Embracing Feedback in Curriculum Design
Starting the journey to become a freelance curriculum designer and struggling with embracing feedback? Keep reading for our best tips on how to accept feedback positively.
When I began my journey designing lessons for an ed-tech company eight years ago, I had no idea what I was doing. Although I was used to creating innovative and student-centered lessons, units, and assessments for my students, I never had the time to build out lessons with so much intention.
Nonetheless, when I received an email looking for teacher authors, I worked hard to clean up a lesson I wrote for my K-2 class about place-based learning and landed the job.
My first year as a contract curriculum designer was a challenging one. Not only was I navigating the shift from classroom teacher to independent contractor (working as a freelancer hired by a company to complete certain work), I had to navigate a lot of feedback in regard to my lesson design, formatting, and voice.
At times, I felt like giving up. I even questioned my ability to flourish as a curriculum designer! There were some steep learning curves along the way.
Looking back now, I’m so proud of myself for taking the leap! Working as a curriculum developer has allowed me to grow my writing skills and advocate for what I believe in. Even more, learning new things and embracing a growth mindset opened the doors for many other opportunities.
For instance, it kickstarted my interest in pursuing work beyond classroom teaching, and I decided to join the Educator Forever Network. Through taking the Network’s Beyond the Classroom course, I learned about the many ways I could make a difference in education beyond the classroom.
If you love designing curriculum, one of the best ways to prepare yourself is to find ways to make embracing feedback easier. While we acknowledge that one size does not fit all, these tips can provide you with a place to start.
4 Tips for Embracing Feedback as a Curriculum Designer
READ AND PAUSE.
When you work in curriculum design, most of your communication will be through writing. Most of the feedback I’ve received from clients is through an email, Google document or spreadsheet, or direct edits to my work through suggestions and comments.
Sometimes, there are pages and pages of feedback to read through! Embracing feedback is really hard when you first receive it. So, when the initial feedback comes in I read through it once and pay close attention to what’s happening in my body.
I reflect on questions, such as:
Am I experiencing feelings of anxiety or frustration?
Do I notice a sense of urgency arising?
What self-talk is showing up in my mind in this moment?
For example, if I begin to berate myself for not understanding the task or providing the client with exactly what they envisioned, I can acknowledge my emotions and allow myself to breathe through them.
Once I get curious about what’s going on, I offer my brain and body a pause from the task. What works in your “pause” is totally specific to your needs, but I find taking a walk to the kitchen to get a drink of water, going for a short 3-5 minute walk, or even giving myself a gentle hug can bring my energy back to a place of acceptance.
The beautiful thing about a pause is that it allows you to show up for yourself and others more fully instead of in the initial reactive state. And it makes figuring out how to accept feedback without getting defensive much easier.
GO DEEP.
Once you’re ready to re-read the feedback, you have an opportunity to go deep. If the feedback is related to your writing skills, inclusivity in lesson design (e.g., culturally responsive teaching, Universal Design for Learning, student-centered pedagogy, engagement), or skimmability/formatting, jot down themes that emerge when you receive feedback.
Reflect on the areas where you can grow and the feedback you might need some clarification about. As a general rule, I often save all of my questions for editors/project managers and send one, easy-to-read email. This practice shows that you value your editor and understand the many projects they often work on simultaneously.
TAKE ACTION.
The final step of embracing feedback in curriculum design is to take action on that feedback. Whether or not you incorporate all of it is up to you. But remember, if you choose not to incorporate feedback, you need to have a clearly defined reason for not doing so (e.g., pedagogical, ethical, developmental expertise, beyond scope of work, etc.).
Some ways you might take action include:
Incorporate feedback.
Once you understand what you need to do to meet the client’s needs, integrate the feedback into your curriculum. This involves using new language, paying close attention to the style of your writing, and analyzing your curriculum through culturally responsive, anti-bias lenses.
Research and learn.
If you’re working on a project and a client notices that support for multilingual learners is missing, and you’re not sure what approach to take, find a pathway forward by reading articles, checking out books, and connecting with other peers working on the project. This is a wonderful opportunity to grow your knowledge around best practices in curriculum design and center all of the students who will access your work.
Connect with colleagues or mentors.
Finding a community of innovative and like-minded educators is a critical part of growing in curriculum design. The Educator Forever Network is made up of experienced educators who are pursuing a variety of careers in education beyond the classroom. Many of our Network members have designed curriculum for ed-tech companies, nonprofits, school districts, and learning centers around the world. Asking for tips/resources to learn about a certain framework, approach, or skill from someone who has been in the field for a long time can support continued growth.
REFLECT.
Embracing feedback doesn’t stop once you’ve adjusted your curriculum design project. Once you’ve completed the task (e.g., lesson, unit, assessment, activity) or long-term project, think about what went well and what was challenging.
A key component of excelling as a curriculum developer - and learning how to accept feedback positively - is becoming a reflective practitioner. This will guide you as you choose what jobs to apply for and what projects pique your interest in the future.
Here are some meaningful questions to consider:
What did you learn about yourself?
What did you learn about the person/company/organization/district?
How can you improve your skills moving forward?
How can you attract clients that align with your values/mission?
Where do you have room to grow?
Ready to Pursue Work Beyond the Classroom?
If you want to start a career beyond the classroom (full or part-time), Educator Forever is here to guide and support you so you can get the career and life you deserve (without having to figure it out on your own).
Interested in curriculum development?
Join our Curriculum Development Foundations Program, a 5-week flexible and empowering program designed to give you everything you need to develop engaging curriculum, stand out in the job market, and take your curriculum development career to the next level.
You'll also be assigned a curriculum coach, an experienced curriculum developer, who will give you support and personalized feedback on your work (a great opportunity to start practicing accepting feedback!).
You'll walk away from the program with a polished portfolio of curriculum samples and an amazing community supporting you as you step into working as a curriculum developer.
Interested in exploring all of your flexible career options in education?
Join the Educator Forever Network! You'll gain instant access to our signature Beyond the Classroom course, where, you'll learn exactly where to find flexible jobs in education, discover your career possibilities, and receive the support and everything you need to land those jobs.
You’ll also become part of an inspiring community of like-minded educators who are passionate about expanding their impact and income in education.
Whichever step you choose to take, Educator Forever is here to guide, support, and empower you as you take your education career to the next level!
April Brown (M.Ed) is Educator Forever’s Learning and Development Manager and a curriculum coach for the Curriculum Development Foundations and Advanced Curriculum certification programs. In 2015, April began designing curriculum and writing articles for an EdTech company as a side gig while she was teaching in Placencia, Belize. After having her daughter in 2016, April was eager to use her unique experience teaching and leading in mainstream and alternative settings in the United States and internationally to work remotely while still making a difference in education.
The Beyond the Classroom course empowered April to leverage her skills as a compassionate disruptor and out-of-the-box thinker to excel as an instructional/well-being coach, adjunct instructor of Trauma Supportive Schools and Mindfulness courses, curriculum developer, and writer for publications such as PBS SoCal, Education.com, and Britannica for Parents. April is an advocate for teachers and students – inside and outside of the classroom. You can find April in rural Vermont spending time with her husband, two beautiful daughters, and charming rottweilers.