Hi there,
Welcome to Field Notes from Refined Learning Design. Whether you’re back from last month or joining in for the first time, I’m glad you’re here.
Each month, I share an idea I’ve been exploring and something that’s sparked reflection or shaped how I design professional learning. You’ll also find at least one resource recommendation, a quote I can’t stop thinking about, and a peek into what’s happening in my community of PL designers.
This newsletter is grounded in the values I carry into every project: from designing with purpose, cultivating curiosity and understanding, to creating transformative experiences. (Discover my guiding principles here.)
This month’s field note explores how curation now includes designing how learners interact with knowledge, not just what they access.
📓 Field Note: AI changes what participants can do with thoughtfully curated resources.
📍 Sparked by: Multiple LFTX Summer Conference sessions
💡 Big idea: Design learning environments, not just resource lists.
Ideas about curation from Midway ISD, Miguel Guhlin (and my session!)
The Spark
I spend a lot of time thinking about the curation process. 🤓 In fact, in my “about me” graphic, I say “Curation is one of my super powers!”
I began exploring the concept of curation in 2016 after reading The New Pillars of Modern Teaching. When I first started presenting about the curation process, most educators first thought of librarians as curators. They also connected this idea to what we envision as the work of museum curators: find works of art, organize them in a collection and write cards about each piece, and open the door to visitors. A museum curator’s process mirrors what Gayle Allen describes in The New Pillars, and she defines the 3 Ss of great curation as scanning, sense-making, and sharing.
Over the years, I’ve encountered quite a few different “frameworks” for the curation process, and lately the concept seems buzzier than ever. I was even more delighted to find the idea referenced in several presentations at this summer’s Learning Forward Texas Conference. And more interestingly, all of the sessions shared curation as it relates to artificial intelligence.
After hearing curation surface three different times in one conference, I couldn't stop thinking about why curation+AI feels so important. And then I started connecting more dots.
The Design Shift
My “before AI” curation process was strong. For my sessions, I always included resources that participants explored during the session or used for extending the learning. I intentionally chose a variety of formats, and the resources were shared and organized in a way to prevent cognitive overload. I even thought of curation as an act of care, since I knew participants didn’t leave sessions thinking, “I can’t wait to search for more resources about this topic.”
At ISTELive 2023, Richard Culatta challenged educators to teach curation over creation. I was excited to see him elevate the word curation, and I interpreted part of his imperative as helping learners think more critically about the information they consume. Another part is the fact that AI can create content so quickly (and it improves by the day) and his original challenge is more relevant than ever.
Three years later, after hearing curation surface repeatedly alongside AI, and with my experiments in vibe-coding, I think I see another layer of what he meant.
Before AI, curated collections were largely static. Participants read an article, watched a video, or downloaded a handout in the order suggested.
In the AI world, my curation process hasn’t fundamentally changed. I’m still carefully selecting resources, considering multiple perspectives, and organizing ideas intentionally.
What has changed is what participants can do with that collection of resources.
We don’t just curate resources anymore. We curate the knowledge environments our participants learn from.
By knowledge environment, I mean an intentionally designed collection of trusted resources and learning pathways, enhanced using digital tools (AI), that allows participants to explore ideas in ways that best meet their needs.
💡 Design Move: Curate a Knowledge Environment
AI transforms curated collections into interactive learning environments. Instead of simply consuming resources, learners can ask questions, compare perspectives, summarize ideas, identify patterns, or explore concepts at the depth they need.
Our design challenge shifts from choosing the right resources to designing meaningful ways for participants to interact with those resources.
At first, I treated AI as a companion to my curated resources. “You have time to explore these resources, or you can use your favorite chatbot to better understand this topic.”
Looking back, that was my first step toward something bigger.
As I’ve connected these ideas about AI+curation, I hope something like this script becomes a regular part of my sessions:
I’ve selected six resources that represent different perspectives on cognitive load. I’ve loaded them into NotebookLM so you can ask questions, compare ideas, listen to the audio overview, or dive into the original sources depending on what you need.
As of now, I have tried this exactly one time so far for my “Know Yourself to Grow Yourself (and Others!)” presentation for LFTX. Here’s the session aligned NotebookLM with an infographic and a new audio overview. The session included a discussion about curation + AI, so the Notebook includes my previous posts about curation.
Participants weren’t simply given a “container” for all of the resources. They could choose the pathway that best matched their curiosity, background knowledge, or learning preferences.
Depending on what they needed, they could…
read an original article
ask questions with the chat
explore the artifacts I created
After this first small success, my goal now is to provide participants a curated collection they can explore through NotebookLM, Gems, or another AI tool. Designing flexible knowledge environments where learners can explore trusted resources in the ways that work best for them is exactly the kind of professional learning experience I want to create.
Try This in Your Next Session
As you curate ideas and resources for your next presentation, session, or workshop, consider:
Can an AI tool allow participants to access the materials in a different way?
Could NotebookLM, a Google Gem, or other tool allow participants to extend their learning?
Instead of asking, “What resources should I share?” ask, “What questions do I want participants to be able to explore after the session?”
I believe the most powerful curated resources invite learners to ask questions, compare ideas, and continue learning long after the session ends. I hope using AI tools to create knowledge environments can be one way to reimagine how we design learning.
I’d Love to Hear
How has your thinking about curation changed in the AI era?
Are you experimenting with NotebookLM, Gems, or other AI tools to create richer learning experiences?
What might it look like to curate a knowledge environment instead of simply sharing resources?
Noting, reflecting, connecting,
Kathryn
PS: If something here sparked an idea, please forward this post to an EduFriend who’s also designing professional learning. ✨
Your job is to collect good ideas. The more good ideas you collect, the more you can choose from to be influenced by.
Here’s what’s happening in our community spaces this month:
July’s Mindful Musings prompts explore the theme of noticing.
🧪 This month’s Design Lab provides strategies for closing a session with intention.
💌 Join the Encouragement Circle and commit to mailing a note of encouragement to another educator. (Complete the Form by Friday, 7/24!)
The Refined Design Learning Community is a space for curious, collaborative educators who design learning experiences for other adults. Our members are professional learning providers, educational coaches, PLC leads, admin, and aspiring PD leaders.
I use the Circle platform to host the community, and it’s free to join and participate. In our spaces, you’ll find thoughtful discussions, book clubs, and virtual meetups, which are open to all in the community. While I plan to offer paid courses in the future, nearly everything available now (except one minicourse) is completely free.
Reflecting • Connecting • Refining
📓 Why Field Notes?
This newsletter is inspired by the idea of self-anthropology from Tiny Experiments by Anne-Laure Le Cunff. Just like field notes help researchers make sense of what they observe, these monthly reflections help me capture ideas, tools, and questions from my own work designing professional learning. I share them here in the spirit of experimentation, connection, and ongoing refinement.
🤖 AI helped polish this post, but the ideas, intention, curation, and care are all mine.
