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Curiosity in Problem-Solving for Middle and High School

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Curiosity in Problem-Solving for Middle and High School

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Sparking Students’ Curiosity to Enhance Their Problem-Solving Skills

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Curiosity about small questions, or micowonderings, can help students solve problems in any discipline.

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How Teachers can Cultivate Curiosity Among Middle and High School Students

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How Teachers can Cultivate Curiosity Among Middle and High School Students

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Small, daily shifts in the way middle and high school teachers ask questions can boost student engagement.

I'm not naturally inclined to visit art galleries. Yet, when I visit an art gallery, I get curious. I ask questions such as, what will be the overarching theme, and what will surprise me? After I view a piece of art, I try to determine how close my predictions of the purpose of the piece align with the artist's statement. I use inquiry to activate my curiosity even when the experience is not my initial preference.

In a seven-period day, kids are likely not going to be stoked for every single period. They are likely visiting a few of their own "art galleries" per day. So, how do we cultivate curiosity when students are not necessarily intrinsically motivated about the context or content we find ourselves engaged in?

While I think we are all naturally curious, our curiosity is usually tapered by our intrinsic interest in something. Moreover, our curiosity only goes so far. The brain naturally centers on memory rather than critical thinking. As such, we fall to our memory rather than rise to new or deeper thinking. How then can we create meaningful curiosity around challenging content? I think it's all about daily habits.

Macro- and Micro-inquiry

To cultivate curiosity with learners, we often center our efforts on "macro-inquiry" approaches such as running complex problems or projects, giving students a driving or essential question, using protocols (e.g., jigsaw), or giving students tasks in which they work in groups. Macro-inquiry sets the stage for curiosity but doesn't sustain curiosity over time.

Micro-inquiry is all about small, doable practices that students engage in several times a day to cultivate curiosity. When we ask a question and give students time to process it, prompt them to dig deeper with their initial responses, prime them to evaluate the ideas of others, or push them to evaluate the differences from their initial thinking and the ideas conveyed by the teacher and their peers, we are engaging in micro-inquiry.

Macro-inquiry is starting a fire; micro-inquiry is keeping the fire going.

This changing of focus from macro- to micro-inquiry makes quite a difference in student learning. Research over the past 15 years has shown that "active" rather than "facilitative" teaching strategies make a big difference. This is why project-based learning (PBL) is less impactful than rigorous PBL, which requires more specific, daily instructional and feedback strategies at all levels of learning. It's the daily actions that matter most in the classroom.

So, what can we do to embed micro-inquiry into our classrooms? Let's take a look at a few approaches.

Strategies to Initiate Curiosity

Think again: Ask students to form one or more guesses to a prompt (e.g., What do you think is the answer to this problem? What is your hunch on a potential solution to this problem?) before they start an activity, rank those guesses, and prepare to check their guesses in the middle and end of the activity. Then, they should compare their initial thinking with their current understanding.

Scaffold the start: Start with guided inquiry before open-ended questions. Lay out a number of questions up front, and ask students which one they want to ask or how they would change the question to be more interesting.

Praise the pause: State the following before you expect students to respond to a question: "I'm about to ask you about X-prepare to respond to the question with an answer, an answer and an example to support your idea, or a different question." Giving students an opportunity to process their thinking with you and their peers is helpful.

Strategies to Keep Curiosity Going

Students reflect on the question in writing ("in"- inward focus),

turn and talk with a partner ("2"-pair share), and

then hold a discussion with the class (out).

In2out: Structure inquiry by following these steps:

Pass the questions around: When you ask your class a question, make sure at least five students answer before you respond.

Four corners: When there is more than one answer that emerges from students, ask them to move to different parts of the room to identify their preference. They should discuss why they chose their selection and move around the room if they change their mind.

Strategies to Deepen Curiosity

Present deepening prompts: Move questions outside the default "what" and "how" to "should," "to what extent," "where," and "when." For example, rather than just asking "What is environmental racism?" you can ask where we see it occurring in our communities. In lieu of asking, "How do we address environmental racism?" you can ask, "When do solutions that mitigate environmental racism work effectively, and when do they fail?"

Keep inquiry going: Prompting all responses from students with "What makes you say that?" or "Where would I find out if you are correct?" pushes them to seek out their own rationale and precision in thinking.

Cue transfer: Ask students to think about their thinking. Questions may include: How does the process of questioning in this classroom extend to other environments, and how do you stay curious when things are hard and/or boring?

