Curiosity Labs: Building Resilience, Creativity, and Curiosity through Assignments
Assignments are formative in nature and are designed to encourage students to meet specific requirements while demonstrating their learning. But this approach has pitfalls: for students, it is easy to get wrapped up in completing assignments and meeting deadlines and expectations, while educators might find themselves emphasizing regulated ways of thinking.
What if we could encourage more curiosity and creativity? What if we could introduce scaffolded structures in our assignments that incorporate both formative assessments and provide room for creative curiosity our students require to develop skills such as synthesis, critical thinking, and problem-solving?
The Curiosity Lab is designed to do just that—create a space where students can explore beyond the assignment’s requirements, engage in creative problem-solving, and reflect on their learning journey. This is an actionable idea to foster curiosity, build resilience, and develop essential skills for the 21st century.
What is the Curiosity Lab?
The Curiosity Lab is an approach designed to encourage students to go beyond what’s expected. It could mean testing out a new coding technique or applying what they’ve learned in a different way, investigating an alternative approach to solving a problem, or reflecting on new insights gained through experimentation. For example, in a coding assignment, instead of just completing the required tasks, students could explore additional functionality, optimize their code, or apply a new algorithm. They then reflect on the experience, discussing what they did, what worked (or didn’t), and how the process deepened their understanding.
The most important part about curiosity labs is that this is not about getting everything right—it's about being open to trying, failing, and learning.
How might this concept come to life in the classroom? Let me walk you through an example of using the Curiosity Lab framework through a use case: I use something called Creative Curiosity Corner in my web development courses. I’ll share my practice with you here, and then we can explore the concept in a bit more detail.
Example in Action: Creative Curiosity Corner in Web Development Assignment
In the course on introduction to web design and development, CSCI 1170, we have assignments that test student skills such as coding a web page using the HyperText Markup Language (HTML) and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)—core web languages that determine the content and appearance of a web page. In a simple assignment requiring students to build a web page using HTML and CSS, Creative Curiosity Corner was introduced as a specific use case of curiosity lab, as shown in Figure 1:
In addition to completing the main requirements for each assignment, here’s an invitation to explore beyond the task at hand through the Creative Curiosity Corner. This is an opportunity for you to demonstrate creative thinking and curiosity about the topics we are learning. Creative Curiosity Corner is a space for you to experiment, explore, and challenge yourself with concepts related to the assignment, but not directly part of the main requirements. This could involve:
- Expanding on a specific idea that caught your attention
- Testing out a new technique you haven’t had the chance to explore
- Applying the material in a creative way that goes beyond the instructions
How does it work?
Engage your creativity and curiosity!
a. Work on something beyond what is asked in the assignment, i.e., something new on the topics covered in the assignment, but not what is assessed in the assignment requirements.
b. Think beyond the assignment requirements to explore what else you can do.There will be a folder in your assignment submission called creative-curiosity-corner. In this folder, include:
a. Any code and citations related to what you’ve explored in this bonus task.
b. Write a detailed reflection covering:
- What you did: Describe your creative exploration.
- Why you chose this: Why did this topic or concept interest you?
- How it connects: How does this work relate to the assignment, even though it's not part of the requirements?
- What worked and what didn’t: Share your successes and challenges.
- What you tried to fix: Did you run into problems? How did you approach solving them?
- What additional resources did you use, and why? Did any tutorials, articles, or external materials help you in your exploration?
- What you learned: What are your key takeaways from this experience?
Grading:
a. Grading for creative-curiosity-corner is not based on something working or being correct. It is about encouraging you to learn beyond boundaries!
b. Our grading scheme does not use numeric grading*, as you know. With this change, we will now have an “exceeds expectations” grade item for each assignment.
c. The code and reflections will be graded as a bonus component of the assignment, making you eligible to receive a grade of “exceeds expectations” in case all other assignment components are complete.
d. In case other assignment components are not complete, you are eligible to elevate your performance to the next level of the grade (for example, if your grade was “Incomplete, does not meet expectations yet”, you could receive a grade of “Incomplete, has scope for improvements”.
