I really enjoyed reading your post! Your hamster story is such a vivid example of how curiosity and personal interest can completely transform a student’s engagement and learning. It reminded me of my own experience, my teacher noticed that I loved space especially mercury and it’s retrograde, and she used that interest to make lessons more engaging across different subjects. I love how you connected your story to constructivism, showing that prior knowledge and familiarity with a topic can make learning more meaningful and memorable. It really highlights the power of teachers noticing and building on students’ interests.
Your reflection on growth mindset also resonated with me. Shifting frustration into appreciation for challenge is such an important perspective and modeling that for students helps them develop resilience and confidence. I also appreciated your connection to the ARCS model, particularly how relevance and satisfaction strengthen motivation. Your example of applying prior hospitality skills to classroom management was a great reminder that past experiences can shape how we approach new learning.
How do you usually discover or encourage students’ personal interests so that you can connect lessons to their curiosity, like your teacher did with you?
