Inclusive Curriculum Design
Backwards planning for equity and belonging
Join Mike Matthews & Monique Vogelsang for a 3-day intensive to expand your thinking about best practices for including underrepresented voices, untold stories, and broader perspectives into your curriculum design, resulting in more inclusive and culturally expansive units.
About Inclusive Curriculum Design
An Understanding by Design workshop that explores the question:
“How do we tell the human story?”
For many educators, across grade levels and subjects, our work is connected to the larger human story. Whether we are teaching content that spans social studies or STEAM, educators not only influence academic understandings, we also shape how our students view personal identity, culture, community, and how we understand our place in the larger world. The resources we use, the questions we ask, and the activities students engage in not only support academic growth, if left unquestioned, they can also create a sense of exclusion, or –– with intention and affirmation –– can cultivate inclusion. Therefore, it’s important that we reflect on our choices to ensure that the content we teach is age-appropriate, rooted in facts, and has many “windows and mirrors” for our students.
Over the course of three days, through interactive workshops and small group working sessions, participants will examine a curricular unit they’d like to revise with the lens of inclusion.
Led by two educational leaders — Mike Matthews of Authentic Education and Monique Vogelsang of Humanizing History — participants of this professional development experience will be guided through frameworks of Understanding by Design and models of culturally expansive teaching. Participants will explore the larger story our curricular units are designed to tell, will consider how we name and frame our ideas, and will craft identify Transfer Goals, Enduring Understandings, and Essential Questions.
By the end of our three-day workshops, educators and school leaders will have a “ready-to-teach” UbD unit and a plan of action to bring back to their school community, which may serve as a model inclusive curriculum design.
July 21-23, 2025
Boston, MA
This 3-day workshop is offered in partnership by two thought leaders in progressive curriculum design.
Mike Matthews
President
Authentic Education
Monique Vogelsang,
Founder
Humanizing History
Registration Information
The registration fee for this 3-day workshop is $2,295.
An early bird discount of $50 applies for registrations through April 30, 2025.
3 Days of high-quality Professional Development
With only 24 attendees, participants can expect an engaging, personalized, and highly collaborative experience
UbD book & workshop workbook
You will receive a copy of a UbD book and a customized workbook for the sessions
Meals & Snacks
Delicious and nutritious breakfast, lunch and snacks will be catered by Boston’s MAX Catering
Access to a resource library
You will have access to AE’s digital resource library for one year after the workshop
Follow-up Virtual Sessions
Mike & Monique will facilitate a pair of virtual gatherings for attendees in October & November
Feedback and Support
Receive on demand feedback on your unit from Mike and Monique
Sample Units
Examples of UbD units backwards designed with inclusivity, equity, & belonging front of mind.
Can change happen without hope? Can hope exist without change?
9th Grade English: Rewriting the World: Young Voices on Hope and Transformation
Stories can inspire hope, but they can also reveal its fragility and the barriers that limit change. In this unit, we’ll explore modern short stories by young authors from around the world, grappling with moments when hope fuels transformation, when change happens without it, and whether one can truly exist without the other.
How might I navigate this moment?
5th Grade Advisory Unit: Navigating Constancy and Change: Exploring Emotions and Self-Regulation
A month-long exploration of regulation that considers emotions, individual needs, and how our experience, such as trauma, shapes our interactions with the world around us. This unit, designed for the start of students’ middle school journey, grounds student-centric learning in practices and philosophies from a range of cultures, philosophies, and times in our world’s history.
How can statistical reasoning help us better understand, challenge, and ultimately change inequitable systems?
12th Grade Advanced Statistics: Leveraging Inferential Statistics to Understand Our World: An Exploration of Housing & Racial Segregation in the United States
Data tells a story—but who gets to tell it, and what does it reveal (or hide) about the world we live in? In this unit, we’ll use statistical reasoning to uncover, question, and challenge patterns of racial segregation in housing, exploring how data can be both a tool for justice and a barrier to change.
How do we construct (and refine) the story of the physical world?
10th Grade Science: Elements of Discovery: A Global Story of the Periodic Table
Science isn’t just a series of breakthroughs—it’s understanding we construct and refine over time. In this unit, we’ll explore stories of untold collaborations and overlooked contributions behind the periodic table, challenging who gets credit and how our understanding of the physical world continues to evolve.
