Cultivating Deep Curiosity in Education

I am sitting at a gate in the airport glancing at the crowds coming and going. There is a family off to my right with two small children. One is searching under seats for what seems like a place to nestle away from the crowd. (I am not a germaphobe, but I do find airport carpet sticky in a particularly unsettling way... Ewww)

A sibling is placing random objects into the cupholders attached to the chairs. Mom and Dad are looking on with cautious smiles that seem to encourage the littles as they explore.

I find myself wondering about the story of the family.

• Where are they from?

• How old are their children?

• How often do they fly as a family?

• What brings them to this airport, on this day, at this time?

  
  

In my moment of mindfulness, I notice my wonder... my genuine curiosity. I want to KNOW. I want to connect humanity to humanity. Without warning, the gate agent interrupts with an announcement and as quickly as the scene started it ends.

I should have added "what does this have to do with teaching math?" to the list above. I am 26 years into my education career and I am more curious about my teaching practice and how learning happens than ever.

What I am describing in the previous statement is curiosity. My desire to better understand how teaching and learning work. In learning more, I can refine my craft and become a stronger educator and also a better educator of educators. This type of curiosity is similar to what I use when determining what students know and understand in an effort to determine the right next step in the classroom. I am consuming what I learn from my curiosity for use in something I hope to accomplish.

Scott Shigeoka, author of Seek: How Curiosity Can Transform Your Life and Change the World , offers a slightly different and equally important and helpful lens on curiosity that has the power to take my educational practice to another level and more importantly positively impact humanity. Before I connect to his work, let me offer that this text is NOT an academic text. Scott works with people and organizations that are seeking to develop deep curiosity as a way of being. With that, Scott shares the following in his text:

"There's shallow curiosity and deep curiosity. So, shallow curiosity is “What's your name? Where do you live? What do you do for work?” But then there's deeper curiosity, these questions that get beneath the surface of the heart of who a person is, and that might be: “What's the story of your name? Who named you? Tell me about them. When do you feel like you’re flourishing?”

This idea of deep curiosity reminds me of Zaretta Hammond's text, "Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain". In this text she describes culture as shallow and deep and explains the connections between deep culture and cultivating the type of learner-educator bond necessary for independent learning. These two ideas fit so nicely together.

We all want to be known. For some of us, this is risky because we fear disapproval from outsiders. Will they approve of me or accept me if they know___? Amidst this fear, there also seems to be a strong desire for others to know and understand us. If not fully understood, we certainly appreciate someone being committed to learning more to better understand us. This understanding brings us together and makes our interactions more than a formality.

As educators, we have a job to do. The other very complex side of this equation are those we serve. Because our work is about learning and learning is non-linear and largely social, we have to consider the humanity of students and colleagues as we "get the job done". Scott's work has convinced me that we do not honor another's humanity, without first becoming curious.

Scott offers the following in his framework for cultivating deep curiosity.

Scott Shigeoka, Seek: How Curiosity Can Transform Your Life and Change the World

To be honest I am still digesting this framework as a potential practice yet I see potential implications for these next few weeks as schools prepare to receive staff and students for the 24-25 school year. I have decided to get curious about this framework in a practical way. I will be spending the year focused on "Detaching myself from assumptions, biases and certainty". Zaretta Hammond's work has encouraged me to acknowledge my own biases and assumptions and to make room for alternate narratives with students, colleagues and situations that feel very familiar.

I have drafted a few BOY questions to try out this year as an effort to get beyond the surface with educators and students, to own my own assumptions, biases and certainties and to formulate new and less judgmental narratives.

For Educators: to more clearly see how people are showing up the instead of filtering my experiences through trends I have seen in the past.

Why are you in education? What is your reason? What is your why?

Where were you raised? What brought your family to that area or region?

Tell me a little about your name. What is the story of your name? (From Scott's book)

When do you feel most successful? What makes you feel valued in Education?

For Students: to more clearly see how students are showing up in learning experiences without assuming I already know, assuming each year is the same and that there is nothing new for me to learn from or with a group of students.

If you could change one thing about school, what would it be? Why?

What one thing would you like me to know about you? Why do you think this is important for me to know?

Name the person in your family who makes you laugh the most. What is it about them that makes you laugh?

The questions offered are just a start, so feel free to add to the list and share how what you have learned is growing your practice. Have an amazing start to the new year. We wish you and all you encounter, the very best.

Get and stay CURIOUS!

Kaneka