Literacy Matters

THE POWER OF INTEREST DRIVES LEARNING

Interest has the power to, not only lift high achievers but to transform struggling performers.

Interest is a psychological state of engagement in the moment AND a predisposition to repeatedly engage. When children are engaged they feel captivated, energised and invigorated. Interest turbo-charges our thinking and makes us work harder and persist longer. Scientists have proven that passionate interests can allow people to overcome academic difficulties or perceptual difficulties.

So, how can we promote interest?

Educator, John Dewey, wrote that interest operates by a process of ‘catch’ and ‘hold’ -- first the individual’s interest must be captured, and then it must be maintained. To do this we must expose children to a wide variety of topics and material and ensure it is novel, complex and comprehensible. This means introducing things never before encountered while ensuring they are challenging but not too hard or too easy to understand. We must provide sufficient background knowledge to stimulate interest but avoid confusion.

More learning leads to more questions, which in turn, leads to more learning. 

It’s questions, not answers, that stimulate curiosity. Instead of starting with the answer, we must pose genuinely interesting questions - questions that open an information gap.

We must demonstrate our own interest in particular subjects and encourage children to see the value in what they are learning while supporting their feelings of competence and helping them sustain their interest and motivation when things become challenging.

The goal is to cultivate interest that provides lasting stimulation and fulfillment, interest that we pursue over a lifetime with vigour and zest.

WORD OF THE WEEK

WEEK 5: BENEVOLENT adjective

DEFINITION: Being warm and friendly and enjoying helping others.

SENTENCE: The benevolence of their neighbours meant the struggling family was able to eat a home cooked meal every night

ORIGIN: Latin origin bene, meaning ‘good’ and velle, meaning ‘to wish’

WEEK 6:BELLIGERENT adjective

DEFINITION: Hostile and aggressive; feeling or showing readiness to fight

SENTENCE:  You make more friends by being nice than you do by being belligerent.

ORIGIN: latin bellum meaning war