Najma Dawood

Teaching & Curriculum

Curriculum is a product.

I've spent the last few years building curriculum — for undergraduates, K-5 learners, and wellness educators. The discipline is the same as product design: information architecture, learner outcomes, accessibility, and iteration with feedback. I treat syllabi as living systems. I author master course shells the way I'd author a design system.

Statement

A good course is legible — a student should be able to see the whole arc and still be surprised by it.

It is accessible — built from the start for different bodies, different processing, different access to time.

It is generous — it hands students real authorship, not supervised permission.

Courses & Programs

Principles

01

Backwards design

Start with the outcome a student should own by week 14. Work backwards to assignments, then readings, then week one.

02

Accessible by premise

WCAG and UDL aren't a compliance layer — they shape the pace, the materials, and how students are asked to perform knowing.

03

Studio model

Weekly critique, prototyping in public, real stakes. Less lecture, more making.

04

Shells that scale

Master course shells in Canvas mean cross-section consistency and easy handoff to other instructors.

05

Evidence over opinion

Student feedback and engagement data iterate the syllabus each term. The course is never finished.

06

Tech as tool

XR, AI, AR — emerging tech is worth teaching only when it answers a real question better than the alternative.

For faculty & programs

Open to curriculum consulting & guest lectures.

najma@nyu.edu →