Article Overview:
Teaching for Curiosity
By Zaretta Hammond
Originally Published July 1, 2025 | ASCD
Curiosity isn’t just about engagement; it’s the brain’s launchpad for learning. In this article, Hammond explains how sparking curiosity activates students’ schema, fuels deeper thinking, and builds intellectual character over time. She highlights how technology can extend inquiry by helping students document, reflect on, and share their curiosity-driven learning journeys. Five classroom strategies ground the work: crafting essential questions, using thinking routines, cultivating noticing and naming, “making the familiar strange,” and embracing mistakes as part of learning. Together, these practices help students persist through confusion, expand their perspectives, and develop habits of adventurous inquiry. The result: curiosity becomes a sustained driver of agency, resilience, and deeper cognitive growth. Read the full article.
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