While none of these strategies are likely earth-shattering, the novelty lies in the sustained use of these practices over time. How do we sustain these practices in three months' time, at 2:30 on a Friday afternoon, and Monday morning after a holiday break?

As writer James Clear states, "We never rise to our goals, we fall to our systems." When we set up "macro-inquiry" with the goals of curiosity, we often fall short. We desire curiosity to be ignited through an emotional cue, when small habits will enable students to behave their way into curiosity over time. Start with and stick with micro-inquiry habits each day, and see if curiosity becomes a habit for your students.

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Cultivating Curiosity Among Older Students

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Small, daily shifts in the way middle and high school teachers ask questions can boost student engagement.

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Curiosity Saves the Cat | Tara Connor | TEDxKids@SMU

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PBS KIDS Talk About - Curiosity and Wonder Video

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PBS KIDS Talk About - Curiosity and Wonder Video

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PBS KIDS Talk About - Curiosity and Wonder Video | PBS KIDS

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Encourage Exploration and Curiosity using PBS KIDS

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Encourage Exploration and Curiosity using PBS KIDS

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Young children are naturally curious, and it's our job as educators to encourage exploration and curiosity. Kids learn about the world and their role in it as they investigate, discover, and have conversations with others.

PBS LearningMedia's All About Me collection is designed to build kids' curiosity while encouraging their concept of self, finding similarities and differences in various ways - and celebrating them.

Find Engaging Content to Spark Young Minds
Explore the 20 different All About Me lesson plans to find opportunities to investigate engaging questions like, "Why do we sweat? Why do we have fingerprints? What facial features do we have?" Introduce short media clips from PBS KIDS' favorites like Sid the Science Kid and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood to spark their interest and promote conversations about movement, emotions, and their skin.

Implementing the Lesson: Why Do We Sweat?
I was one of 18 educators selected to work with PBS KIDS to review media-rich lesson plans. Two of the lesson plans that I reviewed and implemented in my class were, Why Do We Sweat?: Part 1 and Why Do We Sweat?: Part 2. Here are some teaching tips on using these engaging lessons.

The well-organized and easy-to-follow lessons provided a clear objective along with guiding questions to introduce the activity, support the learning, and check for understanding. The lesson plans included extended learning activities and suggested books to complement the topic, as well as PBS KIDS for Parents resources to build a school-to-home connection.

My favorite part of the Why Do We Sweat?: Part 1 lesson plan was the media clip and Sid the Weatherman, from Sid the Science Kid! It helped spark my students' interest in temperature in a fun and engaging way. In the clip, Teacher Susie, Sid's preschool teacher, explained how the temperature marker on the thermometer moves up and down depending on the temperature. At the end of the clip, Sid exclaimed, "Hey! You're a scientist, you can try this, too!" I asked my students if they wanted to try an experiment and they were excited to try it themselves.

Here is step-by-step guidance to conduct the experiment.
The Experiment

1. I filled one metal bowl with hot oatmeal and a second bowl with ice.

2. My students touched the bowl filled with ice cubes and then they touched the second bowl filled with warm oatmeal.

3. Students inserted a thermometer (reading room temperature) in each bowl and observed what changes happened to the thermometers.

The Outcome
Just like in the media clip, the cold of the ice made the temperature of the thermometer fall and the heat from the oatmeal in the second bowl made the temperature rise. The students were very excited about this discovery and continued to watch the thermometers closely.

Follow Up
After exploring, the students drew pictures in their science journals of their observations. As a group, we were surprised and excited to see that everyone was able to draw about what they discovered. The lesson was engaging and shared all the tools needed to introduce ways to identify differences in hot and cold temperatures. We connected our findings to further investigate body temperature - which we explored in the Why Do We Sweat?: Part 2 lesson.

Explore the Collection
The All About Me Collection features PBS KIDS favorites including media clips, printables, games, extension activities, and crafts for the classroom while advancing the ever-important school-to-home connection through science, math, art, and dance activities.

Helping Students Gain Confidence
As an educator, you can encourage your students to have powerful conversations as they identify and describe how they are similar to and different from one other. As students realize how they are unique and what makes them special, they gain self-confidence and their positive self-esteem grows. Students also become more empathetic as they learn to respect and celebrate their differences.

