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Lighting the wick in the candle of learning: generating a prediction stimulates curiosity.

ABSTRACT: Curiosity stimulates learning. We tested whether curiosity itself can be stimulated-not by extrinsic rewards but by an intrinsic desire to know whether a prediction holds true. Participants performed a numerical-facts learning task in which they had to generate either a prediction or an example before rating their curiosity and seeing the correct answer. More facts received high-curiosity ratings in the prediction condition, which indicates that generating predictions stimulated curiosity. In turn, high curiosity, compared with low curiosity, was associated with better memory for the correct answer. Concurrent pupillary data revealed that higher curiosity was associated with larger pupil dilation during anticipation of the correct answer. Pupil dilation was further enhanced when participants generated a prediction rather than an example, both during anticipation of the correct answer and in response to seeing it. These results suggest that generating a prediction stimulates curiosity by increasing the relevance of the knowledge gap.

SUBMITTER: Brod G

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6803639 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Lighting the wick in the candle of learning: generating a prediction stimulates curiosity.

Brod Garvin G Breitwieser Jasmin J

NPJ science of learning 20191021

Curiosity stimulates learning. We tested whether curiosity itself can be stimulated-not by extrinsic rewards but by an intrinsic desire to know whether a prediction holds true. Participants performed a numerical-facts learning task in which they had to generate either a prediction or an example before rating their curiosity and seeing the correct answer. More facts received high-curiosity ratings in the prediction condition, which indicates that generating predictions stimulated curiosity. In tu ...[more]

PMID: 31646002

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Project description:Background: A student's level of curiosity in a subject after learning about it through online videos has not been addressed well in the medical education field. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to investigate online learning's effect on the stimulation of curiosity and short-term learning outcomes in a blended framework of precision medical education. Methods: A mixed-methods research design was used. During the 2020 academic year, all fifth-year medical students who, prior to class, viewed 6 video clips that presented 6 core concepts were invited to complete a survey and self-reflection on their learning process to assess their level of curiosity in each concept. For each group of medical students, teaching assistants helped collect anonymous survey data and summative assessment scores representing the students' learning outcomes. Video-viewing patterns, attained through an action log transformation, were also coded for analysis. Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests were employed to compare differences between groups, and multiple linear regression was used to select the factors affecting learning outcomes. Qualitative data were content-coded through a descriptive approach using thematic analysis. Results: Of 142 medical students, 136 watched the online videos, 124 responded to the questionnaires, and 92 provided comments. Students' curiosity levels after learning about each concept through online videos significantly correlated with the degree to which a concept was learned. Medical students spent a median of 1.6 h online, and pause frequency correlated with curiosity in certain concepts. Aroused curiosity was associated with short-term learning outcomes in inconsistent effect sizes and directions. Students' feedback revealed various dimensions of curiosity, including novelty acknowledgment, recognition of an information gap, and information-seeking requests. Conclusions: Curiosity can be induced through online video learning platforms and has a role in short-term learning outcomes in medical education.

Dataset Information

Lighting the wick in the candle of learning: generating a prediction stimulates curiosity.

Publications

Lighting the wick in the candle of learning: generating a prediction stimulates curiosity.

Similar Datasets

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