A podcast about exploring knowledge wherever you find it, from the Black Paint Curriculum Lab at Teachers College, Columbia University. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.
At the end of season 2, Jackie and Sarah look back at their practice of encountering curriculum everywhere: through wandering, slowing down, and following their observations and inquiries to consider what kind of knowledge might be important here. A key takeaway from this episode —and the season as a whole—is to encourage listeners to keep their own field journal to inspire regular observing, feeling, and attending to the social, spatial, and sensory knowledge that we are always carrying with us.
Image 1: Studio Recording with Jackie Simmons and Sarah Gerth (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tVM2lYXG1ZRlyQiYa355a7hTmEITfqm5/view?usp=sharing)
Image 2: Studio Recording with Billy Collins, Jackie Simmons and Sarah Gerth (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z9UzYXk8DgWQco9sU_nebvcC4yezARhQ/view?usp=sharing)\
Episode 5 Field Guide Worksheet (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PmY1a8AY8w4mkgqCVMxdMZFMyW-V10AZ/view?usp=drive_link)
The views expressed in this episode are solely those of the speaker to whom they are attributed. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the faculty, administration, staff or Trustees either of Teachers College or of Columbia University.
12 Feb 2026
Curriculum in the Neighborhood
In this episode, Sarah and Jackie take a walk through Brooklyn, where they sit on the stoop of Jackie’s former building and discuss how stoops become sites of belonging, memory, and recognition that shape our sense of who we are and where we fit. Come along to consider what your “stoop” is and how questions of belonging play out in curriculum decisions in your neighborhood and classroom spaces.
Image 1 (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1se3iuABrtGQbFvPf9Txb1lryr8tOu24k/view?usp=sharing): View from Sarah and Jackie’s neighborhood walk
Image 2 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:66_Perry_Street_Carrie_Bradshaw%27s_House_From_Sex_And_The_City_(1149739647).jpg): A classic NYC stoop
Episode 4 Field Guide Worksheet (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EI8AObkxAnlz5gJ0R4u4WQ2qQuBf0wXO/view?usp=drive_link)
The views expressed in this episode are solely those of the speaker to whom they are attributed. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the faculty, administration, staff or Trustees either of Teachers College or of Columbia University.
29 Jan 2026
Curriculum at the Ferry Terminal
In this episode, Jackie and Sarah meet up at a ferry terminal, where standing on the dock prompts new perspectives. Listen in to hear the helicopters, the seagulls, and absorb the movement of commuters… Through slowing down, attending to the sensations, and sketching the scene, they talk about the potential for curriculum in overlooked details and what can be discovered by shifting our relationship to the familiar.
Image 1: Sarah’s sketchbook drawing (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aqFgtXTcGZA7QBNVUDDMzdZ2y4fqbcsX/view?usp=sharing)
Image 2: Jackie’s sketchbook drawing (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tn5PzUu_yOXkmjTXZSLBTEGHFgcMVLnW/view?usp=sharing)
Image 3: Photo of Wall Street Pier (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HgXcbUHyLoojLC1vILYsVL4iAKuDhuPU/view?usp=sharing)
Image 4: View from Wall Street Pier (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pFf0VG3h1S7WgDNs6zzGfhnKCOZj2wDQ/view?usp=sharing)
Episode 3 Field Guide Worksheet (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lV_y2PXt59l3AXSDcE8Ezk59eWV-jXnM/view?usp=drive_link)
The views expressed in this episode are solely those of the speaker to whom they are attributed. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the faculty, administration, staff or Trustees either of Teachers College or of Columbia University.
18 Dec 2025
Curriculum at the Grocery Store
Hosts Sarah and Jackie explore how grocery store choices reflect curriculum design, revealing connections between food, family history, and personal identity, prompting listeners to reflect on their teaching habits.
1 Dec 2025
Welcome back to Curriculum Encounters!
Hosts Jackie Simmons and Sarah Gerth explore experiential learning practices in everyday settings, prompting educators and students to challenge conventional thinking about curriculum and education.
29 May 2025
BONUS: Curriculum Is Everywhere with Pop and Play
Haeny Yoon and Nathan Holbert interview Sarah and Jackie about the playful aspects of curriculum design, revealing how curriculum encounters provide simple opportunities for play.
3 Apr 2025
What is Curriculum? (And where might we find it?)
A key takeaway from this episode—and the season as a whole—is the idea that curriculum is not just a set of prescribed knowledge, but a social, spatial, and sensory process. Learning happens everywhere, not just in formal educational settings. Jackie and Sarah encourage educators to recognize the importance of these informal, sensory, and embodied forms of knowing and to consider how they might be integrated into curriculum design to create more engaging and holistic learning experiences.
