Leading Curricular Change
Advanced UbD for Curriculum Leaders
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.
This is an application-based offering. Please see below for information below on the application process.
June 23-25, 2025
3-day Workshop in San Francisco, CA
hosted by Drew School in San Francisco, CA
About the Workshop
The story behind the Leading Curricular Change workshop
In 2006, the late Grant Wiggins offered Authentic Education’s very first train-the-trainer workshop, equipping educational leaders from across the country to lead Understanding by Design Professional Development in their schools and districts. AE President Mike Matthews is proud to reimagine Grant’s train-the-trainer model as part of a brand new offering – Leading Curricular Change: Advanced UbD for Curriculum Leaders.
The Advanced UbD for Curriculum Leaders workshop will equip attendees with strategies, skills, and resources to lead Understanding by Design work in their schools and districts. The 3-day workshop will include:
- Reviewing basic and advanced features of UbD
- Identifying a need in their school or district, and then using the UbD template to draft a professional development curriculum related to this goal
- Exploring best-practices for facilitation related to leading UbD PD
- Learning and practicing coaching strategies for supporting teachers planning UbD units
Application & Registration
The cost for this 3-day workshop is $2,295.
This is an application-based offering and is
limited to 20 attendees. Applications will be reviewed on April 15, 2025, with decisions emailed out by April 22, 2025. Applications after this date will be considered on a rolling-basis, pending availability.
3 Days of high-quality Professional Development
With only 20 attendees, participants can expect an engaging, personalized, and highly collaborative experience
Books and Materials
Two UbD books and a workshop workbook that includes practical tools and deep dives into key elements of leading curricular change
Meals & Snacks
Delicious and nutritious breakfast, lunch, and snacks each day, including catering from San Francisco restaurants committed to fresh made, local ingredients
Access to a resource library
One year’s access to Authentic Education’s resource library which includes sample units, UbD resources, and workshop materials
One-on-One Coaching
Two 30-minute coaching sessions with AE President Mike Matthews during the upcoming school year
Feedback and Support
On-demand, asynchronous feedback on your work during the coming year.
The retreat fee does not include any travel expenses, including without limitation, mileage, parking, hotel, flights, and meals outside of the retreats. A $100.00 application fee will be applied towards the registration fee. If you are not offered a space in the workshop, your application fee will be fully refunded.
Who should attend?
This session is designed for curriculum leaders with extensive UbD experience.
Attendees should have extensive experience designing curriculum using the Understanding by Design framework
Attendees should be In curriculum leadership roles (e.g., Curriculum Director, Head of Academics, Principal, Division Director, Department Chair, etc.)
Attendees should be looking to leverage Understanding by Design in their school or district
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 offering is designed for educators:
- With extensive experience designing curriculum using the Understanding by Design framework
- In curriculum leadership roles (e.g., Curriculum Director, Head of Academics, Principal, Division Director, Department Chair, etc.)
- Looking to leverage Understanding by Design in their school or district
The workshop 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
Yes. This offering is an advanced workshop and requires extensive experience designing curriculum with the UbD framework. If you’re looking for a foundational offering, please consider one of our alternate summer offerings.
The goal of the Leading Curricular Change session is to equip Academic Leaders to lead Understanding by Design work in their schools and districts. The workshop will include
- Reviewing basic and advanced features of UbD
- Identifying a need in their school or district, and then using the UbD template to draft a professional development curriculum related to this goal
- Exploring best-practices for facilitation related to leading UbD PD
- Learning and practicing coaching strategies for supporting teachers planning UbD units
Leading Curricular Change will be led by Mike Matthews, President of Authentic Education. Mike is a National Board Certified Teacher who has worked in both public and independent schools. He spent 7 years as the Director of Curriculum and Innovation at an Independent School in the San Francisco Bay Area. In his 9 years with AE, Mike has worked with educators around the world to design rich and engaging curriculum across a range of subjects and grade levels.
To ensure a high-quality and highly-personalized workshop with significant individualized coaching and support, registration is limited to just 20 attendees.
Registration is $2,295. Your $100 application fee will be applied towards the cost of workshop. Payment is due upon your application being accepted. Your spot is only confirmed once we receive your payment.
For schools sending 3 or more participants to AE’s Summer 2025 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.
Requests to transfer to an alternate Summer 2025 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. Requests to transfer your Leading Curricular Change spot to a colleague will be considered on a case-by-case basis, pending our review of their application.
Cancellations submitted through April 30, 2025, will receive a full refund of the 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.
There are 5 required questions and 1 optional question.
- Tell us about your work as a curricular leader.
- Of the four workshop goals/foci, which are you most interested in and why?
- How do you hope to leverage your learning from this session in your school or district?
- What’s your journey as an educator with Understanding by Design?
- This session is for educators with extensive experience designing curriculum using the Understanding by Design framework. We’d love a glimpse into how you think about planning using the UbD framework. Please review the sample unit here. Please provide feedback on the sample unit by identifying one specific strength and one specific recommendation.
- Optional: Is there anything else you’d like us to know or share to help us get to know you better?
The application has “save and resume” functionality. You do not need to complete it in just one setting.
If you save your progress and cannot find the link to resume your application, please do not start a new application. Instead, email us at events@authenticeducation.org. In most cases, we’ll be able to resend your link
and save you time!
Registration includes:
– Attendance at the 3-day small group workshop
– Two one-on-one coaching sessions with Mike Matthews (attendees will be able to schedule two 30-minute video sessions in the 6 months following the workshp)
– On-demand, asynchronous feedback on your work during the coming year.
– Breakfast, lunch, and snacks each day
– Two Understanding by Design books and a workshop 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.
Do not incur any non-refundable expenses until after you are offered a spot and you’ve confirmed your registration by paying the registration fee. If you’re not local to the retreat location, a member of the AE team will follow up to share relevant information on travel logistics to help you book your trip.
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.
When we offer you a space in the workshop, you’ll receive an email with a link to an invoice for the registration cost (your application fee of $100 will be applied to the registration cost). Your space is not confirmed until we receive your payment.
You will need a laptop or a tablet with a keyboard. Attire is casual. We’ll provide everything else.
You may use your learning from this session to lead professional development and coaching as part of your routine employment in your school or district only. Any work you lead must be of the highest fidelity to the UbD framework, using only approved materials and texts. Attendance does not convey certification as an Understanding by Design Trainer. If you have questions about what this means, please email us at events@authenticeducation.org prior to registering.
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 workshop offerings for the Summer of 2025!
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.
Inclusive Curriculum Design
Offered in partnership with Humanizing History, this 3-day intensive will 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 UbD units.