"Curiosity: The Force Within a Hungry Mind - Teacher is the compass to Activate it"

It's no secret that curiosity makes learning more effective and enjoyable. ... Instilling students with a strong desire to know or learn something is what every teacher lives for, and research has even shown that curiosity is just as important as intelligence in determining how well students do in school. Curious people always ask questions and search for answers in their minds. Their minds are always active. Since the mind is like a muscle which becomes stronger through continual exercise, the mental exercise caused by curiosity makes your mind stronger and stronger.

Why Curiosity Enhances Learning

• "The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing." -- Albert Einstein

It's no secret that curiosity makes learning more effective and enjoyable. Curious students not only ask questions, but also actively seek out the answers. Without curiosity, Sir Isaac Newton would have never formulated the laws of physics, Alexander Fleming probably wouldn't have discovered penicillin, and Marie Curie's pioneering research on radioactivity may not exist.

Instilling students with a strong desire to know or learn something is what every teacher lives for, and research has even shown that curiosity is just as important as intelligence in determining how well students do in school. But how much do we really know about its role in the learning process?

Your Brain Likes Curiosity

Recently, researchers from the University of California, Davis conducted a series of experiments to discover what exactly goes on in the brain when our curiosity is aroused. For the study, the researchers had participants rate how curious they were to learn the answers to more than 100 trivia questions, such as "What Beatles single lasted longest on the charts, at 19 weeks?" or "What does the term 'dinosaur' actually mean?" At certain points throughout the study, f MRI scans were carried out to see what was happening in the brain when participants felt particularly curious about the answer to a question.

So what did these experiments reveal? Here are two of the most important findings.

1. Curiosity prepares the brain for learning.

While it might be no big surprise that we're more likely to remember what we've learned when the subject matter intrigues us, it turns out that curiosity also helps us learn information we don't consider all that interesting or important.

The researchers found that, once the subjects' curiosity had been piqued by the right question, they were better at learning and remembering completely unrelated information. One of the study’s co-authors, Dr. Matthias Gruber, explains that this is because curiosity puts the brain in a state that allows it to learn and retain any kind of information, like a vortex that sucks in what you are motivated to learn, and also everything around it.

So if a teacher is able to arouse students' curiosity about something they're naturally motivated to learn, they'll be better prepared to learn things that they would normally consider boring or difficult. For instance, if a student struggles with math, personalizing math problems to match their specific interests rather than using generic textbook questions could help them better remember how to go about solving similar math problems in the future.

2. Curiosity makes subsequent learning more rewarding.

Aside from preparing the brain for learning, curiosity can also make learning a more rewarding experience for students.

The researchers found that when the participants' curiosity had been sparked, there was not only increased activity in the hippo-campus, which is the region of the brain involved in the creation of memories, but also in the brain circuit that is related to reward and pleasure. This circuit is the same one that lights up when we get something we really like, such as candy or money, and it relies on dopamine, a "feel-good" chemical that relays messages between neurons and gives us a sort of high.

So not only will arousing students' curiosity help them remember lessons that might otherwise go in one ear and out the other, but it can also make the learning experience as pleasurable as ice cream or pocket money. Of course, most teachers already instinctively know the importance of fostering inquisitive minds, but to have science back it up is undeniably satisfying.

Asking the Right Question

Naturally, there are still a few things that remain unclear about curiosity's role in learning. For one thing, scientists have yet to determine its long-term effects. For instance, if a student's curiosity is stimulated at the beginning of a school day, will it help them better absorb information all day long? Another thing the researchers are keen to investigate is why some people are more naturally curious than others, and which factors most influence how curious we are.

For the moment, though, these findings serve as a reminder that there is no such thing as a dumb question, because as cognitive scientist Daniel Willing ham notes in his book Why Don't Students Like School?, it's the question that stimulates curiosity -- being told the answer quells curiosity before it can even get going.

So rather than jumping straight into the answers, let's try to start students off with the sort of questions that encourage them to do their own seeking.

What questions tend to spark greater curiosity among your students?

