SIMPLICITY and DECLUTTERING
—
RECEIVE A CALL TO DISCOVER MORE
‘Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
La semplicita e la perfetta raffinatezza. / Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication’
Leonardo Da Vinci
‘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” Sluijsmans 2023, Openbare les / Accepting her chair University of Applied Science Rotterdam
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
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
Imagine you and your team want to introduce innovation to the curriculum. Perhaps a future looking, regenerative angle to the curriculum, one that equips students to be change makers in unsustainable and unjust systems in the world. Or, your’e looking to transform your curriculum into a so-called knowledge rich curriculum? Where can you find the space in the current curriculum, for such innovation? And, if budget cuts come, and you must reduce the lenght of your course or degree, or the contact hours, what can guide you in decision-making? How can you ensure the various subjects still align well?
One of the ways, is through simplicity and decluttering.
If you want to uphold quality, you must ensure you review your curriculum on a regular basis. By intentionally promoting the things in your curriculum you value most, and removing anything that distracts from that, you apply the principle of minimalism. As a Studio, we believe such decluttering is one of the ways to achieve ‘simplicity’.
Teaching with clarity requires you to simplify the course/training. Let us lead the way in determining how to prioritize and do less so that students understand more.
A curriculum is never finished, it is always in progress. Internal and external trends and stimuli slip in. These include flexibilisation, internationalisation, digitalisation, new forms of assessment, different learning outcomes, new research projects, even ideas that came up in daily practice.
An overloaded curriculum not only leads to ineffective learning (cognitive overload), it also negatively impacts your wellbeing as coordinator, and that of your teaching team.
Developing a simple curriculum design is actually hard. Allow us to come alongside and partner with you, to ask good questions and help you move forward. Simplicity is part of our value system and resonates with anyone who embraces the beauty and impact of minimalism.
We don’t believe in surface solutions, instead we advise you how to take a structural angle to such simplification. Technical resilience, and modular design are one of your ways forward to get this done. They offer you a fit for purpose framework, which is effective and time resilient. And on that framework you can play with a spectrum of modules, which you can decide to develop and invest in deeply - or just lightly.
Our design studio
Have a look at our design studio to learn more how you can simplify at a very structural level.
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Have a look at the so-called SED 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?
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Prefer to read? Looking for resources? Transcript
Listen to A) dosage on: Acast Spotify Apple
Release March 20 / June 21 ‘23
In this episode on dosage (A), we tackle the problem over so-called ‘overload’ in terms of content in your curriculum. Perhaps to your surprise, we will link it directly to how you prepare for the content in your curriculum design, whether it is a module, course, training or a degree.
We go even beyond that: with technique - you can design for your own human resilience during preparation; your balance, your enjoyment of the simplicity in curriculum design.
Big ideas
Paradigm shifts/decade strong
Human resilience
Modular
Time dimension
Evidence-based design
Financial health and resilience by (re)design
Innovative and deep pedagogy
Assesment / evaluation
Multi- Inter- and transdisciplinary
Designed to be green (and technological simplicity)
Nature and aspirations
Flexibilisation and personalisation
Simplicity and decluttering
Artificial Intelligence
Frontier, T. (2023) Teaching with Clarity: How to Prioritize and Do Less So Students Understand More. Arlington, Virginia: ASCD
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).
Curios? Feel free to contact our senior advisor and teacher trainer directly:
tikvah@studioblended.com
Innovative and deep pedagogy and resilient education that stands the test of time - by design.
One of the ways, is through simplicity and decluttering.
If you want to uphold quality, you must ensure you review your curriculum on a regular basis. By intentionally promoting the things in your curriculum you value most, and removing anything that distracts from that, you apply the principle of minimalism. As a Studio, we believe such decluttering is one of the ways to achieve ‘simplicity’.
Teaching with clarity requires you to simplify the course/training. Let us lead the way in determining how to prioritize and do less so that students understand more.
A curriculum is never finished, it is always in progress. Internal and external trends and stimuli slip in. These include flexibilisation, internationalisation, digitalisation, new forms of assessment, different learning outcomes, new research projects, even ideas that came up in daily practice.
An overloaded curriculum not only leads to ineffective learning (cognitive overload), it also negatively impacts your wellbeing as coordinator, and that of your teaching team.
Developing a simple curriculum design is actually hard. Allow us to come alongside and partner with you, to ask good questions and help you move forward. Simplicity is part of our value system and resonates with anyone who embraces the beauty and impact of minimalism.
We don’t believe in surface solutions, instead we advise you how to take a structural angle to such simplification. Technical resilience, and modular design are one of your ways forward to get this done. They offer you a fit for purpose framework, which is effective and time resilient. And on that framework you can play with a spectrum of modules, which you can decide to develop and invest in deeply - or just lightly.
Our design studio
Have a look at our design studio to learn more how you can simplify at a very structural level.Reltated projects
Have a look at the so-called SED 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?
Our Audio Podcast
‘Preparing for an effective and resilient curriculum design; two guiding principles that transform how you go about its content in all simplicity’
Prefer to read? Looking for resources? Transcript
Listen to A) dosage on: Acast Spotify Apple
Release March 20 / June 21 ‘23
In this episode on dosage (A), we tackle the problem over so-called ‘overload’ in terms of content in your curriculum. Perhaps to your surprise, we will link it directly to how you prepare for the content in your curriculum design, whether it is a module, course, training or a degree.
We go even beyond that: with technique - you can design for your own human resilience during preparation; your balance, your enjoyment of the simplicity in curriculum design.
Related publications
FollowsMore design angles we use
Technical resilienceBig ideas
Paradigm shifts/decade strong
Human resilience
Modular
Time dimension
Evidence-based design
Financial health and resilience by (re)design
Innovative and deep pedagogy
Assesment / evaluation
Multi- Inter- and transdisciplinary
Designed to be green (and technological simplicity)
Nature and aspirations
Flexibilisation and personalisation
Simplicity and decluttering
Artificial Intelligence
References
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).Frontier, T. (2023) Teaching with Clarity: How to Prioritize and Do Less So Students Understand More. Arlington, Virginia: ASCD
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).
Curios? Feel free to contact our senior advisor and teacher trainer directly:
tikvah@studioblended.com
Innovative and deep pedagogy and resilient education that stands the test of time - by design.
StudioBlended Foundation 2025
Prefer to have direct contact?
Feel free:
Tikvah Breimer (MSc MAEd MSc)
Independent senior advisor, teacher trainer, lead
tikvah@studioblended.com
+31 6 42 47 29 69
Non Profit Foundation
Registration Chamber of Commerce
KvK-number 86242598 (Dutch)
VAT identification number
NL 86 39 07 29 5 B01
Bankaccount
NL40 INGB 0709 6156 04
SWIFT/BIC: INGBNL2A
StudioBlended Foundation
Prefer to have direct contact?
Feel free:
Tikvah Breimer (MSc MAEd MSc)
Independent senior advisor, teacher trainer, lead
tikvah@studioblended.com
+31 6 42 47 29 69
Non Profit Foundation
Registration Chamber of Commerce
KvK-number 86242598 (Dutch)
VAT identification number
NL 86 39 07 29 5 B01
Bankaccount
NL40 INGB 0709 6156 04
SWIFT/BIC: INGBNL2A
StudioBlended Foundation
