Curiosity = Respect | Hooray for Monday - Center for Inspired Teaching

October 4, 2021

By Aleta Margolis, Founder and President, Center for Inspired Teaching

Hooray for Monday is a weekly blog filled with questions, ideas, reflections, and actions we can all take to remodel the school experience for students.

Last week I wrote about the importance of engaging with curiosity when students exhibit unwanted behavior. Asking why, and inviting the “offender” to help solve the problem they created signals respect and makes it far more likely that a positive resolution will be achieved.

This week I’m exploring further the concept that curiosity conveys respect – in instruction and in all aspects of interpersonal relationships.

Picture a student struggling to solve a math problem or choose a topic for a written essay. As teachers, we are natural problem solvers, so our instinct might understandably be to help the student solve the problem as quickly and efficiently as possible. A common teacher-student exchange might go something like this:

Student: I’m feeling frustrated with this math problem.

Teacher: Don’t get upset! Here are some strategies you can try… [followed by a series of recommendations/next steps aimed at solving the math problem].

Or, in the case of the essay:

Student: I can’t think of anything to write about for our persuasive writing assignment.

Teacher: What about all the important things that have happened in the news lately? Think about [list of current events that have appeared in recent headlines].

It’s certainly useful for students to acquire effective strategies for solving math problems. And we definitely want our students to be aware of, and care about, the newsworthy items that affect our lives. However, when we jump in and “give” students strategies for doing their work, we are assuming we know what they want (to get the answer right/complete the assignment properly) and what they need (a teacher-provided strategy for doing so).

Instead of making assumptions about what our students want and need, what if we engaged our curiosity and asked them? Imagine asking the student struggling with the math problem: What have you figured out so far? or What kind of help would you like? For the student who’s drawing a blank on essay topics, consider: Can you think of something you wish were different about our classroom or school? or Have you ever read something that changed the way you thought or felt about an issue?

Engaging with students from a place of curiosity, a genuine desire to deepen your own knowledge and understanding of that student, conveys respect and humility. If I’m asking about you, then I’m acknowledging: 1-that you are interesting and worth getting to know, and 2-that I don’t have all the answers.

These principles extend beyond instruction into all aspects of interaction.

Curiosity, and the respect it conveys, are core to building equity. Each time we engage with a student, colleague, parent/guardian, friend, or stranger, we can choose to do so from a place of curiosity instead of assumption. Asking is a far better teaching tool than assuming.

Assumption – about what someone wants, needs, knows, feels, is capable of – undermines equity, and underlies stereotyping and other forms of prejudice. Curiosity, the opposite of assumption, can be a key ingredient in promoting equity as well as learning, in the classroom and beyond it.

It feels good to ask and be asked, about things that matter. May curiosity guide you to new learning this week.

Micaiah Anderson

Community Outreach Specialist

As a Community Outreach Specialist, Micaiah is responsible for program promotion and outreach support for Inspired Teaching events and workshops. Micaiah has a passion for collaborating with community members to build-power and connect. She is an educator with a heart for youth and has experience supporting students fight injustices within their schools and communities. She has a BA in Political Science from, the real HU, Hampton University & anticipates graduating in May 2024 with a Masters of Arts degree in Educational Policy Transformation from Georgetown University.

AUTONOMY

"I want to have a say in what happens to me."

Autonomy is the need for independence; the ability to make choices, to create, to explore, and to express oneself freely; to have sufficient space, to move around, and to feel unrestricted with opportunities to exercise free will.

Brady Maiden

Outreach Coordinator

As the Outreach Coordinator, Brady helps maintain Inspired Teaching’s social media presence and supports the organization’s mission to connect with DC community leaders, educators, and parents. Brady has her Master’s in Public Policy from George Mason University and her BS in Political Science from Northern Arizona University. She is passionate about community, equity, and coalition building recognizing that learning and growing with the community at large is how we continue to be impactful.

What brings you joy in life?

I find joy in spending time with my friends and family and meeting new people. I like going to concerts and festivals, and finding new books to read.

The Learner’s Cycle, Wonder-Experiment-Learn, and the Teacher’s Cycle, Observe-Plan-Instigate, comprise Inspired Teaching’s approach to engaging students in inquiry-based learning.

When they are engaged in the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, students are immersed in learning. They take the lead in designing authentic learning experiences around their own interests and their school’s standards of learning. Each discovery leads to a new question which in turn leads to more wondering and more learning. In the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, Learn is not a destination or an endpoint; it is a deeper understanding, leading to a deeper wondering and new possibilities that create new entry points to further exploration. The cycle continues because what students have learned generates more wonderings that require more experiments that foster more learning – and on and on.

The Observe-Plan-Instigate Cycle is the work of an Inspired Teacher. While a student is expected to follow the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, the teacher joins them on the learning journey while following their own cycle of Observe-Plan-Instigate. This cycle ultimately serves to ensure an inquiry-based atmosphere is at play in the classroom.

Jaqueta Abbey

Teaching and Learning Specialist

Jaqueta is the Teaching and Learning Specialist for Inspired Teaching. In addition to her current role with Inspired Teaching, Jaqueta is a first-grade teaching assistant. Her background features a variety of traditional and non-traditional experiences in the field of education, including working as an adjunct professor, teaching summer reading programs to children and adults, and tutoring children in the foster care system. Jaqueta earned a B.A. in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and an M.A. in Interactive Media from Elon University.

What brings you joy in life?

Creative self-expression! In addition to my passion for storytelling, I love dancing of all kinds. I've studied belly dance, bachata, and Brazilian Zouk among other styles. I also enjoy glass fusing, crocheting, photography, and cross stitching. These art forms allow me to express myself and build connections with other people at the same time. I think life would be a lot less vibrant without artists and storytellers!

Michelle Welk

Communication & Marketing Specialist

As Communications and Marketing Specialist, Michelle is responsible for finding and creating new ways to highlight Inspired Teaching and promote its programs in order to expand and deepen the organization's impact. Michelle has worked in communications in an array of settings, from creative agencies to state politics to national nonprofits. She has a BA in Journalism from Temple University in Philadelphia and is passionate about education, access, and equity.

What brings you joy in life?

My son, the beach, making a persuasive argument and good food!

Max Peterson

Real World History Assistant Teacher

Max received his Bachelor’s degree in History and African American Studies from Boston University in May 2016. He has worked in museum curation at the Museum of the White Mountains in New Hampshire and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Max has worked with young people of varying ages from young children to young adults transitioning to college.

Feedback and Accountability

We grow through feedback and an understanding that the quality of our work is a reflection of what we are learning, but the shift to remote learning this spring disrupted a lot of the tools teachers were used to using to evaluate student growth. How might we do things differently this fall? Participants in this workshop will explore ways to bring meaningful assessment into the virtual and/or socially-distanced classroom and approaches to student feedback that strengthen motivation, and build relationships and achievement.