Curiosity is a powerful catalyst for learning.
Luckily, we are all born curious. It is not something that needs to be taught, but instead, it needs to be nurtured, and supported. Classrooms and other learning environments are the perfect place to cultivate curiosity.
Teaching methods that value the learning process, prioritize student interest, and promote student discovery are more likely to elicit curiosity and engage children in meaningful learning experiences.
There are a number of ways we can cultivate curiosity in our classrooms.
- Wonder Aloud – Share our own wonders aloud with our students.
- Encourage Exploration – When children are empowered to explore they have an opportunity to build curiosity and investigate things that intrigue them.
- Open-Ended Materials – Open-ended materials offer opportunities for exploration. When materials do not have one fixed purpose or function, children can be creative and experiment in ways that are unique to their own interests, ideas, and discoveries.
- Follow Student Interest – When we intentionally observe our students and carefully listen to their thoughts we learn a lot about what interests them.
- Ask Open-Ended Questions – When we ask our students powerful open-ended questions we invite them to think deeper and build their curiosity.
- Powerful Provocations – Provocations provoke thought, curiosity, and creativity, and invite students to explore and investigate.
Read more on the topic of curiosity on the Kodo Community!
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