When reading the research on Curiosity, Involuntary Curiosity is of particular interest to us teachers.
Defined by Loewenstein (1994) as curiosity that "...arises spontaneously as a result of a curiosity inducing stimuli", it isn't difficult see how honing the art of curating such moments is a powerful lesson planning tool.
Specifically, editing a video to reveal only a specific portion of a clip is a useful technique.
Often times a powerful video, if showed in its entirety, can simultaneously engage AND demotivate students by "inducing" curiosity, while also explaining the content that underlies the phenomena.
Rather than showing the entire video, the goal is to strategically curate the perfect portion of a video clip to tunnel students into asking the question you want them to ask.
To intentionally withhold the perfect amount of information.
[5 Ways to Embed Coding & Electronics into Your Science Curriculum]
Below are a few examples from the past two weeks in my chemistry class (note: videos are downloaded using savefrom.net and trimmed using Quicktime)
Example #1
Goal: Spark Involuntary Curiosity about intermolecular forces.
Example #2
Goal: Spark Involuntary Curiosity about the relationship between the pressure and volume of a gas.
Example #3
Goal: Spark Involuntary Curiosity about molecular geometry and covalent bonding.
cross posted at www.cyclesoflearning.com
Ramsey Musallam teaches science and robotics at Sonoma Academy in Santa Rosa, California, with the aim of fostering inquiry-based learning environments fueled by student curiosity. He presents widely on sparking student curiosity and teaching with technology. Musallam is a Google Certified Teacher, a YouTube Star Teacher, and a Leading Edge Certified Teacher. Watch his TED talk here and read his blog at www.cyclesoflearning.com.
