Main Responsibilities of a Curriculum Writer at Teacher Toy Shop
Nancy's main responsibilities as Curriculum Writer at Teacher Toy Shop involve "coming up with product ideas," designing downloadable classroom materials—like "arch blocks" and human body models—and managing the entire process, from budgeting and hiring paper engineers to marketing the finished products. This multifaceted role showcases the entrepreneurial nature of Nancy's career, requiring a blend of creative design, project management, and business acumen.
Product Development, Curriculum Design, Budgeting, Project Management, Marketing
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
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Traits
Nancy Balter
Curriculum Writer
Teacher Toy Shop
Yale University, 1994
USC, master's degree in science education
Biology & Related Sciences
Education
Education
None Applicable
Video Highlights
1. Nancy's role involves creating educational materials for teachers, such as downloadable templates for classroom projects.
2. She is responsible for the entire product development lifecycle, including budgeting, hiring specialists (e.g., paper engineers), and marketing.
3. Her work highlights the blend of creativity, business acumen, and project management skills needed in curriculum development.
Transcript
What are your main responsibilities within your current role?
That's a good question. Since I'm now running my own business, I have to come up with my own product ideas, which is one of the things I love. Some of them are behind me.
I just set this up to give you a general sense of what I do. I create materials that teachers can download. For example, I have an arch behind me that teachers can download the template for, and then build the arch in class.
I also have a couple of human body models behind me. Teachers can download and print out the template for these as well. This is just to give you an idea of what I do.
A lot of it involves coming up with what teachers would like to have in the classroom. Then I have to create a budget. I can't do everything myself, so often I have to hire paper engineers.
In fact, those models behind me are an example where I had to find someone who could create that for me. Then there's figuring out things with contracts and budgeting.
I also have to come up with the products and write the curriculum, or hire someone to write it. I hire people to do things that I'm not able to do, like engineering. Marketing is another big piece. I can create great things, but they'll get buried if I don't figure out a way to let people know.