Capturing, Sustaining, and Transferring Curiositythinkmath.edc.org/.../files/NCTM2007_Curiosity_DR.pdf · Curiosity as a Self-Scaffold Curiosity allows students to maintain their

Deb RosenfeldEducation Development Center

Capturing, Sustaining, andTransferring Curiosity

© EDC, Inc., ThinkMath! 2007

Goals• To understand what makes students curious

• To understand how curiosity drives learningand understanding– Student learning requires both cognitive and

emotional-motivational engagement– Curiosity is an emotional-motivational engagement

that can enhance cognitive engagement

• To understand how to ignite and sustaincuriosity


Agenda1. What is curiosity?

2. Curiosity as a self-scaffold: Connectionbetween curiosity and student achievement

• Curiosity in the context of development

3. How is curiosity captured?

4. Curiosity-based instruction

5. Stump the presenter


What is Curiosity?

Curiosity is the “desire to know, to see, or toexperience” leading to “exploratory behaviordirected towards the acquisition of newinformation.”

(Litman)


What is Scaffolding?

Scaffolding is the support offered bythe joint participation of a more expertperson and a student in a task that has alevel of complexity just beyond thelevel that the student could performindependently.


What is Self-Scaffolding?A scaffold builds on students’ priorknowledge with the goal of laterindependent performance of the task.

When the support that a scaffoldprovides is given by the studentherself, the support is called a self-scaffold.


Curiosity as a Self-Scaffold

Curiosity allows students to maintaintheir cognitive effort by providing themotivation for knowing andunderstanding the material beinglearned. In this way, curiosity acts as aself-scaffold in the learning process.


Curiosity in the Context ofDevelopment

• Piaget: Learning is the result of active constructionthrough assimilation and accommodation– Curiosity triggered when new info doesn’t easily fit with

existing ideas and concepts, and motivates resolving thisdissonance

• Fischer: Importance of context (cognitive, emotional,and motivational support) in constructive process– Learning is the result of frequent opportunities to perform at

an optimal level (requiring support structures) until itbecomes part of one’s functional repertoire

– Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development


Inducing Curiosity• Lack of desired information (uncertainty)

• Conceptual conflict, incongruity, surprise

• Meaningful situation (utility to students)

All of these make the individual feel compelled toexplore and acquire knowledge to resolve the

problem.


Current Elementary MathCurricula

• Some fail to induce curiosity because anyconceptual conflict or surprise is solvedfor students, not by students.

• Engaging stories are often tangentiallyrelated to content, making transfer ofcuriosity unlikely.


Curiosity-Based Instruction

• Entry points using stories and puzzlesinvolving numbers, words, and pictures

• Problem left unresolved

• Students predict solution


An Example:Introducing the Kindertectives

Jane, Arjun, and Monica present a mysteryand then ask for students’ help in solvingit.

The confusion and interest that theKindertectives demonstrate acknowledgesstudents’ feelings around learning math,promoting intrinsic motivation.


Portion of Entry Point toChapter 1

At Jane’s house, her parents were talking about her bedtime.So that Jane wouldn’t know the options and beg for thelatest bedtime, they talked in a code.

“What do you think about drawing an S and closing the gate,then around a tree and around a tree, and a ball?” askedJane’s dad.

Do you know when Jane’s bedtime was? We need your helpto figure this out!



Think Math!More examples of Curiosity-Based Instruction

• Entry Points• Few instructions (puzzle-like)• Other Number Puzzles• Number “Tricks”• Headline Stories• Explore Pages


Grade 3Entry Point:Student Letter


Grade 4Entry Point:

Student Letter


Kindergarten Few Instructions


Grade 1:Few

Instructions


Grade 5Number Puzzle


Grade 5Number Puzzle


Grade 4Number ‘Trick’


Grade 4Number‘Trick’


Grade 5Number‘Trick’


Headline Stories: An Example

Jane bought a birthday card. She gave thecashier $1 and received 3 coins as change.

• What can you say?• What questions can you ask?• What do you want to figure out?• What can you predict?• What else do you need to know?


Features of Headline Stories

• Puzzling• Doesn’t ask a particular question• Allows finding math in everyday

situations• Open-ended so there are multiple

approaches and solutions• Leads to further questions


Grade 4Explore Page


Educational Implications“Before anything else, a teacher’s first job is to pique

curiosity.” (O’Malley, 1998, p. 16)

Engagement is necessary for learning, and curiosity is animportant means of engaging students in learning.

Teachers should not do all of the explaining, but insteadshould present examples, counter-examples, andconceptual conflicts for students to explore and explain.(Carey)


Stump the Presenter

• Questions?• Comments?• Concerns?• Money back requests?• Money giving requests?


Thank You!

Please contact me with questions, concerns, ideas, orjust to discuss this topic further!

[email protected] Development Center

Division of Mathematics, Learning, and Teaching55 Chapel Street

Newton, MA 02458


ReferencesArnone, M. (2003). Using instructional design strategies to foster curiosity. In ERIC Digest. Syracuse, New York: ERIC Clearinghouse

on Information and Technology.Blair, C. (2002). School readiness: Integrating cognition and emotion in a neurobiological conceptualization of children’s functioning at

school entry. American Psychologist, 57(2), 111-127.Carey, S. (2000). Science education as conceptual change. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 21(1), 13-19.Deci, E., Vallerand, R., Pelletier, L., & Ryan, R. (1991). Motivation and education: The self-determination perspective. Educational

Psychologist, 26(3/4), 325-346.Fischer, K. & Bidell, T. (2005). Dynamic development of action, thought, and emotion. In R.M. Learner (Ed.), Theoretical models of

human development (6th ed., Vol. 1). New York: Wiley. Pp. 1-62.Fischer, K., Social Foundations of Learning and Development. [Lecture to HT-100: Cognitive Development, Education, and the Brain at

the Harvard Graduate School of Education]. Retrieved November 14, 2005, from http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?course=gse-ht100.

Fischer, K., Collaborative Construction of Skills, Self, and Relationships. [Lecture to HT-100: Cognitive Development, Education, andthe Brain at the Harvard Graduate School of Education]. Retrieved October 17, 2005, fromhttp://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?course=gse-ht100.

Fischer, K., Yan, Z., & Stewart, J. (2002) Adult cognitive development: Dynamics in the developmental web. In J. Valsiner & K.Connolly (Eds.), Handbook of developmental psychology (pp. 491-516). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Gardner, H. (1999). The disciplined mind. Middlesex, England: Penguin Books.Litman, J. (2005). Curiosity and the pleasures of learning: Wanting and liking new information. Cognition and Emotion, 19(6), 793-814.Loewenstein, G. (2004). The psychology of curiosity: A review and reinterpretation. Psychological Bulletin, 116(1), pp. 75-98.O’Malley, W. (1998). Curiosity. America, 179(9), pp. 14-18.Siegler, R. (2003). Implications of cognitive science research for mathematics education. In Kilpatrick, J., Martin, W.B., & Schifter,

D.E. (Eds.), A research companion to principles and standards for school mathematics (pp. 219-233). Reston, VA: NationalCouncil of Teachers of Mathematics.

Spitzer, M. (1999). The Mind within the Net: Models of learning, thinking, and acting. Cambridge: MIT Press.

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Capturing, Sustaining, and Transferring Curiositythinkmath.edc.org/.../files/NCTM2007_Curiosity_DR.pdf · Curiosity as a Self-Scaffold Curiosity allows students to maintain their