Unlocking the Power of Curiosity: A Pathway to Engaged Learning
Imagine a scenario with a Grade 7 Technology Teacher, Miss Ngubane. Imagine she decided to spark her Learners’ curiosity by introducing a challenge. She gave them the scenario where their elderly aunt or granny was coming to visit, but the problem was that the family did not have a bed for her to sleep in. Since they had no bed, the family decided to build it themselves. The bed needed to be high enough and strong enough for her to sleep comfortably. The task for the class was to design the ideal bed in an affordable way using appropriate materials.
Once she had presented the challenge to the class, Miss Ngubane divided the Learners into teams to work together in, on this challenge. Beforehand, Miss Ngubane had started a box of recyclable materials that she had collected such as egg cartons, toilet rolls, cardboard packaging from cereal boxes and other household packaging that could be used to create a model replica (or mini version) of the designed bed. She then showed the Learners this box of materials. “Today,” she said with a twinkle in her eye, “Your job is to draw a basic bed design and then go through this box to see what kinds of material will work to make a model of your bed.”
Miss Ngubane reminded the Learners of what they had learned about the “properties of materials” in their Science lessons from previous grades, including how strong the materials were and how much weight they could carry. Excitement filled the room as the Learners discussed their possible bed designs and which materials were best for building their models. They brainstormed ideas about the strength of materials, comfort, support and safety. Miss Ngubane encouraged them to ask questions, share opinions and find out more in the library, in magazines and even on the internet.
As they examined the materials, they learned about the strengths and weaknesses of the materials. They looked at the pros and cons of each option thinking about factors like how long they could last, the cost and how easy it would be to build a bed with them.
During the lesson, Miss Ngubane helped the Learners solve the problems that came up. She asked questions to make them think and she asked what might not work and probed why. The Learners were encouraged to find ways to fix those problems and she praised their clever and creative ideas. She made sure they felt safe sharing any ideas and asked more questions to keep the conversation going.
After working hard in their groups the Learners finished their designs and showed them proudly to the rest of the class. Each group explained their choices, explaining their thinking for the project.
Miss Ngubane sparked the Learners’ curiosity with something they cared about – it was something they could relate to and was important to them. This was practical and helpful because the Learners understood the context which made them really interested and engaged in the task. You might remember reading about the value of engaged Learners in our April and May newsletters!
Miss Ngubani gained a group of inspired, driven and enthusiastic Learners. Research done by a number of scholars, as explained in Chapter 6 of Teaching for Learning in a Fast-Changing World – (Krajcik & Shin, 2014) and (Larmer et al., 2015) – shows that Learners who learn about things they care about and that interest them are better able to succeed in school and deepen their learning in different subjects.
Now that you’ve read about how a classroom could be, how excited are you about the role of curiosity in education?
That is why we focus on the C in S.P.E.C.I.A.L. – which stands for Curiosity, the theme of this newsletter.
With curiosity, we can create engaging lessons for everyone! We suggest that Teachers pick topics that Learners can relate to and use their own experiences because when we learn, our brains try to guess what’s next based on what we already know. When this works, the brain gets all excited. Boom! You’ve got the Learner’s attention. In the story above, Ms Ngubane did just that by watching how the Learners reacted and helped the Learners follow what they were curious about. She asked questions like “Why do you think that is?” rather than giving them all the answers. This inspired the Learners to continue to be curious and stay interested in the lesson.
Ready to spark curiosity? If you want to know more, this great book – and free to download – will inspire you Teaching and Learning in a Fast-Changing World. In this book, the authors’ suggestions include the following:
- Start with Clear Goals: Start lessons with a big question that shows what you want Learners to understand by the end.
- Curiosity Sparks Learning: Ask Learners to come up with questions – this lights up curiosity and makes lessons more engaging and exciting.
- Design a Story: Shape lessons around a central question, creating a storyline that unfolds throughout.
- Predict and Discuss: Encourage Learners to guess outcomes and share thoughts before revealing the answers or solutions.
- Stimulate Thinking: Use brain-teaser questions to make Learners think and get into the learning groove.
- Personal Connection: Link lessons to toppings in Learners’ lives, fostering a sense of relevance and interest in learning more.
- Engage Everyone: Involve the whole class in open-ended questions, promoting participation – more brains, more fun.
- Connect and Apply: Encourage Learners to explain new content in their own words and connect it to what they already know.
- Real-World Relevance: Use real-life examples to show why the topic is important in the real world. Take it a step further by using project-based learning, where Learners work on projects that address real-world challenges. Project-based learning boosts curiosity and encourages critical thinking and problem-solving skills. It’s a powerful way to connect classroom learning to practical scenarios, creating a sense of curiosity and accomplishment in your Learners!
