Interest Fuels Effortless Engagement

Many years of research support Dewey’s idea that interest facilitates learning. Contemporary psychologists– including Paul Silvia and Judith Harackiewicz– have found that interest is characterized by deep processing of information, effective learning strategies, academic and professional career choices and achievement, positive emotions, and a sense of being energized and invigorated. Also, when students are allowed to explore their interests and engage their natural curiosity, they expend more effort as an automatic consequence of their engagement.