Home-to-School Connection
Building home-to-school connections with the families of the students in my class is very important to me. With the PBS KIDS for Parents resources included in the lesson plan, I was able to share a family letter, extension activities, and the science journal drawings with the families. One family integrated the PBS KIDS resource, Make a Bottle Thermometer, at home and it was exciting to see that the learning continued at home.

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encourage exploration and curiosity using pbs kids

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Encourage Exploration and Curiosity using PBS KIDS | PBS Education

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Your source for teaching inspiration, blogs, and online professional events.

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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10 Tips on How to Promote and Foster Students' Curiosity

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10 Tips on How to Promote and Foster Students' Curiosity

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What makes children want to learn? According to research, it's the joy of exploration -- a hidden force that drives learning, critical thinking, and reasoning. We call this ability curiosity, and we recognize it in children when we see them exploring their environment, devouring books and information, asking questions, investigating concepts, manipulating data, searching for meaning, connecting with people and nature, and seeking new learning experiences.

The Heart of Lifelong Learning

Most teachers understand that curiosity supercharges learning. But they also know that many students can achieve high grades without being curious -- by understanding the system of test-taking and dutifully doing their homework. Curious children often spend a great deal of time reading and acquiring knowledge because they sense a gap between what they know and what they want to know -- not because they are motivated by grades. In fact, when kids are in curiosity's grip, they often forget the immediate goals at hand because they are preoccupied with learning.

If you suspect that curious kids fare better in careers and life, you're right, and for a variety of reasons. Research suggests that intellectual curiosity has as big of an effect on performance as hard work. When put together, curiosity and hard work account for success just as much as intelligence. Another study found that people who were curious about a topic retained what they learned for longer periods of time. And even more impressive, research has linked curiosity to a wide range of important adaptive behaviors, including tolerance of anxiety and uncertainty, positive emotions, humor, playfulness, out-of-box thinking, and a noncritical attitude -- all attributes associated with healthy social outcomes.

Curiosity is part of The Compass Advantage ™ (a model created for engaging families, schools, and communities in the principles of positive youth development) because it is at the heart of lifelong learning. Curiosity not only gives children an advantage in school, but today's business leaders agree that it is also at the heart of thriving organizations.

Psychologists view curiosity as a life force, vital to happiness, intellectual growth, and well being. It is interconnected with each of the other abilities on the Compass -- sociability, resilience, self-awareness, integrity, resourcefulness, creativity, and empathy. Like most human abilities, curiosity also has a dark side. After all, it did kill the cat! And without proper nurturing by teachers and parents, unregulated curiosity can lead students down rabbit holes that waste time, obstruct goals, or damage health.

The greatest advantage of curiosity lies in its power to motivate learning in areas of life and work that are meaningful to the learner. It points students toward the knowledge, skills, relationships, and experiences that they need to live full and productive lives. Curiosity is one of the 8 Pathways to Every Student's Success.

10 Ways to Stimulate a Student's Curiosity

1. Value and reward curiosity.

Often, the temptation is to reward students when their curiosity leads to a desired outcome or good grade. But it's more important to notice and reinforce curiosity when you see it in action. When you praise students by describing how their questions, explorations, and investigations are contributing to their own or classroom learning, you let them know that they are valued for their motivation, regardless of the grade they achieve.

2. Teach students how to ask quality questions.

Quality questions are a vital medium for curiosity. Google is great at finding answers but doesn't stimulate the formation of questions. Good questions contain "why," "what if," and "how." An excellent book for understanding the art of questioning is A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger.

3. Notice when kids feel puzzled or confused.

Is there a "teachable moment" that will spark a desire to search for answers? How can you invite students to see problems as mysteries waiting to be solved?

4. Encourage students to tinker.

Tinkering might be constructive play with feelings, concepts, ideas, and materials. How can students create a new widget, essay, blog article, poem, science experiment, service, or product from their explorations? Tinkering with materials, thoughts, and emotions stimulates curiosity and leads to innovative outcomes.

5. Spread the curiosity around.

Create opportunities for more-curious and less-curious students to work together in project-based learning. Curiosity is contagious in groups working toward a real-world common goal, helping to cross-pollinate questions and new ideas.

6. Use current events.

News reports can lead students to ask purposeful questions that help unearth what's beneath the surface of societal problems. According to research, asking "why" is the critical ingredient in unraveling these difficult conflicts. This often gets to the fundamental reason for why people disagree about solutions.