Ways to Activate Curiosity in the Classroom

“The curious mind is constantly alert and exploring, seeking material for thought, as a vigorous and healthy body is on the quivive for nutriment. Eagerness for experience, for new and varied contacts, is found where wonder is found. Such curiosity is the only sure guarantee of the acquisition of the primary facts upon which inference must base itself.” (John Dewey, How We Think)

During the summer of 1976, my family took a trip to Maine. We drove from Philadelphia, and my job was navigator. (This was at a time when maps were still printed on paper and no one had ever heard of GPS.) Interestingly, the parts of the trip I remember most are following the map as we drove, visiting my mother’s hometown of Boston along the way, and meeting another boy in the neighboring cabin who was also named Gerald.

Why did those three particular items stick with me? I suspect it’s because each one of them piqued my curiosity more than other events on the trip. I remember the map because it was the first time I can recall being “in charge” of navigating on a longer drive. Each new place I saw coming up on the map made me wonder what it looked like in person. I would try to imagine it, but the reality inevitably was different, and I was constantly processing the new information and connecting it to what I saw on the map.

As for the trip to Boston, I knew a little something about it from fourth grade social studies and from things my mom had told me, but I’d never been there myself. Dad’s hometown of Harrisburg was closer to home and we’d been there a number of times, but Boston was a brand new experience, and I was fascinated to see some of the places that were part of my mother’s childhood.

When we got settled in our cabin at our destination, I went outside to play and met another boy. When I found out his name was the same as mine, I was amazed, since the only other Gerald I knew at the time was the President of the United States. I wondered if the name might be more common than I thought.

Researchers have confirmed my anecdotal experiences, showing that curiosity is a critical component of effective learning. I believe it is an essential part of a 21st century classroom, and teachers should equip themselves with the tools to make it a regular part of their instruction.

Your Brain on Curiosity

Curiosity is about the brain wanting to make order out of something that doesn’t currently make sense. Some theories even categorize curiosity as a drive, like hunger and thirst.

Curiosity is associated with the release and flow of dopamine, serotonin, and opioids in the brain. These chemicals are part of the reward pathway, generating the sense of pleasure and satisfaction we feel when our curiosity is satisfied. To put it another way, we are addicted to wonder.

Curious brains are better at learning. Curiosity can even leak over and help brains learn incidental and boring things that are encountered around the same time as the stuff they are actually curious about.

In a way, curiosity is the brain’s way of creating novelty where it doesn’t exist in the world around us. Novelty promotes and sustains attention. When our experiences are mundane and routine, we can create mental possibilities that are different and explore them. Daydreaming and doodling could even be mechanisms to amplify our internal motivation to learn and to enhance learning.

What makes children want to learn? According to research, it's the joy of exploration -- a hidden force that drives learning, critical thinking, and reasoning. We call this ability curiosity, and we recognize it in children when we see them exploring their environment, devouring books and information, asking questions, investigating concepts, manipulating data, searching for meaning, connecting with people and nature, and seeking new learning experiences.

The Heart of Lifelong Learning

Most teachers understand that curiosity supercharges learning. But they also know that many students can achieve high grades without being curious -- by understanding the system of test-taking and dutifully doing their homework. Curious children often spend a great deal of time reading and acquiring knowledge because they sense a gap between what they know and what they want to know -- not because they are motivated by grades. In fact, when kids are in curiosity's grip, they often forget the immediate goals at hand because they are preoccupied with learning.

If you suspect that curious kids fare better in careers and life, you're right, and for a variety of reasons. Research suggests that intellectual curiosity has as big of an effect on performance as hard work. When put together, curiosity and hard work account for success just as much as intelligence. Another study found that people who were curious about a topic retained what they learned for longer periods of time. And even more impressive, research has linked curiosity to a wide range of important adaptive behaviors, including tolerance of anxiety and uncertainty, positive emotions, humor, playfulness, out-of-box thinking, and a noncritical attitude -- all attributes associated with healthy social outcomes.

