Curation as the Glue of Teaching and Learning

I love the concept of curation. When I started on Twitter the earliest motivation to be on that platform was one rooted in curation: 1. To foster a PLN or a personal learning network and 2. To curate articles and tools that would help make sense of the many resources available in library collections and on the Internet.

Sense making is key to curation as without it curation simply becomes collection. Bringing in an etymological lens, curation is from the Latin meaning “taking care, attention, management,” especially “medical attention,” and from 1769 it took on the meaning of “management, guardianship” (Curation). It is the management and attention, especially to detail, that we use in our more modern conceptualization of curation.

When working with faculty I emphasize how curation is the glue of teaching and learning. When you select a pedagogical framework through experience and research that’s curation, as guaranteed you will bring in aspects of other things you found along the way because they make sense in your classroom. When you selected the readings and resources on your course outline, that again is curation, where you help guide students to discussions and then leave space to open up discussion further and to bring in other tools and resources.

There are many strategies and tools you can use to curate. The first platform I used to use for curation was Evernote, but I stopped using that platform when their policies changed. It was an excellent system with built-in clippers for your browsers and the ability to store by theme and topic in notebooks.

There are many other tools like this available now and the great thing is there is always a tool that feels good to you and you can share with your peers. The meta aspect of curating curating tools is just one way that allows you to refresh and rethink your classes and outlines when the time comes. Curation is the glue of teaching and learning and the heart of any PLN.

Work Cited

“Curation.” Online Etymology Dictionary. https://www.etymonline.com/word/curation