Some people are naturally endowed with a stronger sense of curiosity than others. However, curiosity can be developed through practice. As teachers, we are so accustomed to feeling we have to know the answer before we ask the question that we sometimes find it nearly impossible to ask without knowing. A curious approach to teaching involves two tenets: “not being attached to a particular path or destination and yet always being intentional in seeking out meaning, uncovering values, and discovering learning for the [student]” (Whitworth et al., 2009). Curiosity is not aimless meandering. Curiosity in the learning environment builds relationships and community. Being a curious teacher invites the student to search and reveal their thinking while permitting safe exploration in doing so.
Curiosity can be viewed as both an art and a science. Curiosity, as a science, can deepen academic learning and content knowledge and hone critical thinking, an essential skill for the 21st-century learner. As an art, curiosity focused on the self can enlighten our students’ souls and help them understand who they are as unique, creative, resourceful, and whole human beings. Both the art and science of curiosity are equally important in successful learning and development. Curiosity in the classroom assists students in finding meaning in their lives, purpose in their learning, and an authentic sense of self.
MY QUEST TO UNDERSTAND THE ART AND SCIENCE OF CURIOSITY
As an educator for over 30 years, I can confidently say that questioning is one of the most essential skills a teacher can develop to improve student learning and boost curiosity in the classroom. As a beginning teacher, one of the areas I struggled with most in my practice was the skill of questioning. I grappled with how to get at the heart of learning by asking meaningful, effective questions—knowing what questions to ask, how to ask them, and why I was asking them. I sensed, numerous times, a “stuckness” inside me. The learning exploration would halt because I couldn’t find the right questions to offer my students. I recognized I was cutting them short, depriving them of knowledge that could be otherwise accessed from perhaps a more experienced teacher.
I set out on my quest, determined to learn the art and science of being a curious teacher and to build my personal practical repertoire of questions. I enrolled in a graduate-level instructional intelligence course led by Dr. Barry Bennett that awakened and transformed my thinking. I was introduced to the science of curiosity—to different frameworks and structures of understanding the what, how, and why of questioning. My newly garnered knowledge revealed the effects of questioning on academic learning and student cognition. Along the way, my quest was kindled by a certification in personal and professional life coaching, which further facilitated my evolving aptitude of curiosity as an art—an effective way to help others uncover solutions to understanding their authentic self at a deeper level.
This new learning unleashed an exciting expanse of inquiry in my classroom and unhinged the stuckness I was feeling in my practice. I realized how some of the simplest questions could further student learning by opening spaces for broader academic thinking and individual reflective inquiry. Most importantly, my curiosity was now driven through a holistic lens of students learning about their self and subject as a connected and entangled whole.
WHY CREATE A CURIOUS LEARNING SPACE?
To Create Resourceful Students and Make Learning Sustainable
The art and science of curiosity are captured in understanding how to pose good questions, knowing what questions to ask, and why you are asking them. As a curious teacher, I don’t have all the answers. Being curious is a positive approach whereby I intricately and holistically weave this art and science into my teaching in a fashion that expands the resourcefulness of my students. Whitworth et al. (2009) remind us: “The [teacher’s] curiosity directs, defines and generates the search for answers, but it is the exploring on the part of the [student] that creates the learning. And it is this kind of learning that lasts because it comes from within.”
By finding solutions from within rather than from the teacher, students become more resourceful, and learning becomes more sustainable. A balance and blend of questioning that focuses on both self and subject is an important holistic approach to inquiry in the classroom. What follows are classroom examples of the art and science of questioning that reveal its impact on student learning.
To Understand the Impact on Academic Learning
Jamie, a secondary school French teacher and participant in my doctoral research, explained how being curious in French class is complex, multi-layered work. Jamie noted that simple questions build confidence in her students and complex ones make her students feel vulnerable. For students, the processing of questions to build knowledge and skills in French takes time. They require an increase in the number of questions asked and a variety of simple and complex questions offered to them by the teacher. Otherwise, students shut down and disengage because they become overwhelmed and feel unequipped to respond. Jamie affirms, “Often I ask the same question three times before it registers with my students. The first time they hear a second language being spoken. The second time they hear a question being asked in a second language. And the third time they finally hear and understand the question being asked to them in the second language.” Hence, questioning in French class has both an impact on academic learning and student self-confidence.
