Innately Human
This is a fact: we are born curious.
Have you ever seen a baby that doesn’t touch everything she can reach, explore your face, put everything in his mouth, including fingers and toes, yours and his? Have you ever met a three-year-old that doesn’t ask, “Why? Why? Why?” until you’re ready to hide under the blankets?
Humans are genetically programmed to explore. To use all our senses to make sense of the world. To lead with our curiosity and joy of learning. Then begins the story of attrition.
Losing Our Curiosity and Love of Learning
Early Childhood: When kids’ natural curiosity gets shut down—when their questions go unanswered, they’re told not to explore, or they’re criticized for being curious—they can lose interest in learning and discovering new things.
School Years: Standardized tests, strict curriculums, and focusing too much on grades can suck the joy out of learning. When school feels like a chore just for getting to the next rung on the ladder, students can lose their passion for learning.
Adolescence: Peer pressure, fear of failing, and wanting to fit in can kill curiosity. If teens think being curious or doing well in school makes them stick out in a bad way, they might hold back.
Adulthood: Juggling work, family, and other responsibilities can leave little room for personal interests and learning. If the workplace doesn’t support or reward curiosity and innovation, adults might stick to the same old routine instead of exploring new things.
Older Age: Many older folks stay curious, but some might feel they’re too old to learn new stuff or face physical and cognitive challenges. As a society, we undervalue lifelong learning, which can also dampen older adults’ curiosity.
To keep curiosity thriving, we need spaces—at home, school, and work—that encourage exploring, value questions, offer chances for self-directed learning, and celebrate the joy of discovering new things at any age.
We also need to explore our learning identity.
What’s a Learning Identity?
A learning identity is how you see yourself as a learner.
It’s shaped by your beliefs, attitudes, and previous experiences, which come together in a conscious or unconscious self-concept.
Have you ever said to yourself, “I’m not good at __?” or “I’m too old to learn ___” or, conversely, “I can do __ with my eyes closed!”
All these statements are expressions of your learning identity: what you consciously or unconsciously believe about yourself as a human who learns.
What Shapes Your Learning Identity?
Your learning identity includes your…
Self-Perception as a Learner: How you view your ability to learn new things. This includes how confident you are in picking up new skills, subjects, or tackling challenges.
Personal Historical Influences: How you’ve been impacted by your previous experiences of learning, including early experiences with parents and teachers, peer influence, significant life events, and adult environments. Positive or negative experiences in these areas can either foster a love for learning or create aversion and self-doubt, impacting lifelong learning attitudes and behaviors.
Attitudes Towards Learning: Your feelings about learning activities. If you have a positive learning identity, you’re curious, enthusiastic, and love learning. If not, you might fear failure, feel disinterested, or avoid learning opportunities.
Motivation and Goals: Why you learn. This can range from learning for personal satisfaction and growth to learning for rewards, recognition, or avoiding negative outcomes.
Beliefs About Learning: What you think about learning — how it happens, and who you are as a learner. This includes beliefs about intelligence (like fixed vs. growth mindset), the value of effort, and the importance of learning.
Learning Strategies and Habits: The methods you use to learn. Effective learners develop strategies that help them process information, remember it, and apply what they’ve learned.
Social and Cultural Influences: The impact of family, friends, teachers, and cultural norms on your learning attitudes and behaviors. Social support and cultural values play a big role in shaping your learning identity.
Reflective Practice: Your ability to think about your learning experiences, understand what works best for you, and make adjustments to improve. This self-awareness is key to building a strong, adaptable learning identity. A positive learning identity helps you keep learning throughout life, bounce back from challenges, and take charge of your personal and professional growth. On the flip side, a negative learning identity can hold you back, limiting your potential and happiness.
So Now What?
We have (expensive, time-bound) therapists for personal growth and relationship growth.
We have (expensive, time-bound) coaches for performance growth — athletic and career-related.
💡What about a learning coach — who can help you unpack all that stuff above
💡💡 who is available anytime you need them, for however long you need them
💡💡💡 anonymously
💡💡💡💡 for free . . .???
Meet Gabby . . .
At Incubate Learning, our mission is to reconnect humans to their love of learning and creating.
We’ve built a free, anonymous learning coach, Gabby – as in Dear Abby, but with a yakky twist – who you can bring your learning questions, problems, worries, and blockages to, and she’ll respond in a supportive, constructive, non-judgmental way to help you work through the block, whether it’s yours or someone else’s who you care about.
For example, are you bored? Do you feel stuck in a rut or unmotivated? Are you frustrated about something you’re working on? Do you get started on something and then lose interest? Are you interested in too many things and don’t know which way to turn?
Give talking to Gabby a try.
Gabby is built in Playlab AI and uses Claude 3.5 Sonnet. She’s also trained on a variety of reference materials based on the science of learning and development. We chose this LLM after trying others (including Chat GPT 4o) because we felt it was the most emotionally intelligent, which is something you kind of want in a learning coach.
Curious?
Try talking to Gabby on our website here!
Once you get there . . . Scroll down. She’ll ask you your age so she understands where you’re coming from. She’ll ask for your first name, like any coach would. Then you’re off to the races to solve any learning concerns or problems you might have. We’re continuously iterating to make her more helpful so please send us feedback: sujata@incubatelearning.org
