Curating as an act of Scholarship
Last academic session I was approached by Dr. K. Brosnan of Stirling University to collaborate on a presentation which focused on the idea of curation as an act of teacher scholarship. Unfortunately, this session never quite went ahead owing to personal circumstances, changes in wok patterns and other commitments. So, I thought I would take the opportunity on this sunny afternoon to write about it here in my blog.
I have to say that, until I started my MA in Online and Distance Education with the OU, I never really saw myself as a curator in any way. That was the kind of job people do in Art Galleries or Museums. But it was in the third module of #H880 written by Dr L. Perryman where she presented a model entitled The Anatomy of a 21st Century Educator. And, as the module progressed, I started to realise that the role of the curator is hugely significant to what I do as an Educator in the Scottish Further Education Sector. So, my aim is here to share something of my experience and how curating has become a significant part of what I do. Moreover, I hope to inspire others to do the same, recognising the importance of this activity in their own practice and maybe picking up one or two useful thoughts or tips as you read.
At this point, as something of an aside, I wanted to offer a massive thank you to Cherie Silver who is a friend of mine and just so happens to have experience of working as a curator given her background in the Arts. Thank you so much Cherie!! Your thoughts have largely framed my thinking for this article.
What is Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoLT)?
For me it has come to mean a process by which I question and investigate my own teaching practice and experience in relation to theory and in relation to social events and in doing so I try to learn through reflection and by making connections with the various concepts of pedagogy, leadership, technology, policy etc. and by sharing with my peers in professional conversation. In doing so I try to better myself as a teacher. Moreover, in sharing my reflections I hope that others can learn with me. You might agree with my thoughts and you might disagree with my thoughts, but either way, that engagement in discussion and community practice builds a foundation for growth and a reference for future generations to look back at. Does that qualify as scholarship? That's certainly what my take on it has come to mean.
With that in mind let's start talking about curation.
1. Consider Your Audience and Purpose
This was the first thing Cherie brought to my attention and it seems so obvious. But it's worth stating. Although my reflection below refers to the collection of digital articles (artifacts) I've gathered here in my blog, I'm sure you've all got collections of books, manuals, worksheets, handouts that you maintain, manage, update and generally curate for the benefit of your students. Perhaps your books have helped inform your teaching practice? Perhaps you've even shared items from your personal collection with your colleagues.
As teachers we have a unique challenge I suppose in attempting to address two audiences, that of our peers and that of our students. But it was only reflecting on this recently I realised how important this is because it lends towards standardisation of practice especially in large, multi-campus institutions. Moreover, it contrubutes to quality assurance and enhancement, collaboration, building relationships and building an academic community.
But there's more than that going on. Something I hadn't thought about was the public facing side of a teaching master folder. Some private art collector might keep the art in their home. As teachers, we don't have that luxury - ultimately the teaching materials, resources and assessments we create will all become public at some point as we share these with our students. In the same way that the quality of any art collection says something about the skills, inspiration and motivations of the artist, so too does the quality of our collection of learning and teaching says something about us and our identity as professionals.
2. Considering Location and Budget
While someone might think that it's easy to start a blog, a free of charge, open access digital space whereby frustrated teachers can vent about the latest issues, there are specific reasons why I do this work.
As teachers, how many times have you thought, "There must be resources out there that I can use for my class. if only I had the time to trawl the internet and check out the quality of the materials out there. See if they meet my needs. Wouldn't that save me a lot of time - if only I had any to spare?!" Blogging as curation is a way of doing that. In forming online communities, teachers from all over the UK can collaborate and share resources knowing that the materials on those sites have already been reviewed by one of your peers.
That being said, there are challenges of open educational practices like blogging. On a very obvious level, you don't have to do much digging to find out about stories of bloggers and academics being trolled on social media. So these are issues that you might want to consider. However, there are also benefits such as modelling digital literacy practice for your students, embodying culturally responsive pedagogy by encouraging learners to share their experiences with yourself and their peers, supporting literacy development... So, despite the drawback, there are real benefits too.
3. Finally, Archiving and Documentation
("Dictionary of the Frisian Language - Word archive" by Hindrik S is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.)
Again, on the subject of modelling academic practice, we always encourage our students to reference their work properly using an appropriate system. Where I work, I encourage my students to use the Harvard referencing system. I had always thought of this as simply good academic practice. In terms of academic honesty it encourages students to providing details of the evidence they're used to inform and support their arguments. Moreover, it gives their peers the chance to critically review their work, examine the evidence that they've used and perhaps provide some further insight.
But, again, Cherie pointed out the obvious to me! Think of all the times when you've tried to access a website or a digital worksheet only to find that the links don't work properly - frustrating right! But to reduce the act of archiving and documentation to mere website maintenance is a hugely reductionist view.
It's essential work which helps preserve the collection making it accessible for future generations. Future generations of teachers and educators can look back at what we experienced. Look at the artifacts that we left behind and use that to advance their teaching practice too. I genuinely hadn't considered the fact that what we do as teachers and open educational practitioners leaves a mark, it leaves a legacy for those who come after us, a legacy which forms a foundation for others to build on.
I can't help thinking, as I come to the end of this article, about that private art collector who keeps everything locked up in his house for his own appreciation and enjoyment. One person can enjoy the fruits of their own labors. But if shared with a whole community, just imaging how much more joy and happiness you could spread.
Comments
Post a Comment