Sparking Middle School Students' Curiosity to Explain Scientific Phenomena: A Proposed Investigation of Visual Processes (Poster 34)

• In Event: Excellence in Education Research: Early Career Scholars and Their Work

Abstract

Curiosity is a powerful motivator of learning and scientific discovery. Yet, prior studies have focused more on whether curiosity increases learning rather than how and for whom curiosity increases learning. Moreover, prior studies of curiosity have tended to define learning in terms of memory-based recall, rather than examining curiosity’s role in the development of scientific practices such as constructing scientific explanations. Drawing on cognitive neuroscience research to refine theories of curiosity, the proposed study will investigate the following question: does curiosity support learning about scientific phenomena because it changes visual processes? In this presentation I will share a proposed experimental design to test the effect of promoting curiosity through a question asking intervention. In particular, middle school students will have their eye movements recorded while they study visuals and ask curiosity-driven questions to construct explanations of scientific phenomena. Data from eye movements will be used to examine two processes implicated in curiosity (i.e. visual information seeking and mental imagery), and visual processes will be tested as possible mediators explaining the effect of promoting curiosity on the quality of students’ scientific explanations. Sub-group analysis will be used to investigate whether promoting curiosity through a question-generation intervention has the potential to broaden participation among students traditionally underrepresented in science.

Author

• Emily Grossnickle Peterson, American University
  Presenting Author