The last opportunity I had to write I was wondering about wonder fading.  But what is wonder?  Well, that’s complicated.  There are lots of ways we can approach this – philosophically, scientifically, educationally.  Tracing back to the philosophers in ancient Greece, wonder was a place of openness and curiosity that propelled humans to question meaning, existence, and truth.   Scientifically, wonder is studied as an emotional–cognitive state.  Educationally, wonder can be intentionally cultivated through rich questions, constraints, and experiences that invite learners to notice deeply, think divergently, and sustain engagement over time.  Most importantly, understand that wonder is a world of contradictions, both a feeling and a thought, a noun and a verb, an action and a reflection.   Despite all these complications, we know it when we see it and that might be enough to help us apply wonder in our classrooms. 

Wonder is not just a fleeting moment of curiosity; it’s a heightened state of thinking and feeling. It’s sparked by meaningful experiences that truly resonate with us. These experiences ignite our passion and drive us to explore, question, and connect ideas in new and creative ways.  When we embrace wonder, we're inspired and motivated to look beyond the ordinary. It's about opening our minds and hearts to new possibilities and perspectives.  This process of exploration through wonder can lead to profound personal and intellectual growth which is what our gifted learners need. 

On a continuum, wonder falls between curiosity and awe.  Curiosity focuses on “What”, a search for information, and once that’s found, it’s mostly complete.  Wonder pushes further; we’ve reached our limits of understanding, and we realize our gap goes much further than we originally thought.  We are left considering Why, What If and How Might, looking for new possibilities and connections.  We might not know where wonder will take us, but we are open to that experience.  Awe is the feeling that often arrives when wonder deepens.  Awe happens when what we notice feels bigger than us: vast, beautiful, powerful, or unexpectedly meaningful. It’s the moment when wonder shifts from “I want to know more” to “I feel changed by this.”

After a lot of wondering and research, this is my working definition for wonder: “Wonder is a heightened state of thinking and feeling sparked by a meaningful experience that inspires and motivates one to explore, question, and connect ideas in new and creative ways.”

​You can see how it connects academic and emotion through meaningful explorations, building on tasks of value, adding a level of excitement and expanding possibilities for our learners.  We want our learners questioning and connecting, finding ways to interact with and relating to the content in unexpected ways.      
  

What an amazing experience at NAGC25 in Pittsburgh this past week!  So much to learn, so many new things to wonder about, lots of passionate people to meet!  

I  presented Astonish, Amaze and Aspire:  Connecting Wonder and Creativity to a full room of about 125 interested educators, my largest presentation to date.  I'll be sharing some of that content over the next few weeks.  

I shared the Water Falcon game at the Lesson Roundtables with one of the Silverquicken founders, Leslie Kerner.  Each round in this speed-sharing was a full table as well.  Want to learn more about the fabulous Silverquicken line of puzzles that inspire productive struggle and problem solving?  Check out their website at https://silverquicken.com.

Finally, I had the incredible opportunity to be one of the neighbors in the Fred Rogers-inspired closing keynote, "Won't You Be My Neighbor?"  I was able to speak about the power of wonder through the lens of a Rachel Carson quote.  It was a career bucket list moment that I didn't know I had!  Really appreciated the positive feedback from my fellow presenters as well as many audience members.  Watch for future Wonder Journal posts about my message in upcoming weeks.  

Shout out to Dwayne Reed, the opening keynote speaker for NAGC25!  His message #relationshipsmatter was validating.  It is so important to understand Who am I?, Who are you? and Who are we? in the classroom.  Such a fitting message on World Kindness Day!  I wonder if that was considered or just a happy accident!  

It was evident that his approach worked well with his learners as well as our group of educators.  Loved meeting the contingent from Detroit and making fast friends!  I can't wait to try the Clap game as a brain break and look for more ways to incorporate relational skills in my instruction.  

An absolute pleasure to meet him and have him autograph his book, Be That Teacher.  

Learn more about Speaker, Educator & Author Dwayne at www.tmreed.com

In March 2023, Brian Housand and Andi McNair asked if I would be one of the featured teachers for the Great Teacher Alliance (GTA).  The only thing is I would need a theme for that episode.  I jokingly said, "I want to be Wonder Woman." Brian not jokingly thought it was a great idea. 

Here I was thinking I could have my own invisible jet and a golden lasso.  Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman was a rich part of my childhood...so why not?  Okay, so maybe that part didn't work out, but I did buy a Wonder Woman t-shirt to wear that day!

In preparing for the episode, I identified many ways I used wonder throughout my teaching.  I'll share lots of those techniques in the blog in the weeks to come.  I have also deepened my exploration into wonder, reading countless books and journal articles.  I've investigated philosophical, psychological and educational perspectives.  I certainly don't have all the answers about wonder, but I sure will keep wondering about wonder and looking for practices that spark my students to continue to learn!  I am excited to share my journey with you.     

Check out these links:
Great Teacher Alliance - https://www.brianhousand.com/gta
Brian Housand - https://www.brianhousand.com/
Andi McNair - https://www.andimcnair.com/