“Seek and ye shall find”: How curiousity engenders discovery

January 1st, 2001 | RESEARCH

For children to achieve an understanding of science and of the ways of doing science, and for them to be motivated to use these ways in coping with, understanding, and enjoying the physical, biological, and social world around them, it is not enough that they believe that science is practically important. They must also be curious. Curiosity calls attention to interesting, odd, and sometimes important items in the drama that is revealed to us through our senses. Idle or purposeful, curiosity is the motor that interests children in science; it is also the principal motor that energizes and steers the education of professional scientists and the conduct of their subsequent scientific work. A depiction of the workings of curiosity must form a central chapter in any account of how science is and ought to be carried on.

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Team Members

Herbert Simon, Author, Carnegie Mellon University
Kevin Crowley, Editor, University of Pittsburgh

Citation

Identifier Type: DOI
Identifier: 978-0805834734

Publication: Designing for science: Implications from everyday, classroom, and professional settings

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Audience: Elementary School Children (6-10) | Middle School Children (11-13)
Discipline: Education and learning science | General STEM | Nature of science
Resource Type: Edited Chapter | Reference Materials
Environment Type: Informal | Formal Connections | K-12 Programs