From curiosity to fascination: How interest stimulates learning

Something university lecturers see every day is that if someone is interested, they learn almost automatically. Furthermore, students learn in a way that is is more committed and sustained if they are interested in a topic. The challenge lecturers face is not just providing students with information but inspiring them as well. But how do you manage to turn initial curiosity into a deep fascination and eventually a passionate enthusiasm for the subject matter? This article sheds light on the significance that interest has in the learning process and shows practically orientated strategies for how, as a lecturer, you can arouse the interest of your students and foster it in a lasting way.

What is interest, and why is it important?

“Having an interest in something or being interested in something” is how we would describe in everyday language what we understand by interest. A relationship between a person and certain objects or content is described as interest. This relationship contains an affective and a cognitive component. The person has positive feelings about the content or object, such as excitement, fascination or enjoyment. At the same time, the content or object is significant and relevant to them personally, which leads to a cognitive appreciation (Krapp, 2018; Høgheima, Jenssen & Federici, 2023).

In higher education, what fascinates students is specific learning content that is also relevant to them – for their later career or in their current day-to-day lives, for example. The resulting interest in the learning content influences the quality of the learning process of these students. They deal with the content more intensively and with more perseverance and generally use deep learning strategies (Schiefele, Krapp & Schreyer, 1993). This has a positive influence on the quality of their learning and hence on their learning success as well (Krapp, 2018).

Besides that, interested students deal with the learning content in a way that is quite self-determined and largely independent of external frame conditions. They learn from a place of intrinsic motivation (Deci & Ryan, 1993). That means that the students do not learn in order to achieve a specific goal. Instead, they learn because they find the learning content worthwhile or because learning is fun for them in itself.

How does interest come about?

Interest theories differentiate between situational and individual interest (Renninger & Hidi, 2020). Situational interest is a short-term state triggered by a situation that offers specific stimuli. These can be diverse, such as new topics or surprising events (Renninger & Hidi, 2019). For a child, for example, a magnet can trigger situational interest when he or she notices that it only sticks to surfaces containing iron.
Interest can be triggered and reinforced by situations.
Individual interest can develop based on repeated positive experiences resulting from situational interest (Høgheima, Jenssen & Federici, 2023). In terms of time frame, individual interest is relatively stable and can be regarded as a personality trait (Krapp, 2018). It is related to a high level of knowledge about a topic and to a preference for content-related action. This happens in the pursuit of a hobby: people interested in football know a great deal about the sport and often have great fun playing football as well.

Renninger and Hidi’s four-phase model (2019, 2020) describes the development from short-term situational interest to consistent individual interest. Figure 1 shows the model as I have presented it.

According to the model, interest is a process of searching for information and a process of learning. A current situation initially draws the students’ attention to a topic. This attention can become focused and be further maintained. The reasons for this lie either in the fascination with the topic itself or in the fact that the learning situation ensures that students deal with it more intensively. Over time, they garner more and more information about the topic and connect it to knowledge they already have. That way, students deepen their understanding. Individual interest can develop due to the increase in positive experiences with the interest that was situationally triggered. Students with individual knowledge now try to acquire knowledge about the object of learning of their own accord (Renninger & Hidi, 2019, 2020).
Therefore, interest has the capacity to develop, and this development can be influenced by situations. Lecturers can foster students’ interest by creating learning situations accordingly.

How can interest be fostered?

The choice of educational measures depends on the phase of interest development the students are in. They exhibit different characteristics in the individual phases. Students therefore require different kinds of help and stimuli to be able to develop their interest in the learning content. The figure below (Figure 2) contains a checklist of suggestions of methods that can influence the students’ interest in the first two phases and the last two phases. 

