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Workshop ‘big ideas’ - identify hypes, undercurrents, emergent ideas and building blocks in your program

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<sup>“It was inspiring and fruitful [for me as participant of the workshop]. I realised a course has baseline building blocks versus the trends and hypes that come and go. I realised where to invest in most. I am taking this further for my own field for sure.”

dr. Roberto Rocco Senior Associate Professor of Spatial Planning and Strategy at TU/Delft Faculty of Architecture and Built Environment, Governance specialist focusing on Spatial Justice and Governance for Just Transitions.</sup>

Photo: The AmsterdamInstitute for Metropolitan Studies (AMS), and the workshop in the afternoon. Curious? Read more below or directly on our events page.

Are you seeking to transform the scope of your course or degree, and do you long to go over and beyond the current set of learning objectives in the curriculum, but unsure where to begin?

Are you about to design a new program, and would you like to scope with your teaching team what the content contours might be?

Or perhaps you must re-design a program, due to budget cuts, and wonder what the essence is content-wise that should remain, and how to keep things simple?

We offer a playful workshop that inspires, motivates and ignites your academic team of lecturers/researchers and in co-creation explores the horizon of what’s possible.
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Facts and figures

Startingdate: we can determine the best moment with you

Duration: one morning / afternoon [full day also possible]

For who: for academic lecturers/researchers involved in the execution of your program / course / degree

Price: €125 excl VAT p.p. (with 10 participants, half a day)
See below for a breakdown

Language: English

Location: we agree on a suitable location together
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Transformation

Unleash the power of big ideas for your course or degree. Big ideas create more oxygen and horizon, where sometimes learning objectives can stifle. Together we identify hypes, undercurrents, emergent big ideas, and building blocks in your curriculum. With big ideas we can start to think about how your curriculum might become resilient - and stand the test of time up to a decade (Breimer 2026 - forthcoming).

Rather than a top-down approach, we source within your research/teaching team, what their insider knowledge is of the hype cycle of key big ideas in their respective fields. In a hands-on way, we identify which big ideas are going down, which ones are lasting, and which ones are emergent.

Together in co-creation we strategize the scope of your course/degree, by placing the big ideas in a time frame of paradigm shifts. Once we visualise the outcome of this scoping, you will realise just how closely connected this is to the financial health of your course/degree over time. The reason is, the simplicity that the excercise brings.

We equally look at the human resilience of your team. We exchange on teacher generations, and where each of our working life timespan is placed, and with that, what we deeply believe in, and find meaningful and fulfilling to work on.

We don’t focus on instruction or didactics. There are already plenty of teacher training courses such as the Basis Kwalificatie Onderwijs (BKO) out there, that focus on didactics. The point to us is, not to tell your teacherteam what they should do, but to provide them with resources that may inform their educational artistry (after Stenhouse 1988 and Eisner 2001). 

It is very refreshing to have an external, independent senior advisor lead a teaching team to explore new horizons and lead the dialogue and discussions within your teaching team.
The independent senior advisor that leads the workshop - truly comes in as an equal partner, to each of your academic team members, and to the group. Through visualisation, hands on work, provocations, dialogue and stimulation, gradually a new picture emerges for your course or degree.

We turn theory, into something actionable for you as course or degree director. The outcomes and outputs of this workshop - a graphic design of the paradigm shifts in your course/degree - offer plenty of input for further conversations with your team. Importantly therefore, afterwards, we dialogue with you and align how you can make this practical in your actual course or degree, and can take it further and forward.
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Program for the participants

[A full day program is possible as well]

Prior to the workshop, as a way to ‘flip the classroom’, participants receive an invitation and access to a Thinkpiece (2 pager).

A hands-on 2.5 hour exclusive and bespoke hands-on session for your curated group. It includes a 20 min. Keynote.

Follow up is with a professional visualisation of the outcomes/outputs by a graphic designer, coupled with an Audio Podcast (20 min.).
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Program with you as course/degree/program director

We follow the following set-up

Prior to delivery, we have a scoping call / in person meeting to co-create a bespoke workshop for your team, and define what success looks like.

Afterwards, we have both an immediate touch based, and a reflection session remotely with you as coordinator, evaluating impact and spin-off. We usually do this 1 season after the workshop for the most authentic and genuine evaluation and way forward.
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Impact

The impact of one single workshop, risks to be almost neglectable. Reality proves that such a workshop for a teaching team, is more about orientation, ‘tasting’ something new - and then going back home inspired, but already consumed by the day to day responsibilities.

A real change in behavior through teacher professionalisation, takes time. At least 15-40 hours (Darling-Hammond et al., 2009 & Van Veen et al., 2010 [Dutch]).

This is why, first of all, our blended workshop typically has a strong training of trainers (TOT) component, because we believe that this is the most sustainable way to introduce a design angle to your team, maximising its impact over time.

Secondly, we offer you the opportunity to integrate the workshop ‘big ideas’ in an even more profound trajectory with you and your team. Have a look for example at our Design Studio.
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Meet the trainers and their expertise

Tikvah Breimer (MSc MAEd MSc) is an independent senior advisor, teacher trainer, and director of STUDIOBLENDED.

The graphic designer is part of the freelancer pool.

Price

The full package, is €1250,- excl VAT (21%), excl travel costs and excl material costs (printing posters). The package price includes the graphic designer.

We expect our clients on location to provide for:
- A suitable venue on campus [alternatively we can suggest an attractive venue outside]
- Flipchards and flipchart paper (number depending on group size)
- Markers, notes that can be attached to paper
- A projector and a screen
- Refreshments and - where applicable - lunch
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Contact

Feel free to email or call our lead and independent senior advisor, directly. tikvah@studioblended.com
+31 6 42 47 29 69


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Key projects

STUDIOBLENDED is currently partnering with an institute for capacity building within a European University, to co-create an impactful MOOC for this client (March 2025 - March 2026). As part of the Design Studio, a workshop ‘big ideas’ was given, which proved pivotal for the subsequent curriculum design.

European funded program.

More information follows soon incl. quote.


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STUDIOBLENDED joined the academic teaching team of MSc Metropolitan Analysis Design and Engineering (MADE) at the Amsterdam Institute for Metropolitan Studies (AMS) to kick-off the new academic year. MSc MADE was founded some 8 years ago. How can it remain relevant and cutting-edge well into the coming years? This is the authentic question of the program director.

The result of the workshop: The teaching team becomes aligned around a shared understanding of the big ideas of the AMS/MADE educational program - and how these evolve over time. The teaching team can take this design forward into futher time-resilient and innovative educational design and development. 




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References

Breimer, Tikvah (2026) Resilient education that stands the test of time - by design. Thinkpiece. Forthcoming.

Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M. E., Gardner, M. 2017. Effective Teacher Professional Development. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute.

Eisner, E.W. 2001. From episteme to phronesis to artistry in the study and improvement of teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18(4), 375-385.

Stenhouse, L. 1988 Artistry and teaching: The teacher as focus of research and development. Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, 4(1), 43-51.

Veen, Van Klaas, Zwart, Rosanne, Meirink Jacobiene & Nico Verloop 2010. Professionele ontwikkeling van leraren, een reviewstudie naar effectieve kenmerken van professionaliseringsinterventies van leraren. ICLON / Expertisecentrum Leren van Docenten. Reviewstudie in opdracht van en gesubsidieerd door NWO-PROO.

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