Curating for the classroom: Examining growth in preservice teachers’ selection of social media classroom management content

Platforms such as TikTok are increasingly used for teachers’ informal professional development, yet little is known about content quality or how background knowledge may shape curation. We examined preservice teachers’ (PSTs’) selection of short-form social media classroom management videos as their knowledge of adolescent development increased. In total, 186 videos at preassessment and 173 at postassessment were analyzed using Kwok’s CM PReP framework. Findings showed an improvement in PSTs’ curation of evidence-based, higher quality videos over time. Discussion underscores the need to prepare PSTs to critically evaluate digital information and highlights the potential to leverage familiar platforms to strengthen teacher preparation by connecting theory to practice in accessible, relevant ways.