Wayfinder
A curiosity-first learning tool that embraces wandering over structure—exploring what learning looks like without a predetermined path.
The Question
What if learning didn’t need a curriculum?
Most learning tools assume structure: objectives, sequences, assessments. But some of the richest learning happens through wandering—following a thread, noticing an unexpected connection, circling back to something with new eyes.
Can a tool support that kind of learning without flattening it into a syllabus?
What This Does
Wayfinder starts with an “idea seed”—any concept you’re curious about—and helps you explore laterally:
- Lateral Connections — Discover unexpected links between topics
- Curiosity Map — Visualize how your explorations connect
- Thinking Patterns — Surface your own cognitive tendencies through reflection
- Self-Narrative — Document insights and track your journey over time
The goal isn’t to cover material efficiently. It’s to honor how curiosity actually moves—in spirals, not straight lines.
What I’m Learning
Building this has been a way of asking: what does it mean to support exploration without directing it? The tension between helpful structure and imposed structure is real. Too little scaffolding and the tool feels empty; too much and it starts feeling like school again.
Status
Early experiment. Testing whether “curiosity-first” can be more than a philosophy—whether it can be a design pattern.