I have not collected any hard data on this as yet, but since implementing Organic Learning across our school it is becoming increasingly obvious that our students are in fact more inquisitive. Is this as a result of Organic Learning or something else? There are a number of contributing factors to consider in this observed growth in curiosity.

Firstly, as part of our journey to becoming a Self-Determined Learning Community, we strategically aligned Learning Spaces, Skillsets and Toolsets for students, teachers, and school leaders. This we believed would help us remove ambiguity from school-wide learning and make it simpler for us to become collectively more self-determined. This link explains in greater detail our Self-Determined Learning Journey. Becoming self-determined requires in itself a capacity to explore, inquire and problem find.

Secondly, the impact of aligning our Spaces, Skillsets and Toolsets has pushed many of our teachers (and leaders) outside their comfort zone and allowed them to re-engage their inquisitive mindset (to explore, inquire and problem find). As a community of teacher/learners, we spent more time being inquisitive and took this mindset into the classroom more often than before.

The result? Our children thrived on the opportunity to explore, make connections, create, fail and refine their learning. Learning was seen as exciting by students (and teachers).

This raised a tension (a third factor): our students actually ‘engaged their curiosity’ faster than our teachers ever did. Is that because they had never lost it in the first place? And if we had not seen it as much in our students before, is it because there is such an overemphasis on achievement standards and external exams in our current educational climate?

One thing is for sure: our students are showing their inquisitive nature more often than before because they are being encouraged and allowed to. And because our teachers are themselves being more inquisitive in their own professional learning, planning and teaching, they are more aware of the importance of allowing students to learn within the act of being curious.

So I suspect the more inquisitive we can get our teachers to be, the more inquisitive students we will have. And in the act of being inquisitive, we can help them become better problem finders and solvers and develop their capacity to change the world.

And what about teachers who demonstrate less curiosity than other teachers? I suspect (no hard data) their students have less of an opportunity to engage and articulate their curiosity (but that may be just an assumption on my part).