To me curriculum is like a meandering river. A meander is a loop in a river channel. The meandering river winds back and forth, rather than following a straight course. Curriculum is very much like that. It winds, it bends, it loops, it turns in a variety of directions. It allows the learner to consider different directions, especially when encouraging  student creativity and exploration of learning.

While in the past, curriculum has felt rigid and inflexible, the “new curriculum” allows students to explore learning processes and curiosity, make connections and take ownership of their learning. Like curriculum, a meander is produced by a stream or river swinging from side to side, eroding the sediments from the outer banks. The old curriculum is washed away with old teacher checklists of PLO s, making room for Big Ideas, learning outcomes and opportunities to engage in cross curricular learning.

The meander allows the stream to shift its channel, similar to curriculum where the journey and process of learning is more important than the final destination. This is something I have personally struggled with, as so much focus on teaching and learning has been on creating the finished product, rather than the process or learning journey itself.

Curriculum is like a meandering river in that it guides the directionality of student exploration. It motivates the students to take ownership in their learning journey, by selecting the path or stream they will take. Teachers provide students with encouragement to choose their learning path and act more as facilitators to support them through their steams of knowledge.

https://www.edcan.ca/articles/teaching-by-the-medicine-wheel/

(An Anishinaabe framework for Indigenous Education)

The concept of the medicine wheel illustrates the knowledge needed to create a space that is culturally relevant, the pedagogy and environment for embedding indigenous education and the four directions which represent the importance and appreciation for the interconnectedness and interrelatedness of all things. The medicine wheel can be a helpful tool, similar to a compass, to support students as they navigate through the meander.

This metaphor curriculum is like a meandering river, guides the pedagogy for teaching and both teacher and student learning. Curriculum is fluid and every changing, allowing us to explore the world around us.