To Invite Observation
Students tend to participate more when the stakes are lower for finding a response to the question. Michaela Epstein, teacher and founder of Maths Teacher Circles, uses questions to “invite observation” in her math class and to spark interest, engagement, and curiosity. She suggests that it’s easy for students to get involved if you ask questions such as “What do you notice?” or “What do you wonder?” about a particular mathematical concept, statement, problem, or graphical representation. These types of questions encourage her students to participate because there is no right or wrong answer. They invite students to enter the “realm of possibility” and to get curious about their solutions without the fear of being wrong. Ultimately, this strengthens their sense of self and deepens their academic learning of math concepts.
To Self-Manage
Asking the right questions can help students to self-manage. Depending on the learning context, a good question might be, “What do you need right now?” Not necessarily “What do you need from me,” but “What do you need from yourself?” Within a class management context, an effective question might be, “What needs to happen right now for this to be better?” Students know what they need, but they need to hear the response come from their self.
They need to hear it spoken aloud. Students are capable of finding solutions for themselves rather than someone else telling them: “You need to do this.” I reinforce with my students, “You know what you need, and you need to determine what it is, say it aloud, affirm it, and build the confidence and resilience that will help you in the future.”
To Invite Self-Inquiry
Powerful questions invite inquiry into a student’s sense of self. According to Michael Bungay Stanier, an accomplished coaching expert, powerful questions tend to be open-ended, simple questions like the AWE question: “And what else?” or “What’s on your mind?” or “How can I help?” Instead of giving advice and suggesting the answer or action to be taken, the teacher stops, pauses, listens, and asks a powerful question. Stanier’s work suggests that [teachers] need to tell less and ask more to invite more wisdom, insight, and self-awareness in their students. When we explore self-image in health class, an example of a powerful question I use to prompt self-inquiry is: “Who would you be if you had no one to judge you?” or “What would you be doing if you knew you couldn’t fail?” Powerful questions can summon students to self-reflect and make inner connections to the academic content they are learning. They search for knowledge from within−self-knowledge that perhaps they didn’t realize they had—to uncover learning that may lay dormant unless given the opportunity to access it, think about it, and share it with others.
HOW TO GET CURIOUS? | WHAT QUESTIONS TO ASK?
Questioning Frameworks
On my quest, I was exposed to a variety of questioning frameworks (Art of Powerful Questions, Costa’s 3 Levels, Questioning Circle, QAR). I became particularly interested in Bloom’s Taxonomy as a hierarchy of thinking and its relationship to questioning. By understanding this relationship, my awareness of the science of curiosity—how to question and its impact on student learning became clear. I learned that I should know and teach my students the difference between a remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create type of question. When teachers apply a taxonomy of thinking in their instruction, they increase their ability to attend to the individual needs of their students. I realized that I needed to be consciously aware of the cognitive level of my questions so I wasn’t testing at higher or lower levels of thinking than what I may have taught my students (Bennett & Rolheiser, 2008). In short, I needed to question my questions!
Helping Students Recognize, Understand, and Respond Appropriately
By incorporating a variety of questioning frameworks into my practice, I can help students build cognition and deepen their capacity to understand and recognize different types of questions. Each type or level of question requires a different aptitude for thinking and responding. Often, a student doesn’t understand what the question is asking because they can’t recognize what type of question it is and what an effective and suitable response might be. For example, I might ask an application question such as: “How can you draw a story map of this book?” Or an evaluative question: “What makes this a good book?” Or an analysis question such as: “Who might benefit from reading this book?” Each question demands a different response. If my students can recognize and understand the question in practice, then they can respond accordingly. They can build the capacity to reply more accurately and knowledgeably and ultimately be more successful in assessments and evaluations. This cognitive process supports critical thinking because, through the practice of questioning, recognition, and response, students are learning how to develop their application, evaluative, and analytical thinking skills. These are essential and foundational skills for the 21st-century learner.
