It’s been the Year of Curiosity for McREL, one of the nation’s major education “think tanks” and professional learning organizations. One peak event during the year has been the publication of Out of Curiosity: Restoring the Power of Hungry Minds for Better Schools, Workplaces, and Lives by President and CEO Bryan Goodwin.
Goodwin’s message (and McREL’s big theme) comes through in this promotional paragraph for the book, which targets a wide audience – including parents:
Do you feel like misplaced priorities are preventing a breakthrough at work? That your kids’ school has all the potential for greatness but keeps turning in flat results? That connecting deeply with others seems more difficult than ever? You’re not imagining it: Like many of us, you may feel like you’re running out of curiosity. Join Bryan Goodwin, a former business writer and high school teacher who now heads one of America’s leading education research and consulting firms, as he explores this uniquely human yet easily overlooked characteristic.
Bryan and his colleagues have written a second book specifically for educators called Curiosity Works, aimed at helping schools get “up and running” on doing a better job tapping into the deep learning well that curiosity represents. He wrote an article about that here at the ABPC Blog last September: “Inside-Out Innovation? Start with the Curiosity Inside Your School.”
The Why and How of Reviving Curiosity
I think a lot of us really do feel that curiosity is not encouraged enough in our schools and among our children generally. And it’s not just a feeling – there’s research. A 2018 report from the Gallup polling organization looked back over several decades of data and found that “Students’ youthful zest for discovery dims a bit more with each school year, making the process of teaching and learning ever more challenging as students feel less connected to, and interested in, the topics they’re asked to learn.” (McREL, 11/26/18)
This finding addresses engagement, but McREL argues (and it seems to make perfect sense) that one of the primary ways to really engage K-12 students is to develop and stimulate their natural childhood curiosity. McREL’s goal is to help point the way toward a renewal of efforts (at home and at school) to use the “curiosity factor” to fuel student interest in inquiry, project-based learning, creative thinking, and career-oriented studies that feed curious minds, from engineering and science to art and design.
If you find all this intriguing and you’re curious to learn more (smile), why not spend a little quality time over the holidays checking out these McREL articles – and some other resources we’ve gathered together (including three TED videos). Be sure to browse the “Further Reading” link in this list if you want to dive deeper:
A Brief Introduction to Curiosity
How Teachers Can Tap Into the Power of Curiosity
What Is ‘Inside-Out’ Thinking?
Further Reading: Let Curiosity Be Your Guide
McREL also offers consulting services. You can learn more about that at this webpage – where you’ll also find several free, insightful white papers, including Curiosity Works: Moving your school from improvement to innovation (2018).
Other Useful Resources
3 Rules to Spark Learning
Ramsey Mussalem – TED Talks Education – April 2013
A high school chemistry teacher shares his personal revelation about curiosity’s essential place in learning.
School engagement is more than just talk
Gallup research summary – 10/25/18
“Engagement” includes teachers as well as students.
The Greatest Enemy of Creativity in Schools Isn’t Testing. It’s Time.
EdSurge – 12/18/18
Creativity has a very visible side that can be nurtured (and assessed).
How to help older kids develop a sense of imagination
MindShift KQED – 2/1/18
Speculative fiction legend Ursula LeGuin wrote: “The ability to imagine is what drives all creativity, enables clear thinking and inspires a sense of humanity.”
A Case for Curiosity
Edutopia – 2/23/16
Every year, five million children enter kindergarten armed with one word: “Why?”
The case for curiosity-driven research
Suzie Sheehy – TEDx Sydney – June 2018
Many of our modern technologies are tied to centuries-old, curiosity-driven experiments.
Returning Curiosity in Schools: Un-silo-ing Education
Laura Akesson – TEDxRVA – 7/28/15
A Virginia physics teacher makes the case for rekindling curiosity in students by breaking down silos and teaching co-curricular courses.
Most any talk by Sir Ken Robinson
TED Talks 2006-2018
Whenever we need inspiration around creativity and curiosity, we know we can find it here!
Finally . . .
We don’t want to leave this topic of nurturing curiosity and inquiry learning without recognizing the important work of ABPC consultant Jackie Walsh, who leads our Quality Questioning Institutes. Jackie, who has authored several books on the topic with her writing partner Beth Sattes, helps us see that Quality Questioning is a powerful way to encourage and help develop student curiosity (and its close companion, inquiry) in our classrooms. Here’s an article by Jackie to prompt your own wondering (for even more, click on the link at the end).
Students Learn from Inquiry, Not Interrogation
Jackie Walsh – MiddleWeb – 2/7/17
Very few students understand questioning as a process for collaborative exploration of ideas.
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