Page 44 - Teaching Innovation for the 21st Century

42
Teaching Innovation for the 21st Century | Showcasing UJ Teaching and Learning 2021
The use of curiosity can often be seen at play where games form part of a teaching and learning strategy; when implemented properly, students will be invested in their attempts to solve the problem in front of them.
‘No...’ Kerry took a step back, her mind refusing to accept the truth before her. ‘Why?’ Her voice grew more audible as anger settled in. ‘WHY DID YOU DO IT?’ While 11-year-old me was decidedly a terrible writer, those numerous notebooks filled with adventures of daring and intrigue featuring my classmates did (eventually) teach me about the importance of story structures and how I should approach teaching and learning.
When the subject matter being taught is highly technical and involves having to cover much theoretical content, how does one get students to actively engage in the module – not only having the usual select few students raising their hands to answer questions posed
by the lecturer, but for everyone to participate and be properly incentivised to read up
on additional related subject matter? The honours elective Computer Forensics has been particularly challenging in this regard – despite sporting a relatively interesting module name, the overwhelming volume of background theoretical content that students have
to know has led to a very passive learning environment where weekly classes entailed 90 minutes of students staring blankly back at me as I subjected them to slow, agonising Death by PowerPoint!
Something had to change. And so, I ‘killed’ the old approach in which Computer Forensics was presented.
Yes, Kerry. I did it. Because now, I have your attention...
Staying curious
How often have you had your attention captivated in the face of an enthralling situation? Perhaps it was a click-baiting headline that you just HAD to click to find out more. Or was it the credits rolling on your screen where nary a few seconds ago, your jaw had dropped when that cliff-hanger of a scene unfolded?
In that moment, you were curious. In that moment, you were invested and involved.
Curiosity can often be viewed negatively (the proverb ‘curiosity killed the cat’ comes to mind) but much research has gone into exploring this behaviour and how, as a fundamental part
of human beings, curiosity plays an essential role in ensuring that we learn, thus helping us to survive and thrive (Currin 2020). Specifically, there is consensus that as an intrinsic form
of motivation, curiosity brings about some very positive and promising gains in learning (Halamish, Madmon & Moed 2019; Oudeyer, Gottlieb & Lopes 2016; Pluck & Johnson 2011).
The use of curiosity can often be seen at play where games form part of a teaching and learning strategy; when implemented properly, students will be invested in their attempts to solve the problem in front of them. Not only would they be encouraged to engage the content, but they are also potentially immersed in the learning activity and fully dedicating the skills at their disposal to tackling the tasks in front of them (Petridis & Tracykowski 2021).
Freedom of movement
In the past few years, my approach to keeping my students curious has been to situate them at the centre of a story that they were to resolve. Just as importantly, while I maintained
a general outline of how the story will unfold, I am also cognisant of what actions they are choosing to take or what motivations they provide in support of their actions. At the same time, it is also important that the events throughout are carefully planned so that emphasis