Maximizing Wonder and Creativity

(Originally titled “The Wonder Years”)

In this Education Update article, Kathy Checkley suggests ways to spark students’ curiosity and creativity in the classroom:

• Have students maintain a Wonder Journal. Students jot down a question a day about things that intrigue them, and then select one to investigate further, writing a short essay or poem and sharing it with classmates.

• Set up a Wonder Counter in the classroom. Have students bring in objects that pique their curiosity, and then follow up with a Wonder Form – students bounce ideas about what an object suggests to them.

• Help students develop good questioning techniques. For example, with a visiting police officer, asking “thick” questions that elicit a detailed and thoughtful response – “What did you have to learn to become a police officer?”

• Tap students to become experts on a topic of their choice. Have students choose a particular area of the curriculum that intrigues them, study about it in depth, and make a presentation to the class.

• Allow students to be curious together. Curiosity is contagious, so it’s a good idea to pair shy students with those who are more vocal with their curiosity.

“The Wonder Years” by Kathy Checkley in Education Update, January 2016 (Vol. 58, #1, p. 1, 4-5), available for purchase at http://bit.ly/1lIK2ca 

From the Marshall Memo #621