Curiosity is part of The Compass Advantage? (a model created for engaging families, schools, and communities in the principles of positive youth development) because it is at the heart of lifelong learning. Curiosity not only gives children an advantage in school, but today's business leaders agree that it is also at the heart of thriving organizations.

Psychologists view curiosity as a life force, vital to happiness, intellectual growth, and well being. It is interconnected with each of the other abilities on the Compass -- sociability, resilience, self-awareness, integrity, resourcefulness, creativity, and empathy. Like most human abilities, curiosity also has a dark side. After all, it did kill the cat! And without proper nurturing by teachers and parents, unregulated curiosity can lead students down rabbit holes that waste time, obstruct goals, or damage health.

The greatest advantage of curiosity lies in its power to motivate learning in areas of life and work that are meaningful to the learner. It points students toward the knowledge, skills, relationships, and experiences that they need to live full and productive lives. Curiosity is one of the Pathways to Every Student's Success.

Ways to Stimulate a Student's Curiosity

• Value and reward curiosity.
• Often, the temptation is to reward students when their curiosity leads to a desired outcome or good grade. But it's more important to notice and reinforce curiosity when you see it in action. When you praise students by describing how their questions, explorations, and investigations are contributing to their own or classroom learning, you let them know that they are valued for their motivation, regardless of the grade they achieve.

Teach students how to ask quality questions.

• Quality questions are a vital medium for curiosity. Google is great at finding answers but doesn't stimulate the formation of questions. Good questions contain "why," "what if," and "how." An excellent book for understanding the art of questioning is A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger.

. Notice when kids feel puzzled or confused.

• Is there a "teachable moment" that will spark a desire to search for answers? How can you invite students to see problems as mysteries waiting to be solved?

. Encourage students to tinker.

• Tinkering might be constructive play with feelings, concepts, ideas, and materials. How can students create a new widget, essay, blog article, poem, science experiment, service, or product from their explorations? Tinkering with materials, thoughts, and emotions stimulates curiosity and leads to innovative outcomes.

Spread the curiosity around.

• Create opportunities for more-curious and less-curious students to work together in project-based learning. Curiosity is contagious in groups working toward a real-world common goal, helping to cross-pollinate questions and new ideas.

Use current events.

• News reports can lead students to ask purposeful questions that help unearth what's beneath the surface of societal problems. According to research, asking "why" is the critical ingredient in unraveling these difficult conflicts. This often gets to the fundamental reason for why people disagree about solutions.

Teach students to be skeptics.

• The term skeptic is derived from the Greek skeptikos, meaning "to inquire" or "to look around." A skeptic requires additional evidence before accepting someone's claims as true. He or she is willing to challenge the status quo with open-minded, deep questioning. Galileo was a skeptic. So was Steve Jobs.

Explore a variety of cultures and societies.

• How is one culture or society uniquely different from another one? Encourage students to investigate their genetic or emotional links to other cultures. Why do they relate to certain beliefs or values that other societies hold?

Model curiosity.

• You can do this in your respectful relationships with students by exploring their interests, expanding upon their ideas, and engaging them in meaningful dialogue about what matters most.

Encourage curiosity at home.

• Help parents understand the importance of curiosity in their child's development and suggest ways that they can foster it at home. Supportive caregivers can have a tremendous impact on developing curiosity and other essential abilities.

Strategies to Inspire Curiosity in Students

“I think, at a child’s birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift should be curiosity.” —Eleanor Roosevelt

Think about the last time a book, movie, or conversation sparked your curiosity. When something ignites your curiosity, regions of your brain associated with reward, memory, and motivation actually “fire up” with activity. In other words, curiosity can be a great motivator that makes the brain sincerely want to learn. Researchers from the University of California, Davis, suggests a link between motivation and curiosity as discovered in 2014 when they set out to understand how curiosity affects learning.

Practical Tips to Inspire Student Curiosity

This research reminds parents, Learning Coaches, and teachers how crucial it is to engage our students’ curiosity every day. Consider these five strategies you can use to inspire curiosity in school and beyond:

Be curious yourself. Model an open, inquisitive attitude to new and familiar activities, ideas, people, and cultures.

