Curation – it’s one of my favorite concepts.  Formally, it refers to the selection, organization, and presentation of a set of content for an audience.  Most commonly, we think of curation in the context of a museum, where curators carefully select and organize works of art or historical artifacts from a broader collection.  The curator works with a vision in mind, with the hopes of engaging participants in an extended discourse that explores key themes, concepts, and leitmotifs.   The curator is, at the heart, a storyteller.  Human beings are meaning-making machines, and the act of storytelling is at the heart of the human experience

When I began my graduate studies at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, then Dean Kathleen McCartney compared our experience to a lavish buffet spread.  The work of the college was to set the table for learning, providing the best options the school had to offer.  Yet it was up to us as students to take full advantage of the options and opportunities that lay before us.  The professors and professional staff curated the learning environment for our benefit, but the story of each student would be different based on our unique needs and interests.

It was no accident when we designed our Círculos super school in Santa Ana Unified that we envisioned positions like the “curator of projects and partnerships” and the “curator of talent.”  I remember our Human Resources department asking me what in the world we were doing with these “curator” positions.  So we explained – our curators are carefully selecting, organizing and sharing key concepts and instructional practices.  They are designing experiences and interactions with the end user – the student – always in mind.  They are trying to craft a series of experiences and skillsets that tell a new story for what the high school experience can be.

Now, with physical schools closed, every teacher is a designer of his or her online learning environment.  This has forced all teachers to take on the role of curator.  Rather than relying on direct instruction, the teacher is engaged in a process of selecting programs, interactions, and experiences designed to support the learning of students.  One of my favorite online resources is a “pop-up home school generator” put out by the forward-thinking school designers at Transcend Education.  The team at Transcend has carefully curated a list of free online resources that can then be remixed to meet the unique needs of students.

We’ve taken a similar approach with our teaching staff in Santa Ana Unified.  We see our role as district specialists to vet and and share learning options and tools that are both standards-aligned and age-appropriate.  Yet we still see the teacher as the primary curator of the learning experience for the students in his or her class.  This teacher-driven, district supported approach forms the core of our approach to distance learning.

In an era of ubiquitous information and infinite options, the role of the curator becomes increasingly important, and difficult.  The past few weeks have seen an exponential proliferation of free offers from educational content and curriculum providers.  I’ve easily received over 100 different email offers from potential education content providers.  The teacher retains the role of trustworthy coach and curator that students and families can look to for both targeted support and for access to a set of carefully curated interactions and experiences designed to boost student learning.