Curriculum Development and Review
STAC partners with schools, districts, agencies, and organizations to design or refine science curriculum that is grounded in phenomena, aligned to standards, and built to support real classroom sensemaking. We help teams create materials that do more than cover content. We help build learning experiences that engage students in asking questions, using evidence, developing explanations, and making sense of the world.
What We Do
At STAC, curriculum design and development means creating learning experiences that support sensemaking, coherence, and deeper understanding. Our modular approach gives districts, schools, agencies, and organizations the flexibility to engage in focused support or build a larger effort across units, courses, and programs. We help teams design or refine curriculum aligned to NGSS and grounded in meaningful phenomena and student thinking. We strengthen coherence so learning builds purposefully across lessons and units. We support adaptation for local context while preserving rigor. We integrate assessment into curriculum so evidence of student reasoning can inform instruction. And we help partners connect instruction, curriculum, and assessment so materials work together to support lasting impact in science classrooms.
- Sensemaking-Centered Curriculum Design
- Unit & Lesson Development
- Curriculum Review & Refinement
- Assessment-Integrated Materials
- Adaptation for Local Context
How We’re Different
“We design curriculum to make student thinking visible, connected, and worth building on.“
“At STAC, curriculum design begins with sensemaking and ends with deeper understanding.”
“When curriculum, instruction, and assessment work together, student thinking becomes the center of learning.”
“Coherent curriculum gives students the chance to build ideas over time, not just move from lesson to lesson.”
At STAC, we don’t just develop materials, we design curriculum as part of a larger system that supports sensemaking, coherence, and deeper understanding.
1. Designing for Sensemaking
We create learning experiences anchored in meaningful phenomena so students build and revise understanding over time.
2. Building Coherence Across Learning
We design lessons and units so ideas connect purposefully, helping students make sense of science across days, topics, and experiences.
3. Adapting for Real Classrooms
We work with partners to shape materials that reflect local priorities and learners while maintaining strong intellectual demand and meaningful engagement.
4. Integrating Assessment Into Curriculum
We embed opportunities for students to show their reasoning throughout instruction so evidence of learning can inform next steps.
5. Connecting Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
Our work helps ensure that materials, teaching moves, and assessment tasks support the same vision for deeper learning.
What Partners Experience
Districts and organizations that partner with STAC on curriculum design and development gain curriculum that is more coherent, more usable, and more connected to student thinking:
- Stronger coherence across lessons, units, and instructional experiences
- Curriculum grounded in sensemaking and aligned to NGSS
- Greater alignment between curriculum, instruction, and assessment
- Curriculum that reflects community and classroom needs without losing coherence
- More consistent opportunities for students to build, revise, and communicate understanding
Create Curriculum That Leads to Deeper Learning
Move beyond isolated lessons. Build coherent learning experiences that help students develop understanding over time.
Let’s build curriculum that turns standards into meaningful learning.