{"id":3517,"date":"2020-03-19T18:00:29","date_gmt":"2020-03-19T22:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/teachersfirst.com\/blog\/?p=3517"},"modified":"2020-03-19T18:01:05","modified_gmt":"2020-03-19T22:01:05","slug":"lets-talk-about-curation-for-knowledge-construction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/2020\/03\/lets-talk-about-curation-for-knowledge-construction\/","title":{"rendered":"Let’s Talk About: Curation for Knowledge Construction"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>As teachers, we curate things all of the time.\u00a0 Our Pinterest accounts have boards like \u201cMakerspace Ideas\u201d, \u201cSTEM Challenges\u201d, \u201cBulletin Board Ideas\u201d,\u00a0 and \u201cWord Walls\u201d. Gathering, selecting, and organizing resources takes time, but allows you to hone in on the important nuances of a big idea that you are wrestling with.\u00a0 It took me a while to understand how to turn that work into an instructional activity. I was pleased to see the concept in the most recent iteration of the<\/span> ISTE Standards for Students<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 It meant that teachers would be guided to use curation as an activity earlier in their careers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Asking students to show what they have learned has long been an end-of-term project, as in building an art\/writing\/reading portfolio.\u00a0 Students are asked to sift through submitted assignments and find examples of their best work. But what if we used curation as formative assessment? Like – explain what you know about circles or haiku poetry or the first amendment. Curation can be done in many ways.\u00a0 It is an activity that can easily be differentiated.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the information age, we have a real need to be able to turn abundantly available information into knowledge through careful consumption.\u00a0 Students need to be able to seek information about their topic of interest and decide which information is accurate and relevant to their quest by reflecting on gathered media. Afterward, students should share what they have learned in a cohesive way that invites conversation about the topic. Many occupations rely on this type of knowledge transfer, and preparing students to enter the workplace means teaching them these skills.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are a few ideas for lessons along these lines:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n