Curiosity is key to learning. In fact, studies show that, when we’re curious about a subject, we are much more likely to remember information we learned about that subject. If you’re an educational professional or are considering earning a teaching degree and entering the classroom, knowing how to enlighten students’ curiosity can help you improve learning outcomes.

Curiosity most often begins with “why”. Why does natural gas burn blue? Why is blue spelled blue and not blew? Why does the wind blow? If you want to fire up your students’ curiosity, you need to encourage them to ask and try to answer questions. That means you should avoid giving tedious lectures where you explain everything. Instead, try designing your classes so that you’re posing questions. And be sure to leave openings for students to participate and ask questions about what they’re learning.

Not every question your students ask will be a question you expect. But all questions prove a curious mind, so don’t dismiss questions that don’t fit with your lesson. Instead, leave unstructured time in class to address unexpected questions, or establish a system whereby unexpected questions can be “stored” for later, like on a whiteboard or in an online document.

In addition to making room for unexpected questions, you should also make room for students’ exploration of their questions. If you give your students enough time to discuss questions, their curiosity is certainly to expand.

Curiosity is a fuel. It drives us to try to figure things out and, finally, to learn. So make sure you give your students time for reflection after every class. Ask them to create a quick piece of art to reflect what they’ve learned. Not only does this kind of reflection aid in learning, it can also teach students to make curiosity a constantly present part of their lives.

【小题1】Why is curiosity vital to study according to the text?

A．It improves students’ memory.

B．It helps gain a better learning result.

C．It assists teachers in encouraging students.

D．It promotes the understanding of each other.

【小题2】What does the underlined word “tedious” in paragraph 2 mean?

A．Dull.

B．Considerable.

C．Essential.

D．Popular.

【小题3】How can a teacher expand students’ curiosity?

A．By asking as many questions as possible.

B．By encouraging students to ask unexpected questions.

C．By offering students sufficient time to discuss questions.

D．By dismissing the questions that don’t fit with the lesson.

【小题4】What is this text mainly about?

A．Definition of curiosity.	B．Significance of imagination.
C．Ways of making classes educative.	D．Methods for enlightening curiosity.