Learning Nerd’s Diary #82
Welcome back Learning Nerds!
In this week’s newsletter, curiosity is the compass guiding us to unexplored realms of learning.
Are you ready to unleash your inner explorer (or a cat 😹)?
👀 Sneak peak
Here is what I have in store for you this week -
💭 Learning About Learning: How to Stay Curious as Adults
🥜 Learning Nugget: Curiosity & Doors
💥 Coolest Thing I Learnt This Week:
7 Ways to Incorporate Curiosity into the Classroom
Good Teaching Should Ignite Curiosity
Care & Curiosity
🔦 Spotlight: Learning Charters at Careers with Purpose
Let's jump right in!
💭 Learning About Learning
Curiosity might have killed the cat but it is what makes us human.
Children don’t know how to not be curious. Yet as we grow older, we lose this innately human skill.
But how do you stay curious as adults? How do you shift from learning being a means to achieve something (a better job/ promotion etc) and learn for the love of learning?
Here are 3 ways that have worked for me:
1/ Get Bored Often 🥱
It might sound really stupid, but if you can do this - you don’t need to read the other two.
You see as adults (myself included!) we chase productivity. And in our quest to be our most productive selves, we tend to fill in our days (right to the last second) with tasks. With every second of our day mapped out - we don’t have time to get bored and that is exactly what we need to stay curious.
We need to let our mind wander.
We need it to breathe.
We need to leave room for serendipity.
In short, we need to get bored!
2/ Everyday Studio Time 🕰️
Studio Time is essentially an hour of your time blocked everyday for ‘unplanned productivity’. You don’t plan what you’re going to do in that time until you show up to that hour.
On some days you might feel like painting something, on others it could be just a walk or even take a nap to catch-up on your sleep. By not planning in advance what you might want to do - you’re almost teaching yourself to give into serendipity!
3/ 12 Favourite Problems 🙋🏻
A friend recently introduced me to Feynman’s 12 Favourite Problems - so full disclosure, this is still a work-in-progress for me! In a nutshell, this means -
“You have to keep a dozen of your favorite problems constantly present in your mind, although by and large they will lay in a dormant state. Every time you hear or read a new trick or a new result, test it against each of your twelve problems to see whether it helps.” (Source)
Think of what your 12 favourite problems are and chase them incessantly!
In a Nutshell 🌰
Curiosity is a fundamental trait that drives human growth and exploration. As adults, maintaining curiosity can be hard but not impossible.
Keep cultivating curiosity!
🥜 Learning Nuggets
Being curious is knowing one door doesn’t need to close...
...for multiple others to open.
💥 Coolest Thing I Learnt this Week
7 Ways to Incorporate Curiosity into the Classroom
I’m still grateful for discovering John Spencer a few weeks back. I wrote above on how adults can become more curious - the article was partly inspired by this amazing article by John on how kids can become more curious & how our classrooms can support that - check it out!
Good Teaching Should Ignite Curiosity
“I graduated high school thinking I hated history, only to later realize it was my favorite thing. Good teaching should ignite curiosity.” (Source)
Care & Curiosity
I came across this quote in one of Chris Conley’s Newsletters recently -
Care is often the spark for curiosity and learning. To be more caring is to be more curious. To be more open-minded. Care is also a source for action.
You don’t often here curiosity & care in the same sentence. But the more I thought about it - the more it made sense. So one question for you - how might we help our learners ‘care’ in order for them to be ‘curious’?
Join the conversation here
🔦 Spotlight
Last week, I did an an online workshop on Learning Charters with the first cohort of Careers with Purpose by the Better India.
I came out the workshop feeling so enriched with the conversation and questions! Excited to see where this group takes their learning journeys :)
Love & Learning
Until we meet next week!
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