Children love asking questions! Here are 4 unique ideas to boost their curiosity & cognitive skills
Jean Piaget, a famous Swiss psychologist, has enlightened the world with his remarkable theory on child development and his findings on cognitive behaviour. Piaget was an advocate of introducing `learner-centric` education, much familiar to modern-day thinking. He believed that teachers, who viewed children as learners rather than students, provided experience-based educational opportunities.
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development –
Children are curious explorers. A child typically asks between 250–300 questions each day directly linked to their mental development. Simply put, cognitive development means the way children keep exploring, thinking and questioning. The mere curiosity to ask questions is a developmental phase in a child’s life. This not just helps them to gain knowledge but to hone problem-solving skills. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development states that children move through various mental development phases that allow them to think, question, reason and conclude their findings.
Much like the work a scientist does, children love experimenting and develop problem-solving skills when given an open platform. Cognitive development is a steady process in a human being’s lifespan, starting from the very beginning. Our ability to question shapes our mental and psychological framework, and this keeps evolving throughout our life.
What type of questions do children typically ask?
Social Questions –
Social questions are great `conversation starters`. We observe that many children are a little shy to start conversations in public gatherings or unfamiliar environments. Starting a conversation might probe them to ask social questions and make them comfortable in newer settings. When a child is encouraged to ask social questions, much like — What do you like to play or which is your favourite activity, they are more likely to think openly, imagine and express confidently.
Cognitive Questions-
By the age of 3 or 4, children typically develop curiosity about the surroundings around them. This leads to children inquiring into the `WHY`s of the world. These are most commonly termed cognitive questions. Children in these ages tend to be hungry for knowledge, and often parents realize that one question leads to a corresponding one. The quest to find out more about themselves, the world around them and the WHY`s about the events that occur are prominent. Parents and teachers should particularly monitor this important developmental stage in a child’s life. Emphasis on accurate information and quick query resolution will help nurture the child’s curiosity.
Operational Questions –
These could be termed as a little more complex in nature. For example, operational questions could be the `HOW`s of situations or to find out more about the topics they are already aware of. These questions could also be asked to get more attention from parents or peers or to make an interaction.
It is a known fact that the more children question, the more they absorb. This is because their minds are constantly acquiring knowledge, and feeding it with the right information will nurture their curiosity and improve their mental and emotional quotient.
Here are 4 simple and fun ways to encourage children to become better inquirers –
1. The wonder wall –
Teachers and parents can set up a small wonder wall in a room or a class. It could be a simple poster or even a blackboard. After a new topic is introduced, make a poster highlighting the topic name in the centre and the questions — Why, How, When, What or Where could be stuck around them. Ask children to frame their questions starting from each of these words and make a note. Parents and teachers can then take a round of each child’s question about the topic and try and inquire into them.
2. Word bubble game –
After introducing a new lesson or topic, encourage each child to draw a big thought bubble on paper. This could be filled with all the words they can think of related to the lesson or the topic. Then, encourage children to start framing questions around these words and find answers as a team to learn the topic better.
3. Show-and-tell –
Some teachers believe that children feel comfortable in individual dialogue settings. The traditional show-and-tell activity could be turned into a fun game. Pair each child with another one in the class and ask them to bring objects associated with topics or lessons taught. Encourage children to use this activity as a conversation builder and ask their partners to learn more about the topic.
4. Pandora’s Box –
This is a fun way of getting children to dig deeper into information they should learn and research about. Take a simple box — it could be a carton or a shoebox. Ask every child to write down a question on a chit of a paper. Shuffle the box and ask each student to pick up a chit and read the question. The whole class can then make attempts in answering these unique questions as a team.
Important to remember:
Encouraging children to ask more questions and appreciating them for making these efforts is extremely important. Not every child needs a competitive environment of raising hands to display their curiosity. Some children perform better in more playful atmospheres. The `fun-and-learn` technique could be a great way to engage children during mundane classroom routines.
Parents can also use some of these ideas during family dinners or other free time where the entire family could engage in a new topic each day and use fun ways to make enquiries.
By enabling children to keep questioning, educators gain insights into their likes and dislikes and creative abilities and keep them involved in a non-judgmental and safe learning environment.
Read more from Myelin: Quizzing culture should make a comeback.
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