7. Teach students to be skeptics.

The term skeptic is derived from the Greek skeptikos, meaning "to inquire" or "to look around." A skeptic requires additional evidence before accepting someone's claims as true. He or she is willing to challenge the status quo with open-minded, deep questioning. Galileo was a skeptic. So was Steve Jobs.

8. Explore a variety of cultures and societies.

How is one culture or society uniquely different from another one? Encourage students to investigate their genetic or emotional links to other cultures. Why do they relate to certain beliefs or values that other societies hold?

9. Model curiosity.

You can do this in your respectful relationships with students by exploring their interests, expanding upon their ideas, and engaging them in meaningful dialogue about what matters most.

10. Encourage curiosity at home.

Help parents understand the importance of curiosity in their child's development and suggest ways that they can foster it at home. Supportive caregivers can have a tremendous impact on developing curiosity and other essential abilities.

How do you foster curiosity in your students? Please share in the comments section below.

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Curiosity: The Force Within a Hungry Mind | Edutopia

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What makes children want to learn? According to research, it's the joy of exploration -- a hidden force that drives learning, critical thinking, and reasoning. We call this ability curiosity, and we recognize it in children when we see them exploring their environment, devouring books and information, asking questions, investigating concepts, manipulating data, searching for meaning, connecting with people and nature, and seeking new learning experiences.

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Assessment: What’s Your Curiosity Profile?

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Activities to Spark Students' Curiosity in the Classroom

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Activities to Spark Students' Curiosity in the Classroom

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Inquisitive hooks, or activities designed to spark students' curiosity, make the start of a new lesson fun, boosting their motivation to learn.

Inquisitive hooks, or intellectual puzzles that capture students' attention at the start of a lesson, are a powerful way to foster curiosity and intrinsic motivation that sustain student engagement and promote lifelong learning.

For example, in one of my English as a Second Language classes, I ask: "What do a checkered shirt, pink deodorant container, pile of dirt, and photo of Seattle have in common?" I show students a picture representing these seemingly random items and ask students to deduce what we're studying that day, using the image as a clue (answer: the lyrics of the song "Smells Like Teen Spirit").

This inquisitive hook not only helps me get students interested in the lesson right away but also boosts motivation in general, and there are many ways to implement this element of curiosity across the curriculum. Here are some ideas.

Guess the connection

When thinking about your lesson topic, consider: What images or objects represent this topic? If you were an illustrator, what would you draw on this topic?

Write down a list of associations that your lesson topic brings to mind. Try to name material objects; to keep your thoughts flowing, set a timer for two minutes as you brainstorm. Once you're done, choose those items from your list that most stand out to you, and find images online (or ask an AI program to produce them). If feasible, you might also find real-life objects to bring into class.

In class, show a picture-as I did in the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" example above-or a slide with different things on it. Ask your students to first name the objects they see and to then try to establish a unifying topic. My colleague, for example, once brought stones, souvenirs, and toys to class; the objects all came from a certain region and became a great inquisitive hook to start off her geography lesson.

Decipher the topic

Another engaging strategy is to take the topic of your lesson and make it into a word puzzle that students have to solve. You might try turning this into a team exercise, and there are a variety of online generators that can help you. For example, this Wordle generator gives you an opportunity to set the hidden word. Or you can introduce the concept of a rebus to your class by using an online tool that will help you with generating such puzzles.

Your rebus puzzles can also come as videos; I once introduced the topic of future goals by showing a one-minute video about time-traveling and a 30-second video of a soccer player scoring a goal. Deciphering the topic may be a bit time-consuming, but it gets the students working together straightaway. For low- or no-tech options, a game of hangman is also a good standby for generating intrigue and excitement.

Guess what this is

If you'd like to use more than one word in your inquisitive hook, "Guess What This Is" allows you to introduce a concept, a historical event, or a fact.

Think about something you are going to teach in terms of a news headline: What would it sound like if it were printed in the newspaper? Next, take this headline and rewrite it as an emoji sequence (think of the Late Late Show with James Corden bit called " Emoji News "). Share this emoji sequence with your students, and ask them to guess what they see.

A similar approach is to prepare a sound mystery for your students. Find an audio clip of something related to the topic of your lesson: a song, a nature sound found on YouTube or recorded with your smartphone, an archived recording, etc. I once began a lesson about space exploration with a recording of the conversation between Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders during the shooting of the Earthrise photograph and asked the students to guess what they were hearing ( audio available here).

