A new book by Sonoma State University Hutchins Professor Wendy L. Ostroff, "Cultivating Curiosity in K-12 Classrooms: How to Promote and Sustain Deep Learning," has been selected by publisher ASCD as an Editor's Choice book this year.
"We learn by engaging and exploring, asking questions and testing out answers," says the publisher. "Yet our classrooms are not always places where such curiosity is encouraged and supported. 'Cultivating Curiosity in K-12 Classrooms' describes how teachers can create a structured, student-centered environment that allows for openness and surprise, where inquiry guides authentic learning."
In the book, Ostroff demonstrates how to foster student curiosity through exploration, novelty, and play; questioning and critical thinking; and experimenting and problem solving. With techniques, scaffolding advice, and relevant research from neuroscience and psychology, the book helps teachers harness the powerful drive in all learners--the drive to know, understand, and experience the world in a meaningful way.
Ostroff is a developmental and cognitive psychologist and a professor at the Hutchins School of Liberal Studies at Sonoma State University. She is also the author of the book "Understanding How Young Children Learn: Bringing the Science of Child Development to the Classroom" (2012, ASCD).