Curiosity skilled the brat Richard Watson Todd King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi

The cogs task A cog

Problems with cogs

Even number of cogs

Odd number of cogs

Your task Design a single chain of cogs with an odd number of cogs in it where the cogs will rotate smoothly

A Mobius strip has only one surface and one boundary

M C Escher

Why use this task? Thinking Curiosity

I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.

Curiosity is “a desire for acquiring new knowledge and new sensory experience that motivates exploratory behavior” Litman and Spielberger (2003)

Types of curiosity Diversive Attraction to novelty Epistemic Desire for deep understanding

To-do list from Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks Calculate the measurement of Milan Find a book that treats of Milan’s churches Get the Master of Arithmetic to show you how to square a triangle Examine the crossbow of Maestro Gianetto Find a Master of Hydraulics and get him to tell you how to repair a lock Ask about the measurement of the sun from Maestro Giovanni

“The truly curious will be increasingly in demand “The truly curious will be increasingly in demand. Employers are looking for people who can do more than follow procedures competently or respond to requests; who have a strong intrinsic desire to learn, solve problems and ask penetrating questions.” Leslie (2014)

Curiosity in history

Curiosity and education Predetermined focuses of courses preclude curiosity Increasing bureaucratisation of education reduces curiosity Fixed-knowledge tests remove the need for curiosity “School is a place where children learn to be stupid ... Children come to school curious; within a few years most of this curiosity is dead” (Holt, 1964)

Curiosity and the Internet The Internet is effective for diversive curiosity BUT Promoting a short attention span “By supplying answers to questions with such ruthless efficiency, the internet cuts off a supply of an even more valuable commodity: productive frustration” Greenman (2010)

Curiosity and print media Traditional print media, because of their limitations, are good at stimulating curiosity by creating serendipity Zuckerman (2013)

Promoting curiosity in the classroom Knowledge tasks and thinking tasks

There is a tramp who likes to smoke. Since he has no money, he needs to collect cigarette butts to make his own cigarettes. He needs 13 cigarette butts to make one cigarette. In one day, he collects 169 cigarette butts. How many cigarettes can he make and smoke?

Promoting curiosity in the classroom Knowledge tasks and thinking tasks Project learning (e.g. write a page for Wikipedia, conduct and report an experiment) Creating a conducive atmosphere Make students feel comfortable about asking questions Allow adequate time for exploring a topic Give students opportunities to choose Do NOT use rewards Arnone (2003)

Researching curiosity Psychological questionnaire Rate the following: 1 (almost never), 2 (sometimes), 3 (often), 4 (almost always) I am interested in discovering how things work New solutions to difficult problems bring me pleasure New ideas excite my imagination I like discussing abstract concepts I like learning about unfamiliar subjects I like to imagine how a story will end Litman and Spielberger (2003)

Researching curiosity Zion and Sadeh (2007) investigating the effects of project learning on curiosity Work logs documenting activities undertaken An inquiry proposal List of proposed experiments and activities Summaries of findings Personal reflection sheets Interviews

What do we learn from this? In research, operationalising a construct may be the most important stage, but this is difficult for curiosity Need to pay special attention to issues that challenge preconceptions We need to be curious, continuously striving to learn

You are camping You go for a walk You walk 1 mile south Then 1 mile east Then 1 mile north You arrive back at your tent Where are you?

At the North Pole 1 mile 280 yards away from the South Pole