Students who are curious are eager for information they do not yet possess. They are therefore also eager to learn: motivated to acquire the missing information.Ā Curiosity activates the reward system in the brain. Additionally, the information that people are curious about is better retained. It is therefore valuable to stimulate the curiosity of students. In theory, curiosity can be sparked in anyone and for any subject. It is not a personality trait. Curiosity is triggered when students realize there are 'gaps' in their knowledge. Curiosity can be enhanced when students find information important, relevant, or useful. For example, if a beginning law student knows some fundamental rights, thus possessing prior knowledge, it will be easier to make that student curious about the remaining fundamental rights than a social work student with a relatively vague understanding of fundamental rights. You can stimulate curiosity by showing students that they are missing relevant information. To make your students curious, you can also ask critical questions about their existing prior knowledge. For example, present common misconceptions about a topic. Finally, information that students do not expect can also increase curiosity, as they want to better understand where that unexpected outcome comes from.
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