Wait Time
Dr. Bennett introduced me to the concept of wait time. Teachers are often eager to ask questions and hasty to find a response. We either answer our own question if a student isn’t quick enough to respond, or we tend to ask the first student who raises their hand. Instead, teachers should pause, wait, and give their students sufficient time to “think for themselves” before responding. Students require time to think, ponder, wonder, and express their thoughts in writing. Students also like to cross-reference with their peers. Teachers can provide this time and opportunity to do so by using a tactic such as a think-pair-share.
Judger-Learner Mentality
I was enlightened on my quest to learn of the judger-learner mentality and the notion of “being curious, not judgmental.” In Change your Questions, Change your Life, Adams, the author, suggests that when a judger-learner mentality is used in conversation, we arrive at these intersections where we choose to either become the judger or stop, listen, and ask curious, thoughtful questions and proceed on the pathway of the learner. Judger and learner are mindsets similar to the “growth” and “fixed” mindsets established by Carol Dweck. The learner (growth) mindset allows [the teacher] to discover new possibilities with the student and the judger (fixed) mindset deters [the student] from forward movement (Adams, 2015). Adam states, “The judger mindset is the enemy of good judgment.” This increased self-awareness of the learner versus judger mentality holds a reflective space for the art of curiosity, for learning and growth, and for increased capacity for both the teacher and student.
IT’S NOT JUST A QUESTION, THE RESPONSE COUNTS TOO!
When I ask questions, I often reflect on Nel Noddings’ important work on “caring education.” She points to the significance of the student-teacher relation involved in questioning. Noddings (1984) notes, “When a teacher asks a question in class and a student responds, she receives not just the response, but the student. What the student says matters, whether it is right or wrong, and the teacher probes gently for clarification, interpretation, and contribution.” Noddings maintains that the teacher is not seeking the answer but “involvement with the cared-for and as such, the student becomes infinitely more important than the subject matter.” The teacher’s response has an effect on the student. An awareness of how I accept a student’s response and how, in turn, the student responds to it is vital. I wonder: Do I just brush it off and move on? or Do I question a little deeper and ask for clarification? Do I note if a particular student has finally taken the risk to put their hand up even though they may be unsure of the answer? Do I recognize that for some students, this is an act of courage, but for me, it is just moving along with my lesson?
Teachers often call upon the same student(s) for answers to their questions instead of finding ways to invite greater participation from students who may sit in silence for fear of responding inadequately. The art and science of being a curious teacher is about bringing all students’ voices and powers of expression into the classroom, thereby increasing student confidence and a feeling of being cared for in the classroom. Curious teachers can ultimately learn from their students and ensure all student voices are received, respected, and understood.
CONCLUSION
The art and science of curiosity takes time and comes with practice. It continues to evolve beyond a tool for interaction in my classroom and has become a unique way of being together in the learning experience. It has opened up windows of opportunity for students to learn from each other and about each other in a co-active, inquisitive way. Because I view my students as naturally creative, resourceful, and whole, I encourage them to find answers and solutions by becoming co-active curious learners—to ask questions of themselves, their peers, and the world around them. With this approach, students are more engaged in their learning and take more responsible risks. They demonstrate ownership of their learning and, in turn, develop more confidence and a stronger sense of self. Being curious stimulates critical, creative, and collaborative thinking, and if received in an engaging fashion, focused on both self and subject, can create connections across the curriculum and community to real life and the interconnectedness of all things. My quest of being comfortable with being curious and not knowing continues, fully realizing that the in-between places of knowing and not knowing are where the rich learning occurs for both me and my students.
References
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Centre for Teaching and Learning (n.d.). Think, pair, share. Kent State University. Retrieved from: https://www.kent.edu/ctl/think-pair-share
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Margaret Adam
Dr. Margaret Adam is currently a Sessional Instructor and Faculty Advisor in the Faculty of Education at Brock University and has been a Sessional Instructor in the Master of Teaching program at the University of Toronto. She has over 30 years of experience as a secondary school teacher in the Peel District School Board. Her teaching practice emphasizes a co-active approach to teaching and learning where both the teacher and student are active, curious, engaged, and resourceful inquirers in purposeful knowledge and relationship construction. Her doctoral research was centred on building a co-active coaching approach to mindful practice and well-being in education by first understanding the “teacher self” in practice.
This article is featured in Canadian Teacher Magazine’s Spring 2024 issue.