Think and find the answer

Perhaps the most challenging (but fun!) inquisitive hook to produce is to introduce your topic by presenting students with an actual riddle. Your hook should not be a trivia question that relies on factual knowledge, but rather a question that provides students with an opportunity to figure out the answer by simply giving it a bit of thought.

Your riddle can be based on anything that catches your eye and is related to the lesson topic. It should not be very hard, just challenging enough to pique interest. I find it more effective to guide students toward the correct answer if they're feeling stuck, since a sense of achievement is important, and the objective here is engagement.

For example, I might start a lesson about Easter traditions with the 19th-century artwork Still Life With Oranges (a painting featuring a peeled orange). The students' task is to decide who the painter was: Rembrandt, Frans Hals, or Raphaelle Peale? They may figure out it's Peale and deduce that this is an example of an "Easter egg"-or a hidden message embedded in a piece of art-thereby connecting back to our lesson topic.

Sustaining Student Engagement

By using different media and sources from various subjects to introduce a lesson topic, we can simultaneously promote integrated studies, cooperative learning, and problem-solving as students work in pairs or small groups to figure out the answer through deductive reasoning, idea building, and collaboration.

As they have in my class, inquisitive hooks may help to keep your students interested and engaged, especially toward the end of the school year, bringing a fresh sense of curiosity into the classroom.

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Activities to Spark Students' Curiosity in the Classroom

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Student engagement can be sparked through activities and games designed to ignite curiosity, especially at the start of a new lesson or unit.

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Using Open-Ended Materials to Spark Curiosity

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Using Open-Ended Materials to Spark Curiosity

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Using Open-Ended Materials to Spark Curiosity

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Cultivating Student Curiosity in the High School Classroom

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Cultivating Student Curiosity in the High School Classroom

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Cultivating Student Curiosity in the High School Classroom - Lit & More

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Engage students as curious learners rather than bored grade-seekers. Check out these ideas for cultivating curiosity!

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Curiosity: Why It Matters, Why We Lose It And How To Get It Back

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Curiosity: Why It Matters, Why We Lose It And How To Get It Back

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Executive Leadership Coach and Founder of Synergy Strategies, focused on 'Advancing Leaders From the Inside Out'.
We all are born with curiosity. Children ask why, how and when, among many other questions. However, as we grow, we shift from curious learning to knowing and, as an adult, we can reach a learning plateau. We feel good to get to a point of understanding and knowledge, but begin to lose our curiosity. We find it easier to live as the expert who knows than the student who grows. Sure, sometimes we are forced to learn, but often the intentional work to dig in and stretch our perspectives and reach new depths of learning can slow as we tip from curiosity to knowing.
Curiosity Shutdowns
As the world shifts into Industry 4.0, curiosity and learning are essential. The speed of change creates constant innovations, thereby requiring the ability to learn and adapt. The person who knows and tells but lacks the humility to be curious, learn and grow will find themselves irrelevant and lacking critical skills and perspectives needed to thrive in the modern era.
Knowing
To renew and develop your curiosity, let's consider what shuts down curiosity, the benefits of curiosity and how to cultivate curiosity.

Two of the biggest factors in curiosity shutdowns are thinking we know everything already and having an unchecked ego.

Curiosity is shut down when we think we know all the answers and need to be the expert. Instead of fostering a culture of curiosity, we foster competition to be experts. When we know, the learning is done.

Are you shutting down curiosity in yourself and those around you? Reflect on these questions:

* Would I rather mentor/teach or be the student?

* Do I fight to interrupt? Feel the need to correct information? Or simply wait to interject my knowledge into a conversation?

* Do I need to be right and struggle when made to feel wrong?

* Do I feel like I must be competent and know how to add value or be a useful contributor?

* Do I struggle when I do not know something (i.e., feel stupid, incompetent, etc.)?

* Do I focus more on what is going on for me than being curious about what others are thinking or experiencing?

* Do I have a genuine desire to learn from others and understand their perspective and worldview?
Ego
* Do I silently judge those who "don't know"?

* Do I withhold information to be "the one who knows" while others struggle to learn or discover?

The ego wants to know, be competent and safe. We find safety when we know and have a level of power from knowing. Not knowing can make us feel vulnerable or small. This is what makes curiosity hard. Our ego is not curious. To become more curious, we must become aware of our ego and how it shuts down curiosity. Here are a few ways to overcome ego:

* See others as a mirror who have a new or different perspective to learn from.

