Beyond the Spiral: Reimagining Curriculum Sequencing for Non-Linear Neurodivergent Cognition

Information from the abstract

Curriculum sequencing models encode epistemological assumptions about how cognition develops. The spiral curriculum and its constructivist antecedents presuppose stable executive regulation, staged abstraction, and synchronised cohort pacing — conditions that may structurally disadvantage neurodivergent learners whose cognitive architectures diverge from this neurotypical default. This paper argues that such frameworks tend to privilege linear cognitive profiles, and that prevailing sequencing architectures remain insufficiently responsive to the processing diversity documented in learners with ADHD, Autism Spectrum Condition, and dyslexia. Drawing on the neurodiversity paradigm (Armstrong, 2010; Singer, 1998) and curriculum theory scholarship (Bernstein, 2000; Pinar, 2019; Young, 2008), this paper employs conceptual analysis and interdisciplinary synthesis to critique the structural logic of spiral and linear sequencing frameworks and to propose the Non-Linear Sequencing Architecture (NLSA) — an original theoretical reconstruction comprising networked curriculum nodes, modular progression, competency-clustered mastery, and temporal elasticity. Conceptual analysis here is situated within philosophical curriculum inquiry, drawing on purposive interdisciplinary literature selection guided by theoretical relevance to neurodivergent cognition and curriculum design. The NLSA is a conceptual model, not an empirically validated design; its contribution is architectural. Systemic implications for standards alignment, assessment redesign, and teacher planning are identified. The central argument positions curriculum inclusion as structural redesign of cognitive architecture — not accommodation appended to existing systems. Cognitively plural curriculum design is proposed as both theoretical principle and policy imperative for education systems serving neurologically diverse student populations.

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Related topics: Neuroscience, Education and Cognitive Function · Educational Theory and Curriculum Studies · Embodied and Extended Cognition