Developing a thirst for knowledge: How uncertainty in the classroom influences curiosity, affect, learning, and transfer

Abstract

Uncertainty is a key variable in fostering curiosity, which, in turn, is associated with learning. Yet, research in educational contexts rarely takes uncertainty into account, and rarely explores uncertainty and curiosity in the context of complex instructional activities. One concern with uncertainty is that it can provoke negative affect. Providing learners with expectations of future uncertainty may attenuate their feelings of negative affect. In a study with 138 middle school students learning physics concepts, we examined the relationship between uncertainty, curiosity, learning, transfer, and affect. Some students were given an inherently uncertain form of instruction, called Invention, in which information on how to solve the problem was initially withheld, while others were given direct instruction with all the necessary information to solve similar problems beforehand (No Uncertainty condition). Some of the students receiving uncertain instruction were given expectations about feeling uncertain (Expected Uncertainty condition), and some were not (Unexpected Uncertainty condition). Students in the unexpected uncertainty condition were the most curious, while students in the no uncertainty condition were the least curious. However, giving expectations of uncertainty reduced students’ negative affect. All groups learned the content equally well, but the expected and unexpected uncertainty groups exhibited greater transfer. Further, positive affect predicted learning, above and beyond condition, and curiosity predicted transfer, but not above and beyond condition. This study extends existing research on uncertainty and curiosity by studying these constructs in real classrooms, in the context of an exploratory learning paradigm, and by considering curiosity’s effect on transfer, rather than just learning. This work also demonstrates a practical approach for educators to foster students’ curiosity and transfer.