* Be open to what you do not know. Enjoy asking questions to understand how others see the world.
Benefits Of Curiosity
* Create a safe space to be curious and ask any question. In this space, there are no bad questions and no need to be perfect.

* Be humble and acknowledge the brilliance of others. Seek to learn from them.

Rebuilding your curiosity and a culture of curiosity is difficult but worth it. Here are some benefits:

* An environment where curiosity is encouraged and allowed is a playground for creating new things, discovering new solutions and uncovering different and possibly better ways to do things. It gives people permission to fail and to learn when things don't work out.
Creating Curiosity
* Places where people feel unleashed to try things and be themselves are highly attractive. People feel happier and freer knowing they are not going to get in trouble for taking a risk. A space of freedom, joy, laughter and excitement attracts others who are also creative to the playground.

* When the brain can be curious and explore different ideas and avenues, it begins to make new connections. We see things that we did not see before. It has a snowball effect on brainstorming and expands our ideas.

So, how do we cultivate more curiosity in ourselves and others? It starts with you and will flow to others. Here are a few practical ideas:

* Observe. Watch an animal explore their surroundings and you'll see how they patiently sit and observe. Curiosity requires stillness and slowness, too. Use your senses to smell, touch, taste, etc. Move up close. Don't try to observe everything from one spot or one perspective. Take time to be present in the environment. Curiosity requires study and wonder.

* Ask questions. Notice how many questions you ask versus how many you answer. Challenge yourself to ask two or three questions before sharing your thoughts. Take time to understand a few layers deeper and check assumptions before responding.

* Expand your sources. Make a habit of talking to others with different beliefs or listening to perspectives different than our own. It helps to generate natural questions and expand your understanding of different perspectives and thoughts. Recognize your biases and assumptions so that you can operate in an expansive open space rather than through a closed and narrow view of the world.

* Try something new. When we intentionally change things, it causes us to be more conscious of what we are doing. It leads us to ask questions like, "Is this the best approach?" It can be as simple as taking a different route to work or asking your direct report how they would solve a problem before offering up a solution. Change allows for the discovery of things you may have missed.

Have fun taking up childhood curiosity once again; relearn and rediscover the amazing world all around you!

Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify?

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Council Post: Curiosity: Why It Matters, Why We Lose It And How To Get It Back

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To renew and develop your curiosity, let's consider what shuts down curiosity, the benefits of curiosity and how to cultivate curiosity.

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What Students Will Uncover

The significance of embracing curiosity and celebrating questions

What does it mean to be curious?

Why is it important to ask questions?

How are your questions and answers shaped by your own worldview?

In this lesson, students will explore the power of questions. By examining a quote from Rabbi Dr. Ariel Burger's essay, "Learning and Teaching from the Heart in Troubled Times," students will investigate the difference between questions and answers and participate in learning activities to consider the meaning of the word quest. This lesson will invite students to develop their curiosity and empathy.

Embracing questions about the world and ourselves can foster curiosity and empathy.

Students will:

Explain what it means to be curious.

Explore the word quest, as connected to the word questions.

Recognize that questions are important for learning, growth, and fostering curiosity.

Putting the Essay in Context

This section is intended for the educator and provides information about authors and educators Ariel Burger and Elie Wiesel.
"Teaching and Learning From the Heart in Troubled Times" is an essay by Rabbi Dr. Ariel Burger, author, teacher, artist, and former apprentice to Elie Wiesel. Ideas for this essay originate from Ariel's book, Witness: Lessons from Elie Wiesel's Classroom, which explores what it means to authentically participate in moral teaching and learning. The book serves "as a moral education in itself-a primer on educating against indifference, on the urgency of memory and individual responsibility, and on the role of literature, music, and art in making the world a more compassionate place." Ariel weaves reflections and insights from Professor Wiesel's classroom into the essay. Wiesel, Holocaust survivor, author, activist, and Nobel Prize winner, taught a course titled "Literature of Memory" at Boston University for close to four decades.

Wiesel was born in 1928 in Sighet, a town that is now part of Romania. During World War II, he was deported with his family to German concentration and extermination camps-including Auschwitz and Buchenwald-where his parents and his younger sister perished. Wiesel's memory and experience of the war had a profound impact on his life. He said that "without the war, I would never have questioned any of my beliefs. I wouldn't have been involved in action. The event made me realize the urgency of personal commitment."

