is individually tailored consultancy. She first listens, then she
suggests new paths and possibilities for implementing our work differently,
without losing what each individual cares about most.”}
Patricia Samora, full professor architecture and urbanism, PUC Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil

AUDIO PODCAST

Prefer to read? Looking for resources? Transcript
Listen to A) dosage on: Acast Spotify Apple Listen to B) slow productivity on: Acast Spotify Apple
Release March 20 / June 21 ‘23

PUBLICATIONS

Report ‘Resilience and the (non)sense of teacher training in the South of Europe.’ Particpatory Action Research (PAR) in the Conference on the Future of Europe.

REFERENCES

Biesta, G. (2022) World-Centered Education; A view for the present. New York and London: Routledge.

Bulterman, Jacquelien 2024. Het lerarentekort; pleidooi voor vakmanschap. Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam, 2nd edition [Dutch].

More design angles we use

Technical resilience
Big ideas
Paradigm shifts/decade strong
Simplicity and decluttering
Human resilience
Modular
Innovative and deep pedagogy
Assesment / evaluation
Time dimension
Evidence-based design
Financial health and resilience by (re)design
Multi- Inter- and transdisciplinary
Flexibilisation and personalisation
Blended

Resilient education that stands the test of time - by design.

HUMAN RESILIENCE: BY DESIGN