Common Read: All the Light We Cannot See
February Theme: Curiosity & the Power of Knowledge
How can curiosity and seeking knowledge give us greater power?
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Thematic Quotes & Book Sections
- p. 7: The Hotel of Bees history about a privateer who decided to study bees
- p. 19: Dialogue themed with curiosity
- p. 24: Werner "interrogating the world" & his inquiries (p. 25)
- p. 29-30: Exploration of mollusks
- p. 32: Werner finding and fixing the radio
- p. 45: About Marie-Laure: "She is curious; ..."
- p. 46: "across the room is a miniature girl, skinny, quick-witted, an open book in her lap; inside her chest pulses something huge, something full of longing, something unafraid."
- p. 48: First broadcast of the wonders of the scientific world to children
- p. 54: "Out there people chase questions of great importance."
- p. 150: Marie-Laure listens to her great-uncle read about Darwin's expeditions and findings
- p. 189: Marie-Laure's father is proud that "his daughter is so curious, so resilient."
- p. 232: Marie-Laure experiencing the beach for the first time
- p. 291: Implicit curiosity about bees: "How do they know what parts to play, those little bees?"
- p. 291-292: A series of questions evoked by curiosity
- p. 328: "Science, my lad, is made up of mistakes, but they are mistakes which it is useful to make, because they lead little by little to the truth."
- p. 408: "So how, children, does the brain, which lives without a spark of light, build for us a world full of light?"
- p. 423: Werner is curious about and wonders about Marie-Laure
- p. 499: Werner had a notebook entitled "Fragen" - "Questions" (which are detailed in pp. 505-506)
- p. 516: "It is the obliviousness of our children that saves us."
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Building Class Community
Options:
- Read the quote from p. 54. Ask students to share with one another (in partners, small groups, or as a walk-around exercise): What is a question of "great importance" to you? (Optionally: ..."in this field/subject?")
- Read the description about Marie-Laure from p. 45. In a Microsoft Form, have students rate how curious they are (generally; in this class). Then, have them enter in a text response on the form what it takes to get them curious about something. Examine and discuss incoming responses to the form by embedding form responses into a Powerpoint slide.
- Read to the class the description from p. 7 about the study of bees. Have students share with one another: What topic would you love to study at this level of depth? Why?
Follow your selection of above activities with one or more of these options:
- Explore together how an attitude of curiosity can help to encourage discussion and engagement with one another in the class.
- Share instances of leaders in your subject who exhibit(ed) great curiosity. What were their driving questions? How did their curiosity advance the field?
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Social & Societal Connections
Options:
- Read the quote from p. 328. Ask the class: Are there social issues where you see mistakes being made (or that have been made in the past)? How can/did those mistakes lead to improvements in that sector of society?
- Read the quote from p. 516. For a Think-Pair-Share, ask: How does the obliviousness of children save us? (Follow up, if applicable to your subject area, with: How can children's obliviousness be an advantage in our subject?)
- Read the excerpt from p. 291. Explore with the class ways that we somehow know our parts to play in society (as do the bees in the reading). How do *we* know what parts to play?
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Course Content Connections
Prior to tying the book and this month's theme to your course content, select a passage or quote from the list above (or find another from the book) to lead off the activity or connection to course content.
The following ideas are not exhaustive, but are meant to inspire:
STEM
- Curiosity is considered a key attribute for engineering entrepreneurship. See more.
- Curiosity leads to higher motivation in mathematics. See more.
Arts
- Curiosity plays a role in the creative process for artists. See more.
- Curiosity and musical background combine to influence music-listening enjoyment. See more.
Humanities & History
- Accumulated background knowledge can play a powerful role in reading comprehension for English Language Learners. See more.
- Curiosity can be stimulated among learners with strategic use of primary source materials. See more.
Business
- Using "mystery appeals" can trigger consumer curiosity which predicts purchase motivation. See more.
- Curiosity is seen as a key component of critical thinking and as a desirable trait for public accountants. See more.