...without the war, I would never have questioned any of my beliefs. I wouldn't have been involved in action. The event made me realize the urgency of personal commitment.

Wiesel was a human rights advocate who helped to establish the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. He wrote dozens of books and won the Nobel Peace Prize for speaking out against racism and injustice. His autobiography Night explores his experiences as a Jewish prisoner in the concentration camps. Night is read in classrooms around the world and engages "students' minds, hearts, consciences," deepens their historical understandings of the Holocaust, and fosters empathy and literacy skills.

Ariel's essay encourages students to consider that amid the suffering and injustices in the world, there are ways to embrace moral ferocity with self-awareness. An Orthodox-trained rabbi, he received a Ph.D. in Jewish Studies and Conflict Resolution under Elie Wiesel. The Witness Institute-founded in 2019 by Ariel and Elisha Wiesel, Wiesel's son-is a project dedicated to continuing the work of Wiesel. The Institute, inspired by Wiesel's life and legacy, empowers emerging leaders to create positive change in their communities to build a moral world.

Setting the Stage: Lesson Introduction

Explore this exercise with students.

1. Tell students they will explore Grant Snider's cartoon titled " Asking Questions."

2. Display the cartoon and read it aloud to students.

3. Ask students: What is your favorite part of the cartoon? Why?

4. Ask students to complete these sentences:

I wonder...

I'm confused by...

5. Ask a few students to share their responses.

6. What do you enjoy about asking questions? What do you find challenging about asking questions?

Engaging with the Story

Introduce students to author Elie Wiesel and explore the meaning of the word quest.

1. Tell students they will read a quote from Elie Wiesel, who was an author and professor at Boston University for forty years. The quote includes the word quest.

2. Ask students to define the word quest in their own words.

3. Share one definition of the word quest with students: "a long or difficult search for something." The "long or difficult search" can be when a person is looking for something, or it can mean a search for meaning within oneself. Share with students that characters in many stories and books are on a quest. Some characters are searching for a treasure or solving a mystery.

4. Ask students to think about their favorite stories whose characters are on a quest. What are the characters searching for?

Delving Deeper: Learning Activities

Encourage students to examine the themes raised in the quote from Elie Wiesel.

1. Share the following quote with students:

Questions connect us to one another, while answers separate us. Questions open us, while answers close us. There is quest in question.

2. Ask students: What might it mean for questions to "open us" and for answers to "close us"?

3. Ask students to revisit their definitions of the word quest. What might it mean for the word quest to be inside the word question?

4. How was the character in the cartoon "Asking Questions" on a quest?

5. Do you think questions are important? Why? How do you feel when you are asking a question?

Reflecting and Projecting

Challenge students to consider the quote's broader implications and to integrate their knowledge and ideas from various points of view.

1. Give students sticky notes. Students will write two questions on individual notes. The questions can come from the classroom conversation or they can be new questions. Add the notes to the board to create a list of the questions. In a virtual setting, use Padlet, Google Docs, or Google Slides.

2. Students will select a question that interests them from the list. The question they select can be one of their own or one from their classmates.

3. As an exit ticket, have students write why they chose the questions they did. Students will then begin a short research project to find potential answers to the questions they chose. To guide students in this process, share the " I Wonder " worksheet.

What's Happening Now

Provide students with follow-up activities.

1. Display Ariel Burger's original illustration ( from the Yiddish folktale "Sara Chana at the Tip of the Church Tower) so all students can see it. This illustration accompanies Ariel's essay.

2. Allow students to respond to the following questions, which are part of Project's Zero's Visible Thinking Routine, designed to encourage exploration of a work of art. Tell students to take their time and list all of the ideas that come to mind. Then have students share their responses with the class.

What do you see?

What do you think about that?

What does it make you wonder?

Connections to National Curriculum Standards and Frameworks

SEL Competencies (CASEL)

Self awareness. The ability to accurately recognize one's own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior.

Social awareness. The ability to take the perspective of and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds and cultures, to understand social and ethical norms for behavior.

Relationship skills. The ability to establish and maintain healthy and rewarding relationships with diverse individuals and groups.

