The Importance of Unrestricted Curiosity

I found John Medina's seminar on 'Brain Rules' quite stimulating. To some extent I suspect we've all been a little guilty of what he calls 'neuro-astrology' (I may have to steal that term), and that we permit change to fall into the too-hard basket more times than we should. But it's only when you listen to some of the empirically-proven data John discusses that the importance of these things start to hit home (Medina, Brain Rules, http://www.brainrules.net/).

Listening to Mr Medina reminded me of Tony Buzan www.buzan.com.au for whom I have enormous respect. I've been a follower of Buzan's methods since the 1980s, and find that he and John Medina have a significant amount in common. I have been incorporating Buzan's methodologies into all my classes where possible (such as using mindmapping [radiant] structures as well as linear ones), and find that once I get past a student's learned reserve, they are happy to try new things with enthusiasm.

John speaks of the natural structure of our thinking abilities and goes on to illustrate how the way we work (in modern cubicles, sedentary and alone, often manacled to routine and boredom), and the way we learn/teach (routine followed by more routine and severely channeled), are almost guaranteed to debilitate our individual effectiveness.

Working in what John terms a "captive prison state" virtually ensures the way we think and use our capacity to learn is reduced and becomes less and less effective. It was also interesting to be shown how stress, or "learned helplessness" has a toxic potential to prevent us from even trying to find a different way.

 And I guess that would be one of the two main points I garnered from John's talk:

1. we learn to forget there are different ways of doing things
2. curiosity is the greatest of natural teachers

These two things have reinforced my belief in the way I teach. Though I am required to provide my students with identical materials, information and instructional standards as any other class on any other campus, I am not forced to think the same way as any other teacher. If I can discover even one way of communicating information is a 'different' manner and if I can engage my students through the force of their own curiosity, then I am improving their chances of success. Not only that, but it keeps my teaching fascinating for me - every time I work with a student to overcome a learning issue, I am also learning from them.

However. An increased awareness of this potential also brings with it increased problems. If we know and believe that the way we currently teach/learn harks more to 19th-century isolationist Britain than to 21st-century globalised Australia (or anywhere, really), then HOW are we going to get our respective education systems to change? Do I need to leave academia and enter politics, get into the Senate and then pass an oodleplex of bills to ensure such change occurs?

Knowing that the current system is deeply flawed, and having some insight into potential change is one thing. Actually making that change take place is something entirely different.

How can we change the system from within?