Curriculum Encounters is produced by the Digital Futures Institute (https://www.tc.columbia.edu/digitalfuturesinstitute/) at Teachers College, Columbia University.
The views expressed in this episode are solely those of the speaker to whom they are attributed. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the faculty, administration, staff or Trustees either of Teachers College or of Columbia University.
20 Mar 2025
Sensory Inquiry and Social Spaces
In this episode, Sarah and Jackie visit the library, cafe, and cafeteria at Teachers College to consider what kind of curriculum they encounter in the social spaces on campus. By attending to design choices and observing how people actually use these spaces, they consider possibilities for learners to co-create curriculum encounters.
Curriculum Encounters is produced by the Digital Futures Institute (https://www.tc.columbia.edu/digitalfuturesinstitute/) at Teachers College, Columbia University.
The views expressed in this episode are solely those of the speaker to whom they are attributed. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the faculty, administration, staff or Trustees either of Teachers College or of Columbia University.
6 Mar 2025
Memory and Hidden Spaces
In this episode, Jackie and Sarah take listeners to “hidden” spaces on campus, including an old gym track that was converted to academic offices and a closed-off pool in the basement of Teachers College. Through the emotions and memories that arise in these encounters, they consider the impact of curricular “ghosts” and possibilities for personal histories and feelings in curriculum.
To learn more about the history of the hidden spaces mentioned in this episode, check out these articles from the archives of the Teachers College Newsroom:
Sweating the Details. Published February 9, 2012 by Patricia Lamiell. A brief history of physical education at Teachers College. Available at: https://www.tc.columbia.edu/articles/2011/october/sweating-the-details/ (https://www.tc.columbia.edu/articles/2011/october/sweating-the-details/)
Come On In, The Water's Fine, Published August 20, 2007. A brief history of the Teachers College swimming pool. Available at: https://www.tc.columbia.edu/articles/2007/august/come-on-in-the-waters-fine/ (https://www.tc.columbia.edu/articles/2007/august/come-on-in-the-waters-fine/)
Caverns, Corners, Connections. Published by Digital Futures Institute. A website documenting Teachers College’s physical spaces. Available at: https://cavernscornersconnections.weebly.com/place.html (https://cavernscornersconnections.weebly.com/place.html)
A special shoutout to Professor Emerita Nancy Lesko who inspired this episode and continually provokes our encounters with the hidden curriculum.
Curriculum Encounters is produced by the Digital Futures Institute (https://www.tc.columbia.edu/digitalfuturesinstitute/) at Teachers College, Columbia University.
The views expressed in this episode are solely those of the speaker to whom they are attributed. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the faculty, administration, staff or Trustees either of Teachers College or of Columbia University.
27 Feb 2025
Aesthetics and Academic Spaces
In this episode, Sarah and Jackie explore newly renovated classrooms and traditional academic hallways around Columbia University’s Teachers College campus. Join them as they encounter curriculum in the aesthetics of these spaces and how design choices affect what we know about being a student and learner. Stay tuned to imagine ways of intervening in the design elements in your curricular spaces.
Curriculum Encounters is produced by the Digital Futures Institute (https://www.tc.columbia.edu/digitalfuturesinstitute/) at Teachers College, Columbia University.
The views expressed in this episode are solely those of the speaker to whom they are attributed. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the faculty, administration, staff or Trustees either of Teachers College or of Columbia University.
31 Jan 2025
Welcome to Curriculum Encounters!
In this introduction to Curriculum Encounters, hosts Jackie Simmons and Sarah Gerth van den Berg invite you to embark on a provocative journey through the world of experiential learning. As curriculum design experts at Columbia University’s Teachers College, Jackie and Sarah have reimagined the Black Paint Curriculum Lab, bringing it back in an exciting new format that promises to challenge conventional thinking about curriculum.
Season One explores aesthetics and academic spaces, memory and hidden spaces, sensory inquiry and social spaces. Join them as they explore the concept of learning inside and beyond classroom walls.
Whether you’re an educator, a student, or simply someone curious about the nature of knowledge, this podcast is designed for you. Jackie and Sarah will pose thought-provoking questions about what we know, how we come to know it, and the implications for teaching and learning in today’s dynamic world.
Tune in to discover how to cultivate a richer, more inclusive learning environment and to rethink the spaces where education can thrive. Don’t miss out—follow the show and be part of the conversation that explores knowledge, wherever you find it!
Curriculum Encounters is produced by the Digital Futures Institute (https://www.tc.columbia.edu/digitalfuturesinstitute/) at Teachers College, Columbia University.
The views expressed in this episode are solely those of the speaker to whom they are attributed. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the faculty, administration, staff or Trustees either of Teachers College or of Columbia University.
Click here to view the transcript. (https://share.transistor.fm/s/c8682a7c/transcript)
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