We should pay more attention to student curiosity

Educators sometimes become frustrated when students appear interested only in learning the "right answers for the exam" versus being truly engaged and taking initiative to develop their own questions that add to the learning process. Some have suggested that because information is so readily accessible in today's digital environment that the desire to undertake scholarly inquiry may gradually be lost.

Curiosity is a trait that drives people to ask exploratory questions and find creative ways to solve problems. It has been linked with a variety of desired academic and professional outcomes, but is a construct rarely addressed within educational literature. This commentary suggests that curiosity is a characteristic to which pharmacy educators should pay more attention. A series of questions are posed for pharmacy educators to consider with regard to screening for, promoting, and developing curiosity within our student population.

Pharmacy educators need to be intentional about designing programs and instructional practices in ways that promote and incentivize student curiosity. The questions posed to the Academy are intended to evoke discussion and further study of curiosity within pharmacy education.