Written by Clayton Rhodes - School of Interdisciplinary Studies
In their book, Weaving Creativity Into Every Strand of Your Curriculum, Burnett and Figliotti (2015) maintain that curiosity is a key factor in stimulating creativity in the classroom: “Curiosity cultivates intrinsic motivation – the internal motivation that simply comes with the joy and interest of the task rather than the external rewards (16).”
The authors provide a number of suggestions for encouraging curiosity in the classroom:
- Spend time asking open-ended questions, questions that do not have single answers
- Frequently ask your students what they are wondering about
- When students ask questions, don’t rush to give them “the answer.” First ask, “What do you think?”
- Encourage your students to ask questions beyond their first “Why?”
- Actively wonder about how your students perceive the world. When you can tap into your students’ perspectives, you can understand them in a deeper way
- Be aware of the interests of your students and ask questions related to those interests
- Acknowledge the curiosity and questioning of your students. When a student asks an interesting question, say, “That’s a great question!”
- Avoid overstimulation. Sometimes when we focus on simplicity, curiosity knocks (17-18)
Citation:
Burnett, C. & Figliotti, J. (2015). Weaving Creativity into Every Strand of Your Curriculum. Buffalo, NY: Knowinnovation.