What defines a family?
Pre-K Interdisciplinary Unit: Exploring Families
Families come in all shapes and sizes, and no two are exactly alike. In this unit, we’ll explore what defines a family and the many ways people show and celebrate love and belonging around the world.
How does who’s holding the camera shape the story being told?
11th Grade Visual Arts Unit: Photography as a Tool for Social Change
Photography is a powerful medium and the photograph is just as much a part of the story as the person holding the camera. In this unit, we’ll examine various photographers from the United States and countries around the world to explore the ways they used their cameras to make an indelible impact — as a vessel of everyday storytelling to a compelling tool for social change.
Why do we eat what we eat?
4th Grade World Language Unit: Investigating Food Science and Stories to Enhance Our Understanding of the Spanish Language, Histories of Indigenous Peoples, and Current-Day Culture
Across time and place, people have developed scientific innovations that have greatly impacted their region, and sometimes the larger world! In this unit, we’ll examine the miraculous innovation of foods Indigenous to the Americas — including corn, chocolate, and potatoes — and how such foods shaped language, culture, and global history.
Swifter, higher, stronger: How do Olympic ideals shape our stories?
Grade 2 Physical Education Unit: A Cross Cultural Study of the Games, Athletes, and Countries that Participate in the Winter and Summer Olympics
Guided by the motto of “Citius, altius, fortius,” or “swifter, higher, stronger,” The Olympics give us an opportunity to celebrate both individual talents and our collective strength. The Summer and Winter Olympics are global events that bring together thousands of athletes and more than 200 countries across the world. In this unit, we’ll examine the various kinds of games that are played, the histories of these games, and the stories they tell. With a goal of enhancing global awareness and citizenship, we’ll review the stories of different sports and their athletes. Our study will culminate with students creating their own games to play, as they co-design a student experience that mirrors the Olympic games.
What sparks change?
3rd Grade Social Studies Unit: Analyzing the Intersections of Changemakers and Climate Justice
Changemakers are all around us and work in many fields — they can be writers, educators, mathematicians, and scientists! In this unit, to better understand how some people have committed their lives to mitigate climate change, we’ll review the biographies of changemakers who worked in various scientific fields. By studying everyday levels of advocacy, such as the development of city gardens, to studying global icons like Wangarĩ Maathai, and documents like the United Nations’ Actions for a Healthy Planet, we will examine actions all of us can take to make positive change and support efforts of climate justice.
Who is welcome… and who gets to decide?
Middle School History & Civics Unit: How Patterns of Migration and Immigration Policy Shape a Nation
For tens of thousands of years, human beings have migrated across the planet, often in search of opportunity and refuge. In a modern context, such movement has been either encouraged or hindered based on geopolitical contexts, including immigrant laws and policies. In this unit, through case studies of specific eras in U.S. history, such as Ellis Island and Angel Island, we’ll analyze immigration laws, and communication across national media, to understand how policies can impact demographics and larger society.
At AE, we do PD the way PD should be.
We deliver highly effective professional development that:
Models the types of learning we value in our classroom.
Leverages the expertise and meets the needs of those in the room.
Equips and empowers attendees to immediately apply what they’ve learned.
Fosters meaningful collaboration.
Supports teachers as they apply what they’ve learned.
Frequently asked questions
This workshop is for educators in Pre-K through 12th grade schools. This includes Teachers, Curriculum Leaders, Division Directors, Deans, Heads of School, and DEI Directors, and anyone interested in designing a UbD unit with inclusivity front of mind.
Attendees will:
– Build their proficiency using the Understanding by Design framework to design curriculum grounded in deep understanding and real-world application;
– Learn strategies and a framework for backwards curriculum design including humanizing, culturally expansive, antiracist, identity-centered, and affirming lenses;
– Develop strategies to proactively build rigorous and joyful curriculum grounded in positive identity development and embraces nuanced perspectives; and
– Design a “ready-to-teach” UbD unit that is deeply grounded in principles of inclusivity, equity, and belonging.
Yes. This is designed as a three-day offering. If you cannot attend all three days in July, we invite you to consider attending a subsequent offering of this workshop or one of AE’s shorter summer offerings.
No. This session is for anyone interested in reimagining a unit with inclusivity front-of-mind, from a Pre-K unit on seasons to a 12th grade Calculus unit.
