I am also interested in this question. I work primarily in spatial skills and reasoning, but I have become very interested in the idea that we need to foster an atmosphere of inquiry--which essentially means that we need to get kids to be curious about their world and use that curiosity to drive learning. I have little to no real experience in dealing with the complex construct of curiosity, but I have some ideas about what kinds of controlled situations would be testable. I'd enjoy talking more about how to measure curiosity to see if this could be developed into a project worth pursuing.

I am curious ;) about the level of interest researchers have in technologies that could help understand the brain in children as they interact with the world (the baby in the thumbnail wore this EEG system as he played for 1-2 hours). We have some technologies that might be applicable although we develop them for different purposes.

See the following paper for a description of our research in this area:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236894430_Real-World_Neuroimaging_Technologies

Article Real-World Neuroimaging Technologies

STIMULUS

Kaleb, that is very interesting research thank you for sharing it. The technologies you are working with sound very interesting.

Is it really about the pertinent aspects!? There is an interesting study that indicates that children's curiosity is sacrificed when creativity is maximised yet other studies show curiosity defined in terms of scientific pursuit. There seems to be a lot of thinking about the theoretical context of the concept yet very little thought to the practical application / enhancing properties in environments. One study showed that parents perceptions of the concept of curiosity meant that they had a lower opinion than the teachers of their children however would this be true for children who are homeschooled!? I think not but in my experience neither curiosity nor creativity is sacrificed in this type of homeschool environment so is it really one or the other in mainstream classrooms?

Christopher, where does this stimulus come from? Is it a knowledge gap? Is dissonance a key to drive it? Is it scientific exploration? I agree there has to be stimulus initially but can this be manufactured.

Merisa,

The question of how we might structure environments to provide a 'natural' or supplementary scaffold to facilitate learning is very challenging. It is not only a question of the things that we should include in the learning environment but also it is about the things we should not include.

We are just now beginning to understand that learning is a heirarchical process and that it can be compromised if stages are omitted. For example, the crawling stage is an important stage of the development of the body and coordination. This stage can be compromised if the child spends too much time in a baby walker.

Also, in addition to finding new and novel ways in which we can structure (and include dissonance, as you correctly point out) the environment to aid learning and develop curiosity, we should also pay attention to the simple things.

I am very interested in the development of the of 'self' and 'other' and the question of whether we are programmed up with these primordial concepts. I believe that the primary drive for brain development are the structures implicit in the environment and the body.

Implicit in the way in which another human being behaves, interacts with us and, in particular, the behavior of the eyes implies another point of view (and a "self"). In humans, and many other social species, the eyes both face forward and so present to the very young child one of the first steps on the developmental ladder - a rich source of order or structure. Indeed, in social species, where the eyes are at the side of the head and, consequently, present less order to the developing infant, addition patterns and colour have often been provided by evolution. (This is interesting - it might be that evolutionary psychology actually takes place in the body rather than the brain!)

I think that you are on an important and challenging path, Merisa.

My youngest grandchild has been given his own room and set of toys so that he is not discouraged by his big sister saying: No, no, that's my toy. This way we are encouraging and not discouraging stimulus.

I do think very small children who can walk and cannot be made so civilised to sit in chairs when visiting as guests to a friend or relation's house, these toddlers attempt to explore every room etc. in their house and if find a thing which they have not seen in their home try to examine it. In this process of spatial exploration and examination of something new many valuables are damaged. Though parents feel ashamed and hosts have a sense of loss but assure the guests it is normal.

These are ways in which toddlers explore and attempt to know. When they start talking, and hold things stably they are generally everything colourful and natural, even babies find an ad or scene colourful on TV screen they are attracted. Meanwhile they start fighting with their elders siblings and this determine their place in family or household (a sense of hierarchy- who has authority on whom and is expected to obey, a step towards development of discipline.) When in park or garden they are attracted everything natural from a worm to tree. Most of children including so inquisitive that they want to anything and everything. Since being children we (me and wife) found it difficult to give satisfactory answers. So, consulting several several senior parents and counselors we got a book on what questions children generally ask and how to give satisfactory answers to children. It is my personal experience as well as observation not based on profound research.

The most pertinent aspects of children's curiosity, seem to be knowing the people around, trying to imitate others who are around, looking into what they are up to, getting everything that they like for themselves, sticking to those who are close to them and umpteen others ! Every single one can be researched upon !!!