Maintaining student engagement during face-to-face instruction remains a persistent challenge. In Toward a Curiosity Mindset: Reframing the Problem of Student Disengagement From Classroom Instruction, Oliveira and Lathrop (2023) offer a fresh perspective on addressing this issue by fostering curiosity in college classrooms.
Grounded in recent research on curiosity and engagement in higher education, this article highlights four key findings.
- Students commonly experience negative emotions such as boredom and inattentiveness during lectures.
- Student interest in instructional topics and activities rapidly decreases, especially in the context of classroom discussions and lectures.
- Traditional engagement strategies have had limited success in combating boredom and attention reduction in college settings.
- Shifting to a curiosity mindset can fundamentally reframe student disengagement as a developmental issue.
To cultivate a curiosity mindset and boost student engagement in higher education, the authors recommend that faculty:
- Model their own curiosity and engage with content-specific mystery in their disciplines.
- Support students through encouraging feedback and targeted instruction that neither leaves learners stranded nor bores them.
- Create an environment that celebrates curiosity as part of students’ academic identities.
- Implement curiosity-inducing approaches that avoid suppressing uncertainty and support academic risk-taking.
Faculty can empower college students by embedding awareness of curiosity in their teaching practices. This enables students to recognize and cultivate their own curiosity, potentially transforming their levels of engagement.
Read the full article to learn more about specific strategies for promoting a curiosity mindset in college and university settings.
Reference: Oliveira, A. W., & Lathrop, R. (2023). Toward a curiosity mindset: Reframing the problem of student disengagement from classroom instruction. The European Educational Researcher. 10.31757/eur.535