Figure 1. Creative Curiosity Corner in CSCI 1170
* In the courses that I teach, I use a subjective grading scheme for assignments that focuses on ungrading, i.e., on a notion that chooses to emphasize learning over grades (Sampangi et al., 2024). This scheme does not assign numeric grades to students but assigns a grade level one of the following based on whether the assignment requirements were completed, not completed, or not submitted, and whether there is scope for improvement: (a) Complete, exceeds expectations, (b) Complete, meets expectations, (c) Complete, has scope for improvement, (d) Incomplete, has scope for significant improvement, (e) Incomplete, does not meet expectations yet, and (f) Not submitted. In Figure 1, when I say that the students will get the next level of grade based on their current performance, I mean one level up from their current performance standing in the assignment.
Why is This Important?
Let’s perform a thought experiment: imagine an assignment that you worked on when you last took a course. I’m not talking about a workplace assignment; it needs to be an assignment in a course that you took. If you think back to that assignment, what aspects do you remember? Now, think about what you could have included in that assignment if you were given the ability to be curious, creative, etc.—i.e., what do you wish that assignment had allowed you to try, going beyond mere requirements? What may have stopped you, in that moment, from going beyond assignment requirements to engage in creative playing around?
As you might have experienced yourself, there are many reasons why students don’t go above and beyond. Often, the stakes of an assignment or other academic requirements are higher, since there may be implications of course performance on scholarships or academic standing. There may also be the added pressure of high expectations being placed on students by themselves or individuals in their life. Therefore, there is an inherent pressure on students to ‘get it right’ and therefore not everyone may feel comfortable taking a chance. Many may, therefore, get stuck with the question: What if this does not work out the way I hope it will? Or, perhaps the more commonly observed limiting question: What if I’m given a marks penalty for this additional work?
The Curiosity Lab is designed to reduce this anxiety by creating a space that actively encourages risk taking. In this low-stakes, supportive framework, the focus isn’t on getting everything right: it's about experimenting, exploring, and learning from the process. When students are free to try, fail, and reflect, they learn that failure is an important part of the learning journey rather than something to be feared.
With such curiosity-driven activities built into the structure of the assignments, students learn to take chances. This allows them to identify problems they can solve, either in the context of the course or in the real-world (problem-based learning, Barrows and Tamblyn, 1980) and they’re empowered to learn by themselves (self-directed learning, Knowles, 1975). Trying new approaches to solve these problems within the structure of the assignment allows them to recover from any challenges. They learn how to adapt to new situations, building resilience.
Students shift their focus from completeness, correctness, and sometimes, perfection, to thinking about what they can learn from the experience. Therefore, the Curiosity Lab gently encourages students to expand their thinking, explore beyond conventional boundaries, and ultimately, gain confidence in their ability to tackle complex, uncertain challenges in day-to-day life.
So, how does the Curiosity Lab differ from traditional assignments, and why does it work? Let’s explore that next.
What is Different About Curiosity Lab?
The structured yet open-ended nature of the Curiosity Lab differs from some of the traditional practices in assignments. While traditional assignments may focus exclusively on requiring students to demonstrate their competence and capabilities to work towards specified requirements, a structure like Curiosity Lab encourages them to think beyond the assignment requirements. It empowers them to explore concepts that may be related to the assignment in question but from the perspective of ‘what else can I learn’: it is not just a traditional extra credit or bonus element, but a transformative framework that integrates and incentivizes self-directed learning.
When talking about grades and student evaluation, you may have heard some say, “This is the structure that we have, because everything else is connected to it.” This approach uses the structures that exist and allows thinking outside the boxes in which these structures are packaged, because it is important to motivate our students to begin thinking about applying their knowledge in diverse situations.
