Venue: Carlos H. Rodriguez 439, Neuquén
Curiosity and critical thinking to grab students´ attention and fight disengagement in the classrooms
Paola Danesi
BIODATA
“School is boring.”
Unfortunately, this seems to be true in most learning scenarios today. Based on recent research findings, most students get bored more than a third of the time spent at school. According to James Danckert, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Waterloo in Canada student boredom signals a desire for something meaningful and relevant.
What are the implications for teaching? How can teachers create meaningful learning experiences?
Research papers have proved that arousing curiosity and boosting critical thinking can hook minds and tempt students into active mode.
In this workshop, we will
- look into research findings regarding the science of attention and their connection with student engagement;
- explore effective strategies to foster a curious mindset and promote critical thinking;
- and transform traditional activities into engaging tasks to foster participation.
Motivating Students’ Engagement Through Passion Projects
Passion is learning something new, giving importance. It is constantly being in search for the new and in the effort of learning. Passion has the ability to transmit and create action. Passion is motivation, seeking for the new and willingness to learn. Passion is simply showing a strong tendency and willingness through spending time and energy on an activity that someone likes or believes that it is important (Carbonneau, Vallerand, Fernet & Guay, 2008). Being passionate is closely related to learning and experiencing new ideas.
In this presentation we will discuss how helping students identify their passions is a great starting point to engage them in projects triggered by their concerns, interests and curiosity.
