Curator and Guide

Pondering what I do as a chemistry instructor made me think of the role of a curator. I’ve never met a curator in person, but I have seen their invisible hand when I visit a museum or a gallery. Someone decided what will be displayed, how it will be displayed, and what information will accompany each of the displays. There is likely a theme that collects various objects together. Sometimes this is made explicit in the information given; other times it is not.

 

I have gone on a guided tour before. In some cases, it was a Walkman and headphones that talked me through where to walk and what to look at. In other cases, it was a live human being who could also answer questions and engage in back-and-forth conversation. The guide adds another layer of detail to whatever is being displayed, calling attention to some features while making no mention of others. Time also plays a constraining role as a live guide moves you through one display to another. A Walkman guide with a pause button, or no guide at all, allows me to decide how much or how little time I will spend with a particular exhibit.

 

The author of a textbook could be compared to a curator. Most students have never met the author, and in many classes, the textbook author never makes an explicit appearance. But the textbook arranges the material in a particular way following a particular logic. When I use a textbook as part of a class, I am akin to the guide. I add flourish to some areas while downplaying others according to what I think is important for my students. But since I have eschewed using the textbook in most of the classes I teach, I have become both curator and guide.

 

It's been freeing in some ways; I feel less constraint in rearranging the material the way I deem fit. But I’ve only reached this point of feeling that I can be a curator after I’ve taught a course multiple times and developed my own internal logic of how I personally think the material should be presented. There is no one right way. But some arrangements work better than others, certainly in chemistry where a significant chunk of the conceptual knowledge is hierarchical. Concepts build on each other and the complexity ratches up. It’s more work to be both curator and guide, instead of just focusing on the latter, but it’s work that I enjoy.

 

A museum guide has never given me a quiz to test my knowledge after the tour. In my job as an instructor, I can’t stop at being just a curator and guide. I also have to be an evaluator. Have you learned something from this tour of chemical knowledge? What have you actually learned? Can you demonstrate that you have learned what I wanted you to learn? This is not the most fun part of the job for instructor or student, but I admit that I am eager to know what and whether my students learned. I start grading exams almost immediately after the exam is over, so students can get their feedback by the next class period. But it also gives me feedback so I can improve what I do as a guide and as a curator. A museum might get feedback from a visitor based on their interactions. A curator almost never does, at least not directly. In any case, my students help me improve my role as curator and guide in the breathtaking tour of the chemical world!