Curiosity Projects - A fantastic way for students to learn about something new

This semester, I am using again a curiosity-project activity in my Life of Mammals course. If you have never used a curiosity project activity in your courses, I suggest you read my previous post. The main idea behind curiosity projects is that when we are curious about something, we want to explore and learn about it. 

Curiosity is at the very heart of learning and it is what drives or guides people to want to learn more about something. 

Once that initial spark of curiosity happens, the next step is to investigate the topic, event or thing more thoroughly. That investigation then leads to wanting to wholly understand it or to unravel its mystery. And of course, that's where learning comes into action.

Curiosity projects are a fantastic way for students to learn about something new; something exciting or interesting selected by each one of them. Students are free to learn or be curious about anything that attracts their attention as long as it is related to the main subject of the course. 

To help students select a topic, idea or question and to maintain motivation and interest, I organize 3-4 brainstorm sessions during the semester. Each session has a different purpose/goal and is meant to provide students with a working plan to conduct successfully their curiosity project.

In this post, I provide some information about what I am planning to do for the Brainstorm Session 1. I will provide information about the other brainstorm sessions in other posts.

BRAINSTORM SESSION 1

In conjunction with a short pre-class questionnaire, students will use the steps listed below to identify 2-4 ideas or topics that they may be interested in exploring. 

I will be using Google Docs to create the pre-brainstorm questionnaire.  The goal of the questionnaire is to encourage students to start thinking about topics, issues or questions that they would like to explore. Students would have the chance to use their answers during the brainstorm session.

Brainstorm Session 1 will need about 1 and 1/2 hours. At the end of the activity, I expect that each student will have 2-4 ideas to work on. Students will be able to start gathering information, explore their topics/ideas and generate questions. 

Do you use Curiosity Projects in your courses?

 If you do, I would be interested to know about the ways/activities that you conduct to help students.

Curiosity Projects for Undergraduate Courses

EXTRAORDINARY MAMMALS

A Curiosity Project for an Undergraduate Mammalogy (Zoology) Course

By Dr. Marina Silva-Opps, Department of Biology, University of Prince Edward Island)

(feel free to use this outline, but don't forget to my cite me!)

Curiosity may be defined as a desire to know, to see or to experience that motivates exploratory behaviour directed to the acquisition of new information.  For example, children are very curious creatures.  They explore, question, and wonder, and by doing so, learn.  From the moment of birth, likely even before, humans are drawn to new things.

When we are curious about something new, we want to explore it.  So, curiosity is at the very heart of learning.  It is what drives or guides people to want to learn more about something.  Once that initial spark of curiosity happens, the next step is to investigate the topic, event or thing more thoroughly.  That investigation then leads to wanting to wholly understand it or to unravel its mystery.  And of course, that's where learning comes into action.

Keeping these ideas in mind, here I propose you an opportunity to learn about our own taxonomic class, Mammalia!

1. You will select a topic/question/issue in mammalogy that you are curious about.
2. You will research and learn about the topic/question/issue using all possible sources of information that are accessible to you.
3. You will share what you are learning and how are you learning it with others.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Scientific Objectives

1.       To obtain in-depth knowledge on a mammalogy-related topic, issue or question of your interest.

2.       To gain basic knowledge on various topics and issues associated with mammals or mammalogy that cannot be covered or expanded during lectures.

Communication Objectives

1.       To improve your skills in terms of comprehension and understanding of information from all possible sources, not just scientific journals, books and internet, but also from leaders in the field or industry.

2.       To improve your scientific writing skills, verbal communication, explanatory methods and skills as well as audience awareness.

Educational Objectives

1.       To learn how to give and receive feedback in order to improve the quality of the work that you create (e.g., papers, reports, research work, etc).

3.       To improve your critical thinking, problem solving and decision-making skills.

4.        To help you practice analyzing and assessing scientific reasoning.

GRADING

Part I: Curiosity Project Learning Logs (25% final grade)

Over the course of the semester, you will keep a Learning Log.  In this log, you will keep track of what you are learning in detail, how you came up with the information, your assessment of the validity of the information, your ideas, questions and potential answers to questions concerning the topic/issue that you have chosen for your curiosity project.  In other words, a Learning Log is a log or record or journal of your own learning.  It is not necessarily a formal ‘academic’ piece of work.  It is a personal record of your own learning.  As such it is a document which is unique to you and cannot be ‘right’ or ‘wrong’.  A Learning Log helps you to record, structure, think about and reflecting upon, plan, develop and evidence your own learning. 

You will use your learning logs in two ways:

1.         You will use it to write ideas, potential source of references and/or any other kind of information regarding your topic that you will find/collect when doing your review of the topic (i.e., search of information).

2.         You will use your learning log during our 1-hour class discussions (students will be separated in small groups) that will take place during five lab periods.  During discussions, you will write down ideas, questions, comments and suggestions associated with your project/topic that would result from group discussions.

At the end of each one of the five class discussions, we will collect your log to mark it.  We will give it back to you at the beginning of the next class lecture (i.e., Wednesday).  So, it is very important to take notes during discussions.  Please note that we will not focus on marking or correcting grammatical mistakes or syntax errors.  We will be more interesting in reading your ideas, questions or notes regarding your project-topic.

  

Part II: Participation During Group Discussions – A peer review process (15% final grade)

Although the attendance to each one of the lab discussions associated with this curiosity project is required, participation marks are not awarded for mere attendance.  You are expected to actively participate during group discussions and other related activities.

Participation will be assessed in three ways: self-assessment (5%), peer-assessment (5%) and instructors-assessment (5%).  Here are the criteria that we will use to assess participation:

1.      Preparation: the extent of your reading, exploration and curiosity demonstrated by contribution to discussion of your own topic and that of others.

2.      Contribution to discussion: the extent to which you volunteered answers, asked relevant questions, expressed your own opinion and analyzed contributions of others.

3.      Group skills: the extent to which you allowed others to contribute, avoided class domination, shared ideas with others, assisted others, provided positive feedback to others and exhibited tolerance and respect for others.

4.      Communication skills: the quality of your expression, clarity, conciseness, use of appropriate vocabulary, confidence.

5.      Attendance: includes punctuality.

Part III: Project Final-Product (60% final grade)

At the end of the semester, you will produce/create a paper, a lecture on your topic for grade 12^th high school students (or 1^st year university students), a video that you will upload in the internet (e.g., YouTube), a brochure or a webpage that details the results of your investigation on your topic.  Please note that:

1.      You need to provide a complete list (printed copy; double space; alphabetical and chronological order) of all your sources of information (papers, websites, names of interviewed people, video titles, etc) used to prepare your project final-product.

2.      If you decide to make a video or a high-school presentation, this should be approximately 15-minutes long.

3.      If you decide to write a paper, this should be approximately 7 pages long (excluding cover page, figures, tables and references list).

4.      If you decide to make a brochure, this should be approximately 4 pages long and should be composed of text, figures and at least one table.

Let me know if you use this outline. This activity can be adapted to other topics. Social media platforms such as Google+ or Blogs could also be used for to run the Log Learning component.