• Curiosity is contagious. Try a new sport, start a new hobby, or take an online course in an unfamiliar subject. Seek out people with different backgrounds and viewpoints, and then actively listen to what they have to say. As you take on these new challenges, share your experience with your student—the excitement, the rewards, and the challenges. In the process, you’ll inspire your student to tackle new subjects and persevere through the initial discomfort that often comes with learning something unfamiliar.

Ask questions and question answers.

• You’ve heard the saying, “It’s the journey, not the destination.” When it comes to curiosity, it’s the question, not the answer, that engages students. The destination has value and will reward a student’s hard work. The journey, however, makes that end result more exciting and satisfying. Curiosity starts the journey and motivates a learner to keep going, no matter how rocky the path.In his book Why Don’t Students Like School?, cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham argues that focusing on answers first actually dampens a student’s natural curiosity. To draw students in, you need to ask open-ended questions that encourage them to seek out their own answers—questions that cannot be answered with a yes or a no or a shrug of the shoulders. Open-ended questions can begin with phrases like:
• What would happen if …
• What would it be like to …
• Why did …
• How do we know that …
• What did you think when …

Consider the format FQR: Fact, Question, Response.

• When presenting a new fact, expand with a question. For example, “Beethoven kept composing as his hearing was getting worse. I wonder how he felt about that?” A student’s response might be, “I’d be scared and angry.” With you as a model, students will learn to frame their own questions and even go on to question the answers. In the words of the late George Carlin, “Don’t just teach your children to read. Teach them to question what they read.”

Practice and encourage active listening.

• Of course, great questions are pointless if no one is listening. When you actively listen to your student, you’re also demonstrating how he or she can live curiously and communicate effectively. By example, show your student how to listen with full attention, how to play back or paraphrase the speaker’s comments, and how to ask questions that generate more information and maybe even more questions.

Look for the hook; relate “uninteresting” or difficult subjects directly to your student’s interests and daily life.

• One of the advantages of personalized online learning is the ability to tailor lessons to your student’s interests, strengths, and challenges. If your student loves sports, then explore a favorite game through its venue locations (geography), statistics (math), or background on a favorite player (memoir or biography). Team names themselves can have amazing backstories. The Lansing Lugnuts and the Burlington Bumblebees, for example … no, I’ll let your curiosity lead you.Find books related to your student’s interests. Students who love horses might be curious about how the invention of the automobile diminished the need for horses as everyday transportation. A science lover may relate to the history of inventions or to Clara Barton’s impact on modern medicine. With the right hook to your student’s interests, you can completely transform almost any subject into a fascinating source of information.

 Find or create the “hook” in every topic

What is it about what you’re teaching that can make it compelling? If you can find the intrigue or challenge, even if it’s through fantasy like my “time machine” scenario, students will be more inclined to engage from the start and persevere through a challenging task.

But be careful of hollow promises in your hook. There’s a reason that BuzzFeed and Upworthy are so successful: they have mastered the art of generating interest by creating headlines that demand you click them. I could have titled this article, “This Teacher Drove His Students Insane: What Happened Next Will Change How You Think About Learning FOREVER”. But when you got here, the reality of the article likely would not have blown you away. Find an honest but engaging way to create interest without hyperbole.

 Give students choice and voice

While you might sometimes be able to persuade students to become curious about things you want them to learn, they will pursue their own passions more deeply. Provide options that allow them to make their own connections between the material and things they are already curious about. If you structure your projects and lessons thoughtfully, incorporating student voice and choice at strategic points, you can still accomplish your learning objectives and state standards while giving students freedom.

 Provide time for unstructured exploration

It takes discipline for a teacher to allot unstructured exploration time in class. The relentless drive to get stuff done and cover all the required content makes us feel like we cannot relinquish even five minutes for what might be perceived as fluff.