NCSS National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies
Theme 4: Individual Development and Identity. Questions related to identity and development, which are important in psychology, sociology, and anthropology, are central to the understanding of who we are.
Common Core English Language Arts

CCSS.ELA-W.3.4. With guidance and support from adults, produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose.

CCSS.ELA-W.4.4-5.4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

CCSS.ELA-SL.3.1-5.1. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on [grades 3-5] topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

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Students will uncover the significance of embracing curiosity and celebrating questions.

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Let Curiosity Lead | Yara Shahidi TED2023

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Let Curiosity Lead | Yara Shahidi TED2023

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Yara Shahidi: Let curiosity lead | TED Talk

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Don’t second-guess what “distracts” you, says actor-producer Yara Shahidi; that’s your curiosity coming through. The star of hit shows like “black-ish” and “grown-ish” tells how she learned to spot clues to her own future — and how you can, too.

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6 Easy Activities to Encourage Curiosity in Kids and Toddlers

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6 Easy Activities to Encourage Curiosity in Kids and Toddlers

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6 easy activities to encourage curiosity in kids and toddlers

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Babies are born curious, soaking up information about the world around them like black holes. As kids get older, the daily grind of school and home life can crush some of that curiosity. Exploring the world, trying something new, failing and trying again, learning, developing a passion… these are all fantastic traits for children and adults, and they’re all super-charged by curiosity. Below you’ll find some easy to set up games and activities for toddlers and primary school age children designed to encourage curiosity. 1. Make a cabinet of curiosities
Curious kids tend to gather bits and bobs they’re interested in or working on. Make an official space for these treasures to show they matter – and also keep them from taking over your house. Clear off a shelf, empty a drawer or choose box and tell your curious child that they are now curator of their own museum. Depending on their age, this may be a pile of rocks or it may turn into a carefully labelled collection of treasures. You can encourage curation and set house rules (‘Nothing alive, nothing mouldy’, for example) but don’t throw any of it away without permission.
2. Have a theme week
Show your kid you value their interests by having a theme day or week, where the whole family can dive into dinosaurs or binge on ballet. Even toddlers will love this, and it doesn’t need to involve a lot of effort, as you probably already have a house full of relevant items. Decide on the theme – let your kids choose, if possible – and set a start date. Find a space in your home where you can display some things – perhaps clear off a shelf or take over the coffee table. Spread out books and toys related to that interest. A quick online search for ‘dinosaur printables’ or ‘space worksheets’ or ‘unicorn colouring pages’ will give you some new things to add, and you’re done. You can, of course, add more if you want to – perhaps a special meal or a trip out, but simply making space is already a big boost. 3. Junk modelling challenges
A box of scrap cardboard, clean yogurt pots, toilet rolls and other bits and bobs is a great resource for a creative, curious mind. Many kids will simply take over the scrap, and you’ll find your laundry basket turned into a boat with a pirate brandishing a kitchen roll telescope. Others might need a prompt, so set a simple challenge to do alone or together like ‘let’s make a bed for your doll’ or ‘a garage for your cars’. To keep the junk from taking over, choose a single container for scrap and a space to display finished items; anything that doesn’t fit gets thrown away. 4. Put together a trivia scavenger hunt
Instead of clues to a location, set a series of challenge questions that require children to find something out. This could just be a challenge with a prize when all the questions are answered, or the answers could be clues to where the treasure is found. Older children will be able to read and research on their own, while younger ones might need help. You can also use this to build connection – perhaps one question is ‘What colour was Grandma’s school uniform?’ or ‘Where was Aunty born?’
5. Try some simple science
There are dozens of ways to explore science at home for kids of all ages, so it’s easy to find one that’s right for you. Kits are a great way to start as they are self contained and don’t need much extra effort. Choose something with extra play value, such as a bath bomb making kit or bubble lab. For toddlers, you might want to keep it super simple: ‘will it float or sink?’ is fun, as is mixing colours (water plus food colouring). 6. Make a pick and mix meal
Getting curious about food is a great way to encourage kids to eat a varied, healthy diet. Instead of serving a complete dish, offer a deconstructed meal and give everyone a small bowl. Encourage everyone at the table – including adults – to make a dish, then take another serving and try something new. Keep it simple and this can be quicker than cooking. For example: plain pasta plus bowls of sweetcorn, peas, carrots or other vegetables, chopped ham, bacon, egg, tuna or other protein, grated or powdered cheese, plus a few sauces or condiments you often use, such as pesto, tomato sauce, mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard.