PBL Pearl Vol 2 (#12): Instilling curiosity Part 2

Some practical tips to foster curiosity in learners . . . courtesy of Marilyn P. Arnone.

Most educators would agree that fostering the scholarly attribute of curiosity in learners is an important task. Providing students with adequate guidance while affording them the opportunities for exploration, however, is probably easier stated than accomplished. As mentioned earlier, not all students are highly curious and what might stimulate curiosity in some students might result in anxiety for others. It becomes the job of the educator and/or instructional designer to recognize these differences and control the classroom or other learning environment to accommodate all learners. With this caveat in mind, the following are ten instructional design strategies for fostering curiosity.

Strategy #1: Curiosity as a Hook
Use curiosity as a primary motivator at the beginning of a lesson by starting, for example, with a thought-provoking question or surprising statement (Small & Arnone, 2000).

Strategy #2: Conceptual Conflict
Introduce a conceptual conflict when possible. Learners will feel compelled to explore the conflict until it is resolved. When the student has resolved the conceptual conflict, he/she will sense a feeling of satisfaction.

Strategy #3: An Atmosphere for Questions
Create an atmosphere where students feel comfortable about raising questions and where they can test their own hypotheses through discussion and brainstorming. Not only does this foster curiosity but it also helps to build confidence.

Strategy #4: Time
Allow adequate time for exploration of a topic. If the teacher has been successful in stimulating curiosity, then learners will want to persist in that exploration.

Strategy #5: Choices
Give students the opportunity for choosing topics within a subject area. For example, in a writing class, the student can explore a topic of his/her interest while accomplishing the goals of the writing task. Being allowed to choose a topic that is intrinsically motivating will help sustain curiosity.

Strategy #6: Curiosity-Arousing Elements
Introduce one or more of the following elements into a lesson to arouse curiosity:
--Incongruity
--Contradictions
--Novelty
--Surprise
--Complexity
--Uncertainty
Learners will desire to explore the source of the incongruity, contradiction, novelty, uncertainty, etc., and the resulting information will satisfy their curiosity.

Strategy #7: The Right Amount of Stimulation
Be aware of the degree of stimulation that is being entered into the learning situation. Remember, there are individual differences when it comes to curiosity. Some learners will become anxious if the stimulus is too complex, too uncertain, too novel, etc. (Gorlitz, 1987). They may quickly leave what Day (1982) refers to as the Zone of Curiosity and enter the Zone of Anxiety.

Strategy # 8: Exploration
Encourage students to learn through active exploration.

Strategy #9: Rewards
Allow the exploration and discovery to be its own reward. "Exploration is self-rewarding (Day, 1982, p.19)." Use external rewards judiciously as some studies have shown that extrinsic rewards given for a task that a learner finds intrinsically motivating may dampen future interest in the activity.<

Strategy #10: Modeling
Model curiosity. Ask questions. Engage in specific exploration to resolve a question posed, and demonstrate enthusiasm.

Conclusion
To instill curiosity in students is to encourage their disposition to learn. To ignore its importance is to risk diminishing, if not losing, the endowment of curiosity conferred upon all at birth.

Dr. Maynard Luterman