Yes. We can work with you to identify ways to apply this workshop to your individual situation, role, and/or context. For non-teaching attendees, possibilities include:
– Attending with a teacher or group of teachers from your school and working with them to collaboratively design a unit;
– Backwards designing a Professional Development event or series using the Humanizing History and UbD frameworks; and
– Planning a school-wide initiative using the frameworks and ideas from the workshop (e.g., reimagining “Grandparents & Special Friends Day,” an advisory program, or a Parent Education series).
We know that life happens. We’ve created registration transfer and refund policies to give you peace of mind should something come up that changes your availability.
Registrants unable to attend the retreat may send someone in their place, by making a request in writing at least 3 days prior to the start of the retreat. Requests to transfer to an alternate 2025 retreat session will be considered on a case-by-case basis. All registration transfer requests must be made in writing via email to events@authenticeducation.org.
Cancellations submitted through April 30 2025, will receive a full refund of registration fee, less a $100 processing fee. No refunds will be issued for cancellations submitted after April 30, 2025. Refunds will be issued in
the same form as the original payment when possible. Authentic Education does not award payment credit towards future services or events. All refund requests must be submitted in writing via email to events@authenticeducation.org.
UbD experience is welcomed and not required. The small group format allows us to tailor instruction and support to meet all attendees where they are, whether they’re new to UbD or have extensive experience designing curriculum using the framework.
The Inclusive Curriculum Design workshop will be co-led by Mike Matthews, President of Authentic Education, and Monique Vogelsang, Founder of Humanizing History.
To ensure a high-quality and highly-personalized workshop with significant individualized coaching and support, registrationis capped at 24 participants.
The worskhop will run from 9am-4pm each day, with breakfast available starting at 8:30am and a one-hour lunch break.
The daily schedule will be:
8:30am – Breakfast
9:00am – Morning Session
12:00pm – Lunch
1:00pm – Afternoon Session
4:00pm – End of day
Due to the small group and collaborative nature of the retreats, we require folks to attend in-person. We do periodically offer virtual trainings as well, so if you’re interested in participating, please sign up for our newsletter at authenticeducation.org/blog/
Early bird Registration is $2245 (through April 30, 2025)
Standard Registration is $2295 (registrations after April 30, 2025)
Payment is due at time of registration to confirm your spot.
For schools sending 3 or more participants to our summer offerings, a $50 credit applies to the third and any subsequent registrations. To register a group of teachers, please email us at
events@authenticeducation.org. If folks register at different times, we’ll refund the applicable credit automatically.
The registration fee includes:
– Attendance at the 3-day small group workshop
– Two follow-up virtual sessions with Mike, Monique, and the workshop cohort
– Asynchronous feedback on their unit after the workshop
– Breakfast, lunch, and snacks each day
– One Understanding by Design book and workbook workbook
– Access to AE’s resource library for one year after the workshop
The retreat fee does not include any travel expenses, including without limitation, mileage, parking, hotel, flights, and meals outside of the retreats.
You will need a laptop or a tablet with a keyboard. Attire is casual. We’ll provide everything else!
No. This session will leverage the Understanding by Design 2.0 template developed by the late Grant Wiggins (founder of Authentic Education) and Jay McTighe. Our process for thinking about learning goals, assessments, and lessons will include an exploration of underrepresented voices, untold stories, and broader perspectives – resulting in more inclusive and culturally expansive units.
In 2016, Authentic Education first offered an “Inclusivity by Design” workshop for a partner school. This workshop builds on that legacy, the groundbreaking work of Humanizing History, and will maintain the highest fidelity to the UbD framework.
We’re here to help! Email us at events@authenticeducation.org and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
Looking for something different?
Check out our other Summer 2025 workshop offerings!
Understanding by Design Retreats
AE’s signature UbD retreat returns for 2025 with expert-led PD in a small-group, collaborative setting. Teachers will design high-quality, “ready to teach” units as part of this 2-day experience, as well as access to a library of Understanding by Design resources and support.
Leading UbD Work
Building on the “Train the Trainer” workshop offered by the late Grant Wiggins, this 3-day workshop will equip educational leaders with strategies, skills, and resources to successfully lead and foster Understanding by Design work in their schools and districts.