When I taught middle school, I wanted my students to be curious. I wanted to see them tap into their own natural wonder and ask tons of questions. I wanted them to ask, “Why?” and “Why not?” I wanted them to question answers as often as they answered questions. I wanted to see them engage in research simply because they are geeking out on the wonder that surrounded them. I knew that my students lived in a consumer culture (like the rest of us) with a the school system based largely on content delivery and compliance.

So fast forward a year to now. As a graduate professor, I want my students (pre-service teachers) to have this same curiosity and wonder. I want them to engage in inquiry and research. I want them to ask “Why?” and “Why not?” I want them to question answers and go beyond compliance as they enter the profession.

However, I am realizing that I haven’t been modeling wonder and curiosity. See, when I taught middle school and a kid would ask a great question, I would run with it. I would share my passion for learning in side conversations in the hallways. I would mention, offhandedly, my latest creative projects, complete with all the confusion and tiny unanswered questions that often lead to excited curiosity.

Yet in teaching adults, I have focused on precision and clarity. Don’t get me wrong. I am still curious. I am still geeking out on stuff. I’m regularly asking questions, reading research journals, and engaging in my own action research. I’m still curious about this craft called teaching. So, here are some of the questions buzzing around my brain:

• Do exemplars make people more or less risk-averse? Do they simply copy examples? Or do they free students up to try things on their own?
• Why do so many educators who teach in a constructivist way move into a traditional / content-delivery way when teaching online? Is this an issue of trying to translate pedagogy rather than transform it? Is this because teachers feel less comfortable with a digital pedagogy? Or is it because our devices, apps, and programs are created with consumers rather than creators in mind?
• Is empathy the wrong starting point in design thinking? Can the assumption that you “know your audience” lead to arrogance rather than cultural humility?
• Do the pressures of passing the edTPA lead to risk-aversion? Are teachers less likely to take creative risks when it gets “high stakes?”
• What can UX Design Theory teach me about designing online and hybrid courses?
• Does a combined synchronous-asynchronous communication platform (such as Voxer) change the perceived sense of proximity and “space” in an online classroom?
• What happens to faculty self-efficacy when they create their own multimedia content (through blogging, video creation, etc.)? Does this change the likelihood of crafting student tasks that include multimedia content creation?

After thinking about how I would share this with my class and with fellow faculty members, I thought, “I might as well share my work with folks who read my blog.” So, here it is. I’m showing my work and showing my wonder in the process.

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