Curiosity Corners Beyond Coding
The beauty of the Curiosity Lab is that it isn’t limited to coding assignments, computing and other applied programs. It can be applied across various types of courses and assignments, from report writing to data analysis. Let’s explore how this can work. (Note – I recognize that this is a very limited subset of what may be possible; this is based on courses that I have taken and have taught. If you have other ideas, please feel free to share them with me!):
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1. Report Writing (Humanities, Social Sciences)
Curiosity Prompts: Encourage exploration of different perspectives or unusual angles on a topic, such as examining historical events from the perspective of marginalized voices.
Reflective Journals: Students can document discoveries made during research and reflect on personal insights.
2. Analysis (STEM, Data Science)
Data Dives: Offer optional datasets for students to explore beyond the assignment’s scope.
Hypothesis Generation: Students could propose additional hypotheses or explore alternative outcomes that were not part of the original task.
3. Synthesis (Philosophy, Literature, Policy)
Mind Mapping: Have students visually map connections between ideas, encouraging them to integrate multiple disciplines.
Alternative Solutions: Ask students to propose creative solutions beyond the assignment’s core requirements.
4. Creative Projects (Arts, Design)
Experimental Lab: Encourage experimentation with different mediums or tools in creative assignments.
Collaborative Curiosity: Let students collaborate, combining their explorations into a joint project.
5. Discussion-Based Courses (Philosophy, Political Science)
Curiosity Circles: Designate time for students to independently research topics and share their findings in class.
Curiosity Journals: Students can document questions that arise during class discussions and research the answers independently.
6. Labs and Experiments (Science, Engineering)
Open-Ended Exploration: Let students modify variables in experiments to explore additional hypotheses.
Curiosity-Driven Questions: Encourage students to submit follow-up questions after conducting their main experiments.
General Ideas for All Assignments:
In general, the goal is to encourage and provide structures within graded work for students to think beyond conventional boundaries, explore the “what if” or “what else” within their courses and programs, and be curious and creative!
“What If” Scenarios: Ask students to imagine how the material might change in different contexts (historical, cultural, technological).
Creative Reflections: Encourage alternative reflection methods, such as visual or video-based reflections.
Grading these submissions: Instructors can emphasize that grading in the Curiosity Lab focuses on reflection, effort, and creative exploration rather than accuracy or correctness, helping students understand that the process is what’s being evaluated. This approach helps students see that the goal isn’t to achieve perfection, but to embrace experimentation without fear of failure.
Curiosity and 21st-Century Skills
In today’s world, critical thinking and problem-solving are essential skills. Whether it is in our general daily lives or in our places of employment or study, there is a great deal of value for individuals who can think independently, analyze complex situations, and propose creative solutions.
Encouraging students to explore beyond the standard requirements also fosters a problem-solving mindset. In the real world, solutions aren’t always clear-cut. Through the Curiosity Lab, students learn to ask questions, explore alternative paths, and embrace ambiguity: all of which are critical to tackling complex, real-world challenges.
Furthermore, academic environments and workplaces value individuals who can think independently, analyze complex situations, and propose creative solutions. Enthusiasm for learning, creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration are in fact considered to be the key skills and competencies for the modern workforce. The Curiosity Lab framework is designed to nurture these 21st-century skills, not as an additional good to have set of outcomes, but as standard acknowledged skills-based outcomes in courses that use them.
When students engage with curiosity-driven activities, they are not just learning course content, but they are developing the skills needed for success in today’s world. They become better creative problem solvers, critical thinkers, and communicators, and ultimately better global citizens.
“I’m interested, but this seems like a lot of work”
You know, I don’t blame you. Our individual and departmental realities could be such that we may not be able to incorporate ideas like this. If you are interested, one thing I suggest is to try something like this in one assignment. If it works, see if there is an opportunity to include the idea in another assignment. If not, you can include it in one and reflect on the process at the end of the semester; it may work in some courses more seamlessly than others. I’m available to brainstorm, if you wish. Please reach out to raghav@dal.ca and I’ll be happy to chat with you about this and explore how it could work in your course. We also have a team of excellent educational developers at the CLT in case you are interested, too. We’re rooting for you! 😃
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Here’s a bit more information about how Creative Curiosity can become a pathway to learning, confidence, and problem-solving, in this fast-paced world.
