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SIMPLICITY (including de-implementing)

—



<sup>‘Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

La semplicita e la perfetta raffinatezza. / Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication’
Leonardo Da Vinci

“If you can’t explain it simply,
you don’t understand it well enough”
Albert Einstein

‘It is very simple
to be happy,
but it is very difficult
to be simple.’ 
Rabindranath Tagore

“You must avoid that the curriculum gets overloaded and all lose sight of its coherence. That’s why we need a regular ‘curriculum cleansing’ - and we do it way too little”</sup> Sluijsmans 2023, Openbare les / Accepting her chair University of Applied Science Rotterdam

<sup>If you can’t explain it simply,
you don’t understand it well enough.
Albert Einstein

'Ha um gosto de vitoria e encanto na condicao de ser simples.
Nao e preciso muito para ser muito.'

'There is a sense of victory and delight in the condition of being simple.

You don't need a lot to be a lot.'
Lina Bo Bardi / Italian Brazilian architect,
winner Venice Architecture Biennale’s
Special Golden Lion award 2021

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:
(...) a time to plant and a time to uproot.</sup>
Ecclesiastes 3: 1-2, a poem read out loud by Waelen in the workshop ‘Opruimen van curricula: ontwerpen van rituelen', [Cleaning up curricula: the design of rituals], Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 13 November 2025

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@studioblended.com +31 6 42 47 29 69

EDITORIAL: SETTING THE SCENE

© 2026 STUDIOBLENDED https://www.studioblended.com/Simplicity

This page is underway. Would you like to already exchange about it? Feel free to contact us directly:
Tikvah Breimer (MSc MAEd MSc)
tikvah@studioblended.com +31 6 42 47 29 69

Where does this design angle come in?
Simplicity, and de-implementing is part of the technical resilience and the fit for purpose framework, and comes in in the very early (re)design stages of a course, training or (master)degree.

A good way to de-implement is with a workshop ‘big ideas’ or a Design Studio.

THINKPIECE

Why not read our Thinkpiece (2 pager) - forthcoming, to discover more?

SIMPLICITY

RELATED PROJECTS BY LEADING THINKERS

Have a look at the so-called SED (Social emotional dimension) methodology by the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. Curricula are often times getting fuller during redeesign: new content enters, but little disappears. The SED-methodology helps with mindfully taking out and rearranging aspects of the curriculum with an eye for the emotional side of this process. It’s not only about what you take out, but also about how you do that. This helps you to create more calm and overview - for yourself and for your students. In the various phases of this proces it is helpful to work with rituals. This brings us to a challenge: how can you shape a ritual during the educational redesign process?

AUDIO PODCAST

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

OUR FINITE SET OF DESIGN ANGLES

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

REFERENCES

Boonstra, J. and Dubbeldam, M. (eds.) 2025. Veranderkunde als professie: Bijdragen aan organisatieverandering en maatschappelijke transities. [The knowledge of change as a profession: contributing to organisational change and societal transitions]. Meppel: Boom.

Fiddelaers‑Jaspers, R. (2011) Met mijn ziel onder de arm: tussen welkom heten en afscheid nemen. [With my soul under my arm: between welcoming and saying goodbye). Heeze: In de Wolken.

Frontier, T. (2023) Teaching with Clarity: How to Prioritize and Do Less So Students Understand More. Arlington, Virginia: ASCD

Hamilton, A., Hattie, J., & William, D. (2023). Making room for impact: A de-implementation guide for educators. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press.

Kohlrieser, G. (2006) Hostage at the Table: How Leaders Can Overcome Conflict, Influence Others and Raise Performance. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Kondo, M. (2025). What is the KonMari MethodTM?. Available: https://konmari.com/about-the-konmari-method/ (Accessed: November 14, 2025).

Kondo, M. (2014). The life-changing magic of tidying up; The Japanese art of decluttering and organisation. Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group.

OCW Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap (2019). Strategische agenda hoger onderwijs en onderzoek: Houdbaar voor de toekomst. Rijksoverheid. [Strategic agenda Higher Education and Research: Sustainability for the future]. Available: https://open.overheid.nl/documenten/ronl-24dfc024-bfd8-4a4b-b3b1-77f94abc16d9/pdf (Accessed: November 14, 2025).

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2020a). Curriculum (re)design: A series of thematic reports from the OECD Education 2030 project. Available: https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/about/projects/edu/education-2040/2-1-curriculum-design/ brochure-thematic-reports-on-curriculum-redesign.pdf (Accessed: November 14, 2025).

OECD (2020b), Curriculum overload: A way forward, OECD Publishing, Paris, Available: https://doi.org/10.1787/3081ceca-en (Accessed: November 14, 2025).

ScienceGuide (2023) ‘Haal af en toe de bezem door het curriculum’ [Now and then use a sweep to declutter the curriculum], Openbare Les [Public lecture of acceptance of the chair at a University of Applied Sciences] Dominique Sluijsmans, Hogeschool Rotterdam. Available: https://www.scienceguide.nl/2023/03/haal-af-en-toe-de-bezem-door-het-curriculum/ (Accessed: October 27, 2025).

Sluijsmans, D. and Sluijsmans, L. (2015) ‘Voorjaarsschoonmaak in the toetsenhuis’ [Spring cleaning in the house of assessment], Professioneelbegeleiden, guestcolumn, 2015-02, May. Available: https://www.professioneelbegeleiden.nl/voorjaarsschoonmaak-in-het-toetshuis (Accessed: October 27, 2025).

Thornby K-A., Brazeau G.A., Chen A.M.H. (2023). Reducing student workload through curricular efficiency. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 87(7), 100015. Available:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajpe.2022.12.002 (Accessed: November 14, 2025).

Veenbaas, W. & Weisfelt, P. (2007) De transitie‑ of contactcirkel: welkom, hechten, intimiteit, afscheid, rouwen, betekenis geven. [The transition or contactcircle: welcome, attaching, intimacy, saying goodbye, mourning, giving meaning (in: Phoenix Opleidingen).

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Centre for Teaching & Learning 2025. ‘Opruimen van curricula: ontwerpen van rituelen', [Cleaning up curricula: the design of rituals]. Workshop, November 13. Available: https://vu.nl/nl/onderwijs/meer-over/de-sed-methodiek-opruimen-van-over-volle-curricula-in-het-hoger-onderwijs (Accessed November 14, 2025).

Waelen, J., Remmers, H., Buursma, W., Voogd, S. and Grijpma. J.W. 2025. De SED-methodiek: Opruimen van (over)volle curricula in het hoger onderwijs. [The SED-methodology: Cleaning up overloaded curricula in Higher Education]. Amsterdam: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Centre for Teaching & Learning. Available: https://assets-us-01.kc-usercontent.com/d8b6f1f5-816c-005b-1dc1-e363dd7ce9a5/db959e0b-149d-4b69-8d2e-a4e4c198027b/Whitepaper%20SEDmethodiek_DEF.pdf (Accessed: November 14, 2025).

Van Wielink, J., Wilhelm, L. (2017) Professioneel begeleiden bij verlies. [Professional guidance in times of loss). 1st edn. Amsterdam: Boom.

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