Every day, team members at Packback are inspired by our mission to fuel the lifelong curiosity in every student. We believe curiosity and asking questions are the building blocks for students to become successful, both in college and after graduation.
In order to share our mission and the importance of curiosity, we submitted a proposal for SXSWEDU Conference and Festival! If accepted, Packback CPO Jessica Tenuta, Dr. Brandon Chicotsky of Johns Hopkins University and Dr. Jose Vazquez of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will be partaking in a panel discussion on the importance of asking questions and scaling curiosity-based learning.
The Proposal
Our answer first culture has created passive learners who are relying on Google instead of vetting information and asking tough questions. A great question is borne from curiosity, and studies show that middle-class children ask more “How & Why” questions than lower income children. This is creating a “Curiosity Divide” where students aren’t learning how to ask great questions. But by practicing the life-skill of asking great questions and challenging peers, students can refine their ability to think critically and apply learnings to real-world experiences.
Many traditional teaching practices focus on the first two tiers of Bloom’s Taxonomy; remembering and understanding, which are important steps for a student to acquire information about a subject. However, by sparking student curiosity and asking open-ended questions, students can simultaneously work toward the application of the material. This can be done by incorporating peer-to-peer discussions that challenge students to ask open-ended prompts and answer classmates’ inquiries. By giving students ownership and scaling curiosity-based learning we can bridge “The Curiosity Divide”.
Our presenters will discuss the impact of curiosity in learning and share how they’ve structured courses and utilized innovated technology to improve lifelong learning skills such as critical thinking, communication and the ability to apply knowledge.
Interested?
To vote, please follow this link, and cast an “Up Vote” on the left-hand side. If you don’t have a PanelPicker account, you will be asked to set up one before you can cast a vote. Once you’ve voted, feel free to share our proposal with anyone who you think would be interested in this discussion!
