By Rosanna Ruiz, EdD, Morpho Institute, Board President
Unlearning to Learn: How Awe Clears the Way for Deeper Learning
What if one of the most powerful tools in education isn’t a textbook or a tech platform—but a feeling?
Awe changes everything.
When students feel truly amazed—whether by the vastness of space, the elegance of a mathematical proof, or the complexity of ecosystems—something fundamental shifts. Their thinking expands. Curiosity ignites. And learning deepens.
Backed by research and experience, the Awe Trajectory reveals how awe is more than just an emotional response—it’s a neurocognitive reset that clears the way for new learning (Ruiz, 2020). This blog explores how awe opens the door to wonder, connection, and ultimately, wisdom.
Missing Motivation? You Might Be Missing Emotion
For years, emotion and cognition were seen as separate in education: emotion belonged to feelings; cognition to thinking. But modern neuroscience tells a different story.
According to the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST), emotions don’t just coexist with thinking—they drive it. They organize, prioritize, and sometimes even block our reasoning (CAST, 2018). Cognitive neuroscience—the field that examines how brain biology influences mental function—has shown that the way we feel directly shapes how we learn (Gazzaniga et al., 2002).
So when students seem disengaged, it may not be because they’re lazy or distracted. It might be because the emotional spark is missing.
What Is Awe—And Why Should Educators Care?
Awe is that gut-level, jaw-dropping response to something vast, surprising, or mysterious. As Gallagher (2015) puts it, it’s our mind’s way of responding to what we can’t quite comprehend. Psychologist Piercarlo Valdesolo et al. (2017) explains that awe interrupts our mental routines—it unsettles what we thought we knew and urges us to revise it.
This disruption creates the perfect conditions for wonder—the slower, reflective process of trying to understand something new. And as Socrates is credited with saying, “Wisdom begins in wonder.”
In other words: awe cracks open the mind. Wonder fills the gap. And learning rushes in.
Awe Is Not a Distraction—It’s a Catalyst
Emotions like awe don’t derail learning; they fuel it.
Research by Immordino-Yang (2017) shows that attention, memory, and decision-making—the very skills we want students to develop—are inseparable from emotional engagement. Meanwhile, Van Gorp and Adams (2012) describe emotional affect as a kind of lens that filters everything we notice and remember.
When awe enters the picture, that lens sharpens. Students become more open, more curious, and more connected to the material. As Rudd (2018) found, awe can even reignite intrinsic motivation—helping learners re-engage with challenging topics.
The Awe Trajectory: How Disruption Leads to Wisdom
For too long, education systems have treated thinking and feeling like two separate tracks. But in reality, they’re two sides of the same road.
Let’s take a closer look at The Awe Trajectory—a model developed by Rosanna Ruiz (2020) to describe how awe unfolds in the brain and classroom:
- Awe – The spark. A surprising or vast experience breaks through our assumptions.
- Cognitive Disruption (Knowledge Restructuring) – The brain scrambles to make sense of the unexpected.
- Wonder – The learner begins a reflective search for meaning.
- Connection – New understanding integrates with previous knowledge.
- Wisdom – Not just knowing, but knowing what to do with what you’ve learned.
This process is more than poetic—it’s supported by neuroscience. Awe demands what Piaget called accommodation: reshaping what we know to make room for the new (Mikulak, 2015). It’s a dynamic, creative, and deeply human process of growth.
Classroom Applications: Designing for Awe
The question becomes: Can we design for awe?
The answer, according to experts like Dacher Keltner (2016), is yes. Awe doesn’t require fireworks or field trips to the Grand Canyon. It can be sparked by a microscope slide, a powerful story, or a question that challenges a core belief.
Keltner’s research shows that awe not only quiets the ego—it fosters empathy, curiosity, and cooperation. In classrooms, these conditions create a fertile ground for deeper learning. As Van Gorp and Adams (2012) note, emotional affect shapes perception and memory. When awe is present, students remember more, connect better, and ask richer questions.
And those questions—born from wonder—are the heart of inquiry-based learning.
Awe in Action: Real-World Impact
Studies like Rudd (2018) confirm that awe can reduce resistance to learning and increase openness to new ideas. It’s not just about engagement—it’s about transformation.
When teachers design experiences that elicit awe—whether through storytelling, real-world problems, or nature-based exploration—they tap into the most powerful driver of all: emotional relevance.
That relevance is what makes learning stick. And it’s what makes students care.
Where Do We Go From Here?
At the heart of the Awe Trajectory is a shift—from information delivery to meaning-making.
When we intentionally create space for awe in our classrooms, we make room for more than learning. We make room for transformation.
So what if we stopped starting with standards or objectives—and started with awe?
What if the first goal of a lesson wasn’t coverage, but curiosity?
That simple shift could change everything.
References
Van Gorp, A., & Adams, P. (2012). The Role of Affect in Learning.
CAST (2018). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2.
Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2002). Cognitive Neuroscience: The Biology of the Mind.
Gallagher, S. (2015). The Phenomenology of Awe and Wonder.
Immordino-Yang, M. H. (2017). Emotions, Learning, and the Brain.
Keltner, D. (2016). The Quiet Ego: Awe as a Catalyst for Connection.
Mikulak, A. (2015). From Wonder to Wisdom: The Power of Awe in Education.
Posey, M. (2019). The Emotional Brain and Learning.
Ruiz, R. (2020). Awe as a professional development approach in environmental education.
Rudd, M. (2018). The Influence of Awe on Motivation and Learning Openness.
Valdesolo, P., Shtulman, A., & Graham, J. (2017). Awe and the Search for Explanation.