What's behind that door?

A thought experiment: It's the weekend, and you're visiting a museum with a close friend. Between exhibits, you're catching up on life's latest dramas. The displays are impressive, but then you encounter something unexpected: a plain, closed door with a sign reading, "One person at a time, please." Your friend shrugs and volunteers to go in first.

Scenario A: Your friend comes out after a minute or two, brimming with excitement. They enthusiastically describe every detail of what they saw: the colors, the artifacts, the ambiance. They tell you how amazing it was and urge you to go in and see it for yourself.

Scenario B: This time, when your friend comes out of the room, they are quiet and thoughtful, perhaps with a mysterious, satisfied smile. They don't say a word about what they saw.

In which scenario are you more curious about what happened in that room? My guess is that in the first scenario, you're interested, of course, but you already have a pretty good idea of what's inside because your friend just told you. But in the second scenario, due to the apparent impact and the lack of explanation, I bet you're dying to know what's in that room!

What this means for teaching

This analogy can be applied to how we approach teaching and lecturing. In the first scenario, the friend who shares everything they saw represents a lecturer who tells students all the facts and findings directly. While this can be informative and exciting, it doesn't necessarily engage the students' curiosity or encourage them to explore on their own.

In the second scenario, the friend who comes out quietly, changed by the experience, represents a lecturer who creates a sense of wonder and curiosity in their students. By not giving away all the answers, this approach encourages students to investigate, ask questions, and seek out knowledge themselves. This process of discovery is a powerful way for students to learn deeply and retain information.

As lecturers, perhaps we should focus more on sparking curiosity and less on delivering information. By guiding students to discover and explore, we can help them develop critical thinking skills and a lifelong love of learning. After all, it's through doing the work themselves that students truly learn and grow.

This post and image were created with the help of Claude.ai and ChatGPT