When people are not comfortably certain with what will happen next, they become more alert. By contrast, when a teacher simplifies information, students feel they can adopt a mindless attitude, trusting they won't be surprised. Ask students to imagine language without grammar. Ask them to invent another language. Find an example suited to your lesson and give student a few minutes to consider a contrast to the expected.
Students stop thinking once they believe they have the right answer.
Encourage hypothesis testing as a way to make thoughtful mistakes . . . Multiple Viewpoints . When reading a text, ask you students to consider the material from multiple points of view, not just the author's. Ask them to consider how the same event or description would change. The search for distinctions and patterns is what makes our observations interesting.