The Most Important Mindset for Schools
What does it mean to have a hungry mind?
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“Let go of certainty. The opposite isn't uncertainty. It's openness, curiosity and a willingness to embrace paradox, rather than choose up sides. The ultimate challenge is to accept ourselves exactly as we are, but never stop trying to learn and grow.”
― Tony Schwartz
The word curiosity is associated with the irregular form of the Latin verb cura, which means worry, care about or cure. This is close in meaning to the root of the word inquisitive, which also has a Latin origin: quaere, to search into, to seek.
Erik Shonstrom put it beautifully when he said, “No matter what branch of the etymological tree is climbed, a striking theme becomes clear:
Curiosity is not about finding, but exploring.”
So we are on a path to exploring, and this is the first post in our series on curiosity. Our focus in this post is wonderment, and we offer a tool to identify our own sources.
School of Thought of the Week
Content knowledge and skills are crucial.
Of course we want
engineers who can calculate the right answers so that bridges don't fall down and airplanes don't crash
surgeons who know precisely how they need to do heart surgery to make someone healthy again, and
farmers to cultivate soil to ensure the best harvest for crops.
As valuable as it is, however, the acquisition of content knowledge -- with its focus on individual achievement in conditions under which the right answers are already known -- means that a lot of the technical knowledge learning leads the way. This frequently does not allow for the acquisition of both the skills and the confidence to work on messy problems where the individuals (and those working alongside them) don't know the answer.
Research in neuroscience and cognition have shown that new ideas are unfamiliar, and therefore uncomfortable, and sometimes frightening in a primitive way. We frequently need to be introduced to an idea several times before we can accept it; this is true across cultures, demographics, ages.
One way the mind overcomes an initial aversion to a new idea: to be curious about it.
the big idea
Herein lies the single most important thing we do in schools when we are successful.
Build curiosity.
Curiosity benefits learning, increases the quality of interpersonal relationships, and even improves memory, but we do not seem to spend much time cultivating it.
How would you define curiosity?
Think about it for a minute.
It’s not an easy concept to pin down. Even psychologists have varying definitions and ways of measuring curiosity. It’s what makes psychology so fascinating — there’s something enticing about witnessing an attempt to measure seemingly elusive human traits like curiosity.
Inspired by @moniguzman, we offer some ideas to capture the essence of curiosity:
become aware of a gap in your knowledge
desire to resolve your uncertainty by filling the gap in your knowledge
seek out information
…and keep digging!
We love @moniguzman’s further thoughts on the topic of curiosity.
Curiosity is not a given, but it is something that can be inspired by experiences.
That is, we can create moments that inspire a curious response. To cultivate curiosity requires building a curiosity mindset.
We have to create space for people to confront and overcome their discomfort with trying to solve unstructured problems. When school, work and learning settings create this space, this means that even when individuals are not sure what methods to use, they:
maintain the energy to persist,
are undeterred when ideas don't work,
keep trying new ideas, and -- as happens -- even when the deadline for the project comes and they do not have a decent solution, they continue.
All of this requires curiosity.
Making Big Ideas Usable
Curiosity has what we might call flavors, and they are not ignited by the same sparks.
Sometimes curiosity is like an itch we need to scratch. Other times it’s ignited, inspired, an exciting process of discovery and rediscovery. Sometimes it is like a thirst for knowledge, other times, like a desire for chocolate.
While research outlines various curiosity frameworks, we are drawn to a usable tool designed to uncover our own motivations. Evette Cordy is a curiosity cultivator, and a registered psychologist. She has developed this tool for discussion, thought, and discovery of our orientations towards curiosity. We share a version today to start the dialogue.
As Stacey Roshan reminds us,
We have added a visual guide.
What is your Curiosity Mindset?
This self-assessment will help you identify what kind of mindset(s) you already have and those you might need to nurture.
Directions: First, rate yourself on the following questions, using a scale of 0 to 10 where 0 is ‘not at all likely’ and 10 is ‘extremely likely’:
1. REBEL How prepared are you to go out on a limb and risk a better way of doing things?
2. ZEN-MASTER How likely are you to be fully present for the task at hand?
3. NOVICE How comfortable are you when you don’t have all the answers?
4. SLEUTH How likely are you to notice things beyond the obvious?
5. INTERROGATOR How prepared are you to ask the hard questions?
6. PLAY-MAKER How likely are you to use a playful approach when learning?
Now mark your responses for each question on the web below, where the center represents 0 and the outside represents a 10.
Draw a line between each mark and then shade the inside area. This is your unique curiosity footprint. We hope this is a conversation starter, a way to enter learning settings with a fresh perspective on the ways we may begin to frame the complex concept of curiosity.
Next week: How are you curious?
Critical Connections
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Would you like to read more? Another Big Idea and how to Make It Usable is here.