Modeling Questions Shows Children How to Use their Curiosity to Explore and Learn

Developmental psychologist and author Susan Engel, Ph.D., talks about the role of adults in modeling curiosity and question asking.

More Videos Featuring Susan Engel, Ph.D.

Susan Engel, Ph.D., is a developmental psychologist and Senior Lecturer in Psychology & Director of the Program in Teaching at Williams College. She is also the author of the Intellectual Lives of Children (2021) and The End of the Rainbow (2016), among other books.  She joined us at a Seedlings Facilitator gathering to share with us the many possibilities for engaging students in cultivating their natural inclinations for inquiry, invention and ideas.

Creating Spaces for Ideas to Blossom in the Classroom

Ideas take time to develop, but everyone, including young people, has ideas–they just need the knowledge, space and encouragement to share them and put them into action. Schools can be essential settings for children to learn how to have ideas and grow them.

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Asking Questions is a Powerful Tool for Building Knowledge

Early on, children begin to develop epistemic curiosity–the desire to know how and why. By age two, most children’s inquiry gains a powerful tool: the ability to talk, and therefore ask questions. In schools, we need to encourage inquiry to continue building a love of learning and intellectual curiosity. Child development expert Susan Engel, Ph.D., tells us why and how.

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