Reclaiming Curiosity: Why Our Deepest Thinkers Need Different Learning Environments
When Curiosity Is Seen as a Disruption
Curiosity is the foundation of learning, yet research shows it is often one of the first thing schools suppress. When Susan Engel, a developmental psychologist and teacher-educator at Williams College, decided to spend a few months observing suburban primary schools, she had a specific goal in mind: to study variations in rates of children’s curiosity. Susan Engel’s classroom observations revealed moments such as this: ‘I can’t answer questions right now. Now it’s time for learning.’ In another classroom - ‘two full hours passed without one student asking anything at all. Children, who arrive at school asking between 100 and 300 questions a day, quickly learn to silence their questions in such classroom environments.
Compliance is Neither Motivation nor Learning
Grades reinforce this pattern. Joe Feldman’s Grading for Equity shows that it is “often impossible to determine what grades represent” because they blend behaviour, attendance, participation, and academic performance into one compliance‑driven number. Motivation research from Deci and Ryan (Self‑Determination Theory) and Alfie Kohn (Punished by Rewards) confirm that extrinsic rewards don’t just fail - they actively erode intrinsic motivation and are counterproductive to the desire to learn. Highly sensitive learners tend to have high levels of intrinsic motivation, particularly when engaged with topics that genuinely interest them. They are also far less likely to engage when tasks lack personal meaning or do not activate their internal motivation systems.
The Brain Thrives on Curiosity, not Stress
Neuroscience is unequivocal: curiosity strengthens learning. Gruber, Gelman, and Ranganath found that “curiosity…activates the brain’s dopaminergic reward circuits and enhances the hippocampal connections that consolidate long-term memory.” Stress does the opposite. Research shows that chronic stress impairs prefrontal cortex function, and that stress shrinks dendritic connections and enlarges amygdala structures. High levels of cortisol can disrupt the body’s ability to manage stress and school‑aged children have been shown to have significantly higher cortisol levels during the school term, with levels rising even further on standardised testing days. It has been shown that stress regulation strategies, including physical activity, can help to lower cortisol levels in children.
Highly Sensitive Learners are Deeply Curious
Highly sensitive children (HSC) are deep processors of information. Their nervous systems take in more detail, notice subtle patterns, and generate more complex internal questions. This deep processing makes them naturally intensely curious and they tend to have high levels of intrinsic motivation, especially when learning is meaningful, relational or connected with nature.
But in environments where curiosity is discouraged and stress is high, HSC are disproportionately affected. Their deep processing can become overwhelmed, their questions can be misinterpreted as interruptions, and their emotional intensity can be viewed as disruptive in the classroom. For HSC, curiosity is not the problem - it is a core strength. The problem is the environment that punishes it.
Creating Space for Curiosity
Curiosity grows through small, intentional shifts: a Wonder Wall, a question that invites thinking, a moment where a teacher or parent chooses exploration over evaluation. These tiny acts signal trust and independence - especially for highly sensitive learners, whose deep processing and intrinsic motivation flourish when their curiosity is honoured.
Curiosity isn’t an optional add-on for learning – it is fundamental. When we create space for curiosity, our most sensitive learners have room to wonder, ponder, explore and grow.