But exploration is as integral to learning as memory. “Discovery brings joy,” says neurologist John Medina in his book Brain Rules. “Exploration creates the need for more discovery so that more joy can be experienced.” School is not typically built to sustain that, but if you intentionally invest more instruction time into exploration, you can relight the fire in your students. Having highly motivated learners will reap benefits on the back end.

 Create a “Parking Lot”

Unstructured exploration is sure to prompt a lot of random wondering, ideas, and hunches. But they are likely to crop up at other times as well—often during the most inconvenient times for the teacher to deal with them. So instead of dismissing them as off-task or inappropriate, create a process for capturing them.

Have a wall, bulletin board, or notebook somewhere in your room where students who have those ideas can “park” them for later consideration. Don’t let them languish, though. Be sure to visit the parking lot regularly by sharing the most interesting questions out loud, or letting students browse it at the start of a research project.

Teach students to ask questions

Ramsey Musallam, a high school chemistry teacher, says, “Questions can be windows to great instruction, but not the other way around.” Good questions form the basis and context for learning, and although we can create some curiosity by asking thought-provoking questions, the most powerful questions are those students generate themselves.

Asking questions is, however, a complicated skill. Many students don’t know how to do it well since they rarely have the opportunity in school.

One excellent framework to teach this to students is the Question Formulation Technique (QFT) from the Right Question Institute. This is a structured process for teaching students how to generate, evaluate, and select great questions useful in any number of different learning situations.

Learning as a Journey

• These five strategies should serve as just the first leg of a journey towards making curiosity a cornerstone of your teaching. It’s likely that you already have other ideas that also promote wonder in your students.

Present new information in chunks.

• Now that you’ve piqued your student’s curiosity, don’t risk killing it with information overload. Research shows that for every ten minutes of lesson time, students need at least two minutes to process what they’ve learned. A physical and mental break helps the body and the brain refresh themselves. So use the 10/2, or “chunk and chew,” strategy. By presenting new information in 10-minute chunks and limiting it to 2–3 main points, you’ll keep your student’s attention and make the information easier to absorb.

Key Components of Curiosity in the Classroom

Let’s consider two components underlying the strategies we’ll be using to promote curiosity.

Mystery/Surprise/Ambiguity

When the principal walked into the classroom, my third grade enrichment group was immediately alert. When I told them Mr. Perez had a special announcement for us, they were intrigued.

“Our school has a unique opportunity,” he began, “and you get to hear about it first.” Now the students were laser-focused on our visitor. “A community member is letting us borrow a time machine, and we’re going to take a field trip to ancient Egypt. I want your class to put together a guide for teachers to help them plan their trip.”

I could have started this unit by telling students we would be researching ancient Egypt and writing reports about it. But by giving them a surprise and a bit of a mystery, my students eagerly dug into the work and quickly generated a long list of things they wanted to know about so they could plan an exciting trip.

One key component of curiosity in the classroom, then, is incorporating some element of mystery, surprise, or ambiguity. When a demonstration doesn’t align with prior experiences, or when there are missing pieces to a puzzle, students naturally want to figure out what is going on.

Exploration/Play

Another element of curiosity is open exploration. Sometimes, the most interesting connections and sparks of wonder come when we are playing around without a specific goal in mind. By giving the freedom to make a mess and just try things, students will stumble upon interesting patterns or intriguing possibilities. As soon as someone says, “That’s weird,” or “I wonder if…” then you know they are ready to dig in and work at learning.

Curiosity prepares the brain for learning. ... So if a teacher is able to arouse students' curiosity about something they're naturally motivated to learn, they'll be better prepared to learn things that they would normally consider boring or difficult.

That family vacation we took forty years ago was not just about getting to the destination. The entire journey was a learning process and an experience that stays with me to this day. Likewise, the time our students spend in the classroom is not merely a vehicle to get them to mastery of a skill or concept. Instead, think of every day as a valuable part of a lifelong journey, fueled by curiosity. What will you do to keep your students’ tanks full?

So now we’re curious. How are you inspiring your student’s curiosity? How do you find inspiration for you own curiosity? Tell us in the comments below.