Social Sciences
- Psychology has determined 5 dimensions of curiosity. See more.
- Curiosity can be theoretically seen as either a feeling of interest (less intense) or a feeling of deprivation (more intense). See more.
Education
- Curious teachers create curious students. See more.
- Uncertainty in the classroom leads to greater student curiosity and transferred information better. See more.
Health & Medical Sciences- Physician curiosity can shape medical professionalism and improve patient care. See more.
- Evoking curiosity can lead individuals to access health information that is often avoided. See more.
Interdisciplinary
- Scientific anomalies inspired artists to work with scientists. See more.
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Reflection, Metacognition, & Insights
Consider offering these questions for students' consideration:
- How does your own curiosity play a role in your learning right now?
- Are there ways you can think of to get more curious about some of your classes and their content?
- What's one question you have about yourself as a student right now? How might you answer it (or find out the answer to it)?
Consider also employing artificial intelligence:
- Have students ask AI for advice on how to get more curious about something they currently find uninteresting.
- Prompt AI to probe the student for questions they have about a topic, and continue probing the student to go deeper into their inquiry.
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Connections to Instructional Practice
Help students become more curious about upcoming content or an assigned reading by generating their own questions:
- Conduct a QFT (Question Formulation Technique), using a statement or book quote as the QFocus. Assign students to select and research one of their group's top-rated questions from this process.
- Online, have students individually generate a list of questions and evaluate them, researching their top 1-2 questions.
- Use a similar exercise with a Question Sort: Students generate questions (in groups is best), putting one question per Post-It or square of paper, and then place them on an x/y axis. X: How important is this question for [learning more, getting clarity, whatever the goal is here]? [Right: Very much; Left: Not at all] Y: How much do I care about this question and its answer? [Top: Very much; Bottom: Not at all]. Students then use/research/ focus on the questions in the upper-right quadrant.
- Use a Thinking Routine such as See-Think-Wonder with an image, short video, or demonstration to evoke students' initial interest in a topic. Explore other Thinking Routines for similar structures.
- Ask students to notice deeply or differently: Using a prompt (e.g., image, chart, object, short paragraph), have students write down 5 things they notice. When they are finished, have them now look for 5 more things. Share some of the deeper observations as a class. Alternatively, have students consider the prompt from different perspectives. For example, with a chart, ask: How might young adults view this information? What about politicians? Funding organizations? etc.
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Related CTE Events
- Flash Mentoring: AI and Student Engagement
Tuesday, February 11, 1:00 - 1:30
Zoom
Register - Flash Mentoring: Tips for Helping Students Get Curious
Wednesday, February 12, 11:00 - 11:30
Zoom
Register - Community of Learners (a "4 Teaching Essentials" workshop)
Friday, February 14, 2:30 - 4:00
Zoom
Register - Open Teaching Week
Get curious yourself about how others teach!
February 17 - 21, multiple course observation options - including online courses
OTW Course Listings - Exceptional Teaching: Get Inspired
What do ETSU's top instructors do in the classroom?
Wednesday, February 19, 1:30 - 3:30
Sherrod Library, Room 309
Learn More & Register - Using Questions to Drive Thinking & Learning
Monday, February 24, 9:00 - 10:00
Zoom
Register - Teaching First-Year Students Club: Curiosity
Monday, February 24, 1:30 - 2:30
Hybrid: Zoom or Sherrod Library, Room 441
Register - Roundtable Discussion: Barriers to Open Inquiry & Dialogue
Wednesday, February 26, 11:45 - 1:00
Sherrod Library, Room 441 (CTE Lounge)
Lunch Included - Tips for Designing Your Class COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) Project
Thursday, February 27, 10:00 - 10:30
Zoom
Register - Active & Collaborative Learning (a "4 Teaching Essentials" workshop)
Friday, February 28, 2:00 - 3:30
Zoom
Register
- Flash Mentoring: AI and Student Engagement