In a recent Harvard Business Review article, the authors
identified three qualities that enhance our ability to
manage the increasing complexity of today's world.
The first two are household terms by now. IQ, or
intelligence quotient, is a strong predictor of how able
we are to solve complex problems. EQ, or emotional
quotient, describes our ability to perceive, control, and
express emotions. Then there is CQ, which stands for
curiosity quotient, or a "hungry mind." People with
higher CQs are more inquisitive, more original, more
tolerant and more easily able to find elegant solutions
to complex problems.
Few schools have integrated into their curriculum
real approaches to nurturing curiosity. This year, RHA
students in all grades will learn how to open their
minds and look at things in a whole new way. It's a
process called "design thinking," and it's taking both
the business world and higher academia by storm.
Simply put, design thinking is an approach to learning
that develops curiosity and effective problem-solving
skills. It calls for researching and analyzing problems,
conceiving original ideas, and building models and
structures to make those ideas tangible. It taps
into capacities that are most often overlooked by
Fostering Curiosity
in our Students
Central to our pedagogy at Robbins Hebrew Academy are the principles that are reshaping education today.
Critical thinking and collaboration have been our academic cornerstones over the past half decade, and the
research is proving that these skills are indeed essential for innovating and succeeding. The latest findings
now suggest that cultivating curiousity in our children is another major predictor of success.