Situational interest

In the first phase, triggered situational interest, the students engage with the learning content for the first time and do not yet have any value judgements or feelings with regard to the object of learning. Lecturers now need to draw the students’ attention to the learning content and arouse their curiosity. You achieve that by using surprising or complex task assignments, the illustration of personal relevance, incongruity or methods of activation. You support your students by making concrete suggestions as to how they could deal with the new content and by giving them appreciative feedback (Renninger & Hidi, 2020). When students deal with learning content and receive positive feedback on this experience, they feel competent and effective. This encourages the motivation to learn and also positive feelings about the learning content.

In the second phase, maintained situational interest, students focus their attention more and require support by way of activating tasks or little games etc. They now have positive feelings about the content and recognise value in the new knowledge for the first time. Lecturers should now encourage their students to develop some ideas of their own. When doing so, you should also repeatedly demonstrate the relation to knowledge the students already have so that they can draw connections to previous experiences (Renninger & Hidi, 2020).

In these first two phases, students tend to be extrinsically motivated and engage with the new content in order to pursue their own goals (e.g. passing an exam) or to earn praise or recognition. In these phases, it is therefore particularly important to show them the use or benefit of the content.

You can reinforce the relevance of the learning content with regard to their further studies or a later career, for example. You can also demonstrate a possible benefit to the students’ everyday lives (Høgheima, Jenssen & Federici, 2023).
In addition, situational interest can be generated by cognitive activations like problem-solving or the invitation to ask questions (Quinlan, 2019). Here, you must pay attention to the optimum degree of difficulty (Renninger & Hidi, 2020). You must not ask too much of the students when they are processing the learning content. At the same time, however, the tasks should not be too easy either. The students should be able to complete them with a certain amount of effort on their part and an appropriate degree of help from you or their peers.
Furthermore, the lecturer per se is of crucial significance in the first phases of interest development. The students develop interest in an object of learning themselves depending on how enthusiastic, friendly and knowledgeable they perceive the lecturer to be (Quinlan, 2019). You should repeatedly highlight what you feel to be especially exciting and interesting about the current learning content yourself. You should also invite your students to ask you questions and use your expertise as a resource for developing their own level of knowledge further.

Individual interest

In phase 3, emerging individual interest, students begin to engage with the learning content independently. They start to perceive the search for information in a particular subject area as being “worthwhile” (Renninger & Hidi, 2020). They ask more questions and expand their knowledge autonomously. They now have stored knowledge concerning the object of learning and see this knowledge as being valuable. In this development phase, lecturers need to provide resources that enable the students to expand their knowledge: you should provide enough time for them to search for information independently. You could also make it possible for your students to have contact with people who have a great deal of previous knowledge about the desired topic (e.g. experts in the field). You should give extensive feedback that also includes information on how your students could improve.

In phase 4, well-developed individual interest, the students engage with the object of learning of their own accord and try to deepen their knowledge continuously. They learn intrinsically for the most part. That is why it is key for them to be able to perceive of themselves as being increasingly autonomous and competent. Now you need to grant them a greater degree of freedom and let them have a say in deciding how to learn and what specific content to engage with (Renninger & Hidi, 2019). In this phase, self-regulation increases: students find answers to new questions independently and can also deal with frustrating situations. Your support in this phase primarily consists of creating opportunities to expand knowledge (Renninger & Hidi, 2020). This can be achieved with challenging projects which include the possibility of supervision and continuous feedback, for example.

Summary

Interest combines emotional fascination with cognitive appreciation. By creating the learning situation, lecturers can arouse and foster students’ interest. You are an important factor in the process yourself and contribute to the development with your enthusiasm and appreciative attitude. What are your strategies for conveying your own interest to students and getting them inspired by your subject? Please feel free to share your experiences with us using the comment function or LinkedIn.

Stephanie Rottmeier

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Dr. Stephanie Rottmeier is a research assistant at the Centre for University and Academic Teaching (ZHW) at the University of Regensburg. She supports and advises lecturers with regard to the didactic design of lectures and seminars. Her focus here is on the themes of self-regulated learning, particularly the digital organisation of self-learning phases, and students’ motivation to learn.

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