Creativity and Curiosity: My Thoughts - Special Post #12A

I read Elli's blog on curiosity. She believes that asking questions is a great way to increase a student's curiosity for learning. The more questions they ask about something, the more interested they become. I believe this is a great outlook on student's curiosity! We must also consider how we get students to start asking more questions and become interested in the first place?

In my opinion, the best way for a teacher to spark curiosity within the students is: by making a lesson fun, exemplifying passion for the subject, and make it seem interesting! Recently, I observed a kindergarten class. The teacher had a passion and excitement for learning. It was evident that she enjoyed teaching which encouraged the students to be more involved. It takes a special person to be a successful teacher. Someone who truly enjoys their job and has a desire for their students to be outstanding. If I was in a classroom and my teacher was overly enthusiastic about a lesson, I would automatically become curious.Its simple, yet not all teachers remember this.

If a teachers enthusiasm is not enough to spark questioning, I would say the next step is making the lesson relative to the students. I am always more interested in something if I understand the importance. If I am learning about something I want to know how it is closely pertaining to my life and world. For example, if children are learning how to count money they will be much more interested if you encourage them to help their parents pay next time they are shopping. It is something new they are learning while at the same time getting to apply it to their lives.

The final effort to spark curiosity would be group activities and games. Games is something that always interest children. Have them play a game about the topic of study. There are many Smartboard games available or simply a trivia game. Once the students have learned a small amount about the lesson, they may become more interested!