When was it lost for you? Remember when you were a tiny kid going to school the first few years and how fun it was? Then something happens. Around middle school. A hormonal poisoning, of sorts. Before you know it-you only do the assignments-you only read what is required for school-and it's drudgery and you start hating it and you stop being curious. You start to have a more negative attitude about learning and school. Why you should find it again. Perspectives on Psychological Science found that Intellectual Curiosity is a strong predictor of academic performance. The Hungry Mind said that Intellectual Curiosity is a Pillar of Academic Performance. Why might that be? Real learning goes beyond the information you're given in a class or in a textbook-it's not just memorization of facts. It's so much more. To say that you know something means that it's part of your cells. It's information that you can use and apply to contexts outside the class you learned them in. When you're intellectual curious, if motivates you differently than simply finishing assignments. It's time to change that mindset and build back that intellectual curiosity you had when you were little. 10 minutes a day for 4 days this week-investigate some issue or topic that's not assigned. Start thinking in terms of I wonder why---then acting on it by looking into it. What you should turn in. It can come in several forms. I'm thinking some kind of table would be the easiest, but that's me. Do what works for you and your brain. You should have an entry for each day. Information to include in each entry. The topic you researched WNP How long you actually engaged in the research What did you find that was either surprising or new to you