Listening to podcasts for #digped while stitching tonight. First up is @RissaChem and @slamteacher on @tihighered. It's wrapping up with the idea of reigniting imagination and curiosity in STEM and I love it. This has been the key in my courses. Curiosity.

We in STEM are so quick to argue "gotta cover the material" and then are upset because the student lack curiosity. I highly encourage any of my #STEMdigped classmates to check out the first chapter of @joshua_r_eyler How Humans Learn - it's all about curiosity.

Basically the education system has tested the curiosity out of our students. So how to unlock it, especially among our "least curious" the non-majors. Don't test them! Do they need to memorize the bases of DNA? NO! But give them an activity with real DNA that translates to real

Proteins and then causes real diseases. They are hooked!

I also let my students explore the topics we discuss in class (not cover - I can't cover climate change in 2 classes) in personal reflections, where I encourage them to explore the topics more for themselves

Here's a quote from a student this past semester after our classes on space exploration https://twitter.com/hsmiceli/status/1231789665885224960?s=19

It can be done. It just requires stepping out of the comfort zone.