Designing for Curiosity: How Real-World Cases Transformed My Global Politics Classroom

By:  Ana M. Calvo
School:  John F. Kennedy The American School of Querétaro

This is my first year teaching DP Global Politics, and I quickly realized how challenging a concept-based course can be. The pool of possible examples to learn the concepts is practically infinite, and I kept asking myself: What will actually ignite my students’ curiosity? What I find engaging is not necessarily what they find interesting. At first, I chose case studies I found compelling and used them to illustrate key concepts. It made sense on paper, but in practice, engagement was uneven. Students could follow the content, but they were not genuinely invested.

The shift came when I stopped searching for the “perfect” case study and started designing around tension and choice. In a unit about development and sustainability, I framed a lesson as a decision: should a major infrastructure project like the “Tren Maya” in the Yucatán peninsula move forward? Students took on roles as different real life actors and had to argue and defend their positions using evidence. The change was immediate. Discussions became more dynamic, students challenged each other’s assumptions, and concepts like power and sustainability became tools for thinking rather than content to memorize. Something I’ve learned is that designing for curiosity is messy and, at times, uncomfortable. When I push discussions by playing devil’s advocate, it can sometimes be interpreted as bias. It would be easier to stay neutral and safe, but that often leads to disengagement.

This experience has reshaped my planning. I no longer start with “Which example fits this concept?” but with “What problem would make students need this concept?” Designing for curiosity is not about finding the most interesting content. It is about creating situations where students feel compelled to think, question, and take a position, even when that process is unpredictable. In a world where there is often pressure to remain neutral or “correct,” I believe our role is not to avoid taking positions, but to model how to hold them responsibly. This means showing students how to express a viewpoint with clarity, while remaining open to challenge, willing to listen, and able to engage with empathy. If we want students to develop their own voices, we have to be willing to show them what that looks like in practice.