Keeping the Spark for Learning Alive
Children are naturally curious. They are eager to participate, to explore and to learn. They see possibilities without the limitations adults often impose and ask wonderfully insightful questions. Children love to test ideas, experiment, play and discover. Yet, as they grow older, this natural spark of creativity and curiosity can begin to fade. Learning can slowly shift from play to work.
Too often, schools unintentionally dampen students’ natural curiosity by turning rich learning experiences into tasks to be completed. In the rush to fill students’ heads with knowledge, the joy, wonder and excitement of learning can be lost.
The greatest impact a school can make is finding ways to keep learning aligned with how children naturally learn, through inquiry, creativity, play and meaningful engagement. Learning should be joyful, challenging and deeply motivating.
In Drive by Daniel Pink, the Sawyer Effect describes how a task can feel like play or work depending on motivation. Motivation is what moves us. It is the reason we persist, create and grow. The challenge for schools is to harness students’ natural motivation and help them fail forward, learning from mistakes and seeing challenges as opportunities rather than setbacks.
At Living Faith, we intentionally design learning experiences that nurture engagement, curiosity and creativity because we believe students learn better together and that learning thrives in environments built on trust, encouragement and joy.
Across the school, teachers foster curiosity by encouraging students to ask questions. Ungoogleable questions are celebrated, as they require deeper thinking, exploration and persistence. These questions invite students to be curious, to wonder, investigate and make connections. Often, a student’s question reveals more about their thinking than an answer ever could.
Subjects such as Spark, Art and Performing Arts provide rich opportunities for creativity and self expression. Students are encouraged to dare to dream, explore their interests and use different parts of the brain. Spark, in particular, integrates a range of learning areas with science and design technologies, allowing students to immerse themselves in creative thinking while making meaningful cross curricular connections.
Project-Based Learning plays a key role in keeping curiosity alive. Through PBL, students are given opportunities to shape their learning, ask their own questions and make real world connections. This approach empowers students to be the change and to see their learning as purposeful and relevant beyond the classroom.
One of the most powerful ways we increase engagement in PBL is through immersive and experiential entry events. These events launch each project and are designed to spark wonder, play and curiosity. Students explore, ask questions and collaborate, and from these experiences they develop the inquiry questions that guide their learning journey.
This year, we have also placed a strong emphasis on learning through play. Play is already embedded across the junior years because it reflects how children’s brains are wired to learn. Play is joyful, engaging and motivating. It encourages creativity, collaboration and risk taking, allowing students to fail forward in safe and supportive ways.
Play is not frivolous. It enhances brain structure and function.
— The American Academy of Paediatrics.
By intentionally applying the Sawyer Effect, we aim to create learning environments that are engaging, playful, challenging and open ended. We strive to lead with love, placing relationships, wellbeing and belonging at the centre of learning.
As educators, our role is to understand how children learn and to design experiences that honour their curiosity, creativity and capacity to dream. By doing so, we nurture learners who remain curious, collaborative and courageous well beyond their years at school.
Alana Reville
Head of Learning and Innovation