Learning by doing
A couple of decades ago, I pitched an idea to the board of Dorling Kindersley , a publisher of educational books. It came about like this. I happened to get talking to the chairman, and he mentioned that their books weren't selling as well as they had in the '80s and '90s. My suggestion was to build in interactivity. Instead of just reading about a topic, kids would get to play with the concepts. The book would then have a focus. They'd read it in order to get better at the game -- which could involve rocket design, evolution, terraforming, history, or anything else. I looked at one of DK's books that the chairman had in his office. It was about outer space. On the back it read, "Learn about the solar system in a fun way!" What's the subtext there? It's saying, "This is boring but we'll try and pep it up." SMH. Why not start with the idea that outer space is exciting? (The kids who would read this book all think so.) And then add the ...
