With our ‘Put the Cake on the Table’ method, I see students of all levels go from passive listeners to active explorers!

Who doesn’t want highly excited and engaged students? 

Well, this attitude doesn’t just pop up by telling students they should be engaged. We have to invest in it. For this, we use something I like to refer to as ‘Put the Cake on the Table.’ 

It’s actually a simple strategy: 

→ If we don’t put materials out which trigger them to interact with, they will never start building and with that wondering. So, it starts with putting (a lot) of materials out.

→ If we put materials out and tell them how to interact with it, it’s external motivation, which as you know doesn’t last as long is internal motivation.

Challenging students to solve something - in my mind - is a way of turning external motivation – someone else his goal, into internal motivation– a personal drive or goal.  

One of the schools I work demonstrates – on a bi-weekly basis – how curiosity can drive deep, enthusiastic learning.

Imagine: On a Monday morning, the students were given a simple yet intriguing challenge: 

“Take a glass of water, add a spoonful of oil, salt, or dirt, and find a way to make it clean again within two hours. You can use anything you want.”

As they watched the dirt sink and the oil float, a spark of curiosity ignited. 

How could they possibly turn this murky mix back into clear water?

That question drove them to try new ideas, test different methods, and persist until they figured it out.

By the end, they’d done more than purify the water – they were eager to learn everything about it. 

It fuelled their energy for a weeks of learning, from science concepts to vocabulary like “soil” and “coil.”

Did you ever meet a six-year-old: Asking about sediment? - After this start you will.

The initial challenge became a springboard for deeper study and self-driven exploration, all sparked by curiosity.

By adopting this approach, you will:

• turn students who come in tired on Monday morning, sitting in the back of your class daydreaming into curious explorers
• see students who supposedly have a lack of motivation bloom into self-driven learners
• witness soloists turn into collaborators as they see others solving problems they aren’t solving at the moment
• transform ‘I don’t want to study this!’ into ‘Where can I find more to study?’ 

When was the last time you put learning materials in front of students that truly sparked their engines?