Unleashing Curiosity Series
Our Unleashing Curiosity guides are part of McREL’s Curiosity Works® resources. Based in part on a successful system-wide effort in Melbourne, Australia, that improved student achievement by unleashing student curiosity, these resources give teachers and school leaders tips, suggestions, and ideas to encourage professional dialogue with other teachers and increase student curiosity. Combining these insights with McREL’s analysis of best education practices from around the world, our Curiosity Works resources support a better way of transforming schools—not through top-down pressure, but through helping teachers and school leaders work together to develop shared professional expertise and leverage the power of motivation and curiosity.
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Unleashing Curiosity with Challenging Learning Tasks What would happen if you unleashed curiosity in your classroom? This 8-page durable guide aims to help you go further by working with colleagues to support professional reflection and dialogue that will help you and your colleagues develop instructional expertise, without prescribing a lock-step, one-size-fits-all program. McREL's Curiosity Works® resources are based in part on a successful system-wide effort in Melbourne, Australia, that improved student achievement by helping teachers and school leaders develop precision without prescription, unleashing student curiosity. Combining these insights with McREL's analysis of best education practices from around the world, our Curiosity Works resources support a better way of transforming schools—not through top-down pressure, but by helping teachers and school leaders work together to develop shared professional expertise and leverage the power of motivation and curiosity. |
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Unleashing Curiosity with Feedback That Motivates How can you provide your students with effective feedback that helps unleash curiosity in the classroom, instead of stifling it? This 8-page durable guide aims to help you motivate learners to be curious about their learning and propel them to mastery. Learn how to strike the right chord with feedback, both with students and with peers, not with a lock-step, one-size-fits-all program, but rather through supportive professional reflection that encourages a growth mindset among students and staff. McREL's Curiosity Works® resources are based in part on a successful system-wide effort in Melbourne, Australia, that improved student achievement by helping teachers and school leaders develop precision without prescription, unleashing student curiosity. Combining these insights with McREL's analysis of best education practices from around the world, our Curiosity Works resources support a better way of transforming schools—not through top-down pressure, but by helping teachers and school leaders work together to develop shared professional expertise and leverage the power of motivation and curiosity. |
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Unleashing Curiosity by Helping Students Commit to Mastery As teachers and adults, very few of us enjoy being given a goal without our input, no matter how kindly it may be offered. Students are no different. This 8-page durable guide outlines four key elements and strategies that will help you motivate learners to be curious about their learning, connect their learning to a purpose and a big picture, and propel them to mastery. McREL's Curiosity Works® resources are based in part on a successful system-wide effort in Melbourne, Australia, that improved student achievement by helping teachers and school leaders develop precision without prescription, unleashing student curiosity. Combining these insights with McREL's analysis of best education practices from around the world, our Curiosity Works resources support a better way of transforming schools—not through top-down pressure, but by helping teachers and school leaders work together to develop shared professional expertise and leverage the power of motivation and curiosity. |
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Unleashing Curiosity with Dynamic Cooperation Cooperative learning, often characterized by working in small groups, brings alive the adage “To teach is to learn.” It’s about instilling a culture of democracy as much as it is about mastering content—making it important training for career success. Part of our Curiosity Works® series, this 8-page durable guide summarizes the research supporting cooperative learning and provides strategies that teachers of all grade levels can use to show students that personal accountability and group dynamics are integral parts of the same learning process. McREL's Curiosity Works resources are based in part on a successful system-wide effort in Melbourne, Australia, that improved student achievement by helping teachers and school leaders develop precision without prescription, unleashing student curiosity. Combining these insights with McREL’s analysis of best education practices from around the world, our Curiosity Works resources support a better way of transforming schools—not through top-down pressure, but by helping teachers and school leaders work together to develop shared professional expertise and leverage the power of motivation and curiosity. |
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Unleashing Curiosity with Quality Questioning A question can be more than a means to elicit information. When students answer a question, they begin to understand new information, construct ideas, apply knowledge, and demonstrate understanding. When they ask questions, they begin to form mental models; explore connections among ideas; consider different perspectives; elaborate, enrich, and broaden their understanding; and transfer and generalize their knowledge to new situations. Thus, it’s important to reflect on the kinds of questions we ask, starting with this one: How can we ask questions that will effectively propel learning? McREL's Curiosity Works® resources are based in part on a successful system-wide effort in Melbourne, Australia, that improved student achievement by helping teachers and school leaders develop precision without prescription, unleashing student curiosity. Combining these insights with McREL's analysis of best education practices from around the world, our Curiosity Works resources support a better way of transforming schools—not through top-down pressure, but by helping teachers and school leaders work together to develop shared professional expertise and leverage the power of motivation and curiosity. |
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Unleashing Curiosity by Assessing for Learning For many students, school can feel like a series of meaningless hurdles to clear in a long marathon of tests, grades, and report cards. Instead of inspiring students to learn, we often quash their curiosity by using tests and grades to insist they learn. Unsurprisingly, the longer students stay in school, the less motivated they are to learn academic content. However, when we reimagine the assessment process and engage students in it, we increase their motivation to learn, persistence in difficult tasks, confidence, and ability to engage in deep learning. McREL’s Curiosity Works® resources are based in part on a successful system-wide effort in Melbourne, Australia, that improved student achievement by helping teachers and school leaders develop precision without prescription, unleashing student curiosity. Combining these insights with McREL’s analysis of best education practices from around the world, our Curiosity Works resources support a better way of transforming schools—not through top-down pressure, but by helping teachers and school leaders work together to develop shared professional expertise and leverage the power of motivation and curiosity. |
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Unleashing Curiosity: Quick Guide Complete Set Teachers around the world have been finding McREL’s Unleashing Curiosity series of quick guides an inspiring and highly accessible source of effective classroom practices—and the research and theory behind them. All six 8-page guides are now available in a value set that includes bonus content to help colleagues support one another as you dig into the six key practices presented in the guides. Where you start is less important than where you finish: in a student-owned and teacher-guided learning environment. The six key practices in the series are:
Buyers of the complete set also get Unleashing Curiosity: Getting the Most from Your Quick Reference Guides, a 4-page introduction to establishing a collaborative peer coaching routine. |
Our Unleashing Curiosity guides are part of McREL’s Curiosity Works® resources. Based in part on a successful system-wide effort in Melbourne, Australia, that improved student achievement by unleashing student curiosity, these resources give teachers and school leaders tips, suggestions, and ideas to encourage professional dialogue with other teachers and increase student curiosity. Combining these insights with McREL’s analysis of best education practices from around the world, our Curiosity Works resources support a better way of transforming schools—not through top-down pressure, but through helping teachers and school leaders work together to develop shared professional expertise and leverage the power of motivation and curiosity.