Curiosity Unlocks Learning
Research in neuroscience supports the idea that curiosity is a powerful driver of learning. Studies (Gruber et al., 2014) show that curiosity triggers the brain’s reward system, enhancing memory retention and engagement. When students are given the freedom to explore areas of personal interest, they not only learn better but also retain information longer.
Creative Curiosity, Reflection, and Confidence
Reflection is a key component of the Curiosity Lab. It’s not just about exploring the ‘what else’ or the ‘what if’ aspects of the topics covered in the assignment, it’s also about thinking through why this may be important for them to explore. When students take the time to reflect on what they have done and why, they connect theory to practice and gain deeper insights. Sometimes, especially in computer science courses, this may lead them to encounter an error in their code or behaviour in the program that they may not have experienced in the past, which would lead them to further exploration and learning. Through reflection, students therefore have an opportunity to understand not just what they learned but how they learned it and why it was important.
Such creative curiosity and reflection also enable them to build confidence in directing themselves to learn, to learn from mistakes and errors, and to keep trying new things and learning from everything they do (Schön, 1983; Kolb, 1984). Reflections allow them to gain deeper insight into why something worked or did not, which isn’t always emphasized in our assignment or other assessment evaluation structures. Therefore, each time they learn from such experiences, they strengthen their ability to think through and reason and this gives them the confidence in their problem-solving abilities.
After all, isn’t this what we want our learners to become: empowered and creative beings with their own unique sense of identity and approaches to problem-solving?
Building Resilience Through Experimentation
We know that things don’t always go as planned. This is true and can have negative consequences, and many times also lead to increased stress, especially in computer science courses in which coding syntax and coding language-and platform-specific requirements can sometimes have an impact on the outcome of an assignment as well.
However, we can use this ‘not always going as planned’ aspect as a boon since it can be a critical part of learning. Through experimentation and failure, students learn how to plan their projects, to prepare for uncertainties, and to have alternative plans in place. Sometimes when alternative plans do not work, they would learn how to pivot and explore a completely different path; like we all did in 2020 when learning to live in the COVID-19 reality.
In the Curiosity Lab, students are encouraged to try, fail, and adapt. All of these are structurally allowed: grading for Creative Lab submissions is not based on something working or being correct, as noted in the use case. It is about encouraging our students to go beyond boundaries and learn.
This is an essential process for building resilience. Experimentation, failure, and learning to recover from failure helps individuals learn how to recover from setbacks, and this is a crucial skill in both academic and professional settings.
Sources
Knowles, M. (1975). Self-Directed Learning: A Guide for Learners and Teachers.
Barrows, H., & Tamblyn, R. (1980). Problem-Based Learning: An Approach to Medical Education.
Schön, D. A. (1983). The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action.
Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development.
Gruber, M. J., Gelman, B. D., Ranganath, C., States of Curiosity Modulate Hippocampus-Dependent Learning via the Dopaminergic Circuit, Neuron, Volume 84, Issue 2, 2014, pp. 486-496, ISSN 0896-6273, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2014.08.060.
Kaufman, J. C., & Beghetto, R. A. (2009). Beyond Big and Little: The Four C Model of Creativity.
Barber, N. (2021). The benefits of failure. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/the-human-beast/202111/the-benefits-failure
National Research Council (USA); Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education; Board on Testing and Assessment; Board on Science Education; Committee on Defining Deeper Learning and 21st Century Skills; James W. Pellegrino and Margaret L. Hilton, Editors, Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century.
Sampangi, R. V., Poitras, E., & Barrera Machuca, M. D. 2024. Programming Assignment Ungrading as a License to Learn: Implementing Specifications Grading in the Undergraduate Web Development Classroom. In Proceedings of the 55th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 2 (SIGCSE 2024). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 1808–1809. https://doi.org/10.1145/3626253.3635581
MIT Teaching + Learning Lab. Metacognition. https://tll.mit.edu/teaching-resources/how-people-learn/metacognition/