Here’s a confession: Acton Guides made science boring this week. Even more difficult to believe, we made investigating rocket fuel boring. That should be next to impossible.
Don’t let the picture above fool you. Yes, there was more energy around the rocket fuel challenge today, but not as much as their should have been.
How did we blunder so?
- We thought about which science topics were important.
- Then we designed experiments.
- Then we added videos and math.
- Because we were afraid the challenge might not be exciting enough, we tried to correct with extrinsic rewards.
Wrong; wrong; wrong.
Science requires two key ingredients: curiosity and rigorously applying the scientific method. If you have a burning question that deeply motivates you, the tediousness of the scientific process isn’t a burden.
This brings up a more fundamental law of Acton Quest creation:
Curiosity + Relevance + Fun + Group Interaction >>> (must be far greater than) the difficulty of the process to learn and apply.
Boiling this into steps:
- Find out what raises a burning question in the minds of the Eagles;
- Make sure it matters to future heroes who will change the world.
- Raise the energy level by encouraging collaboration.
The more difficult or complex the process to be learned, the more energy you need from Curiosity + Relevance + Fun + Group Interaction. (Note – be sure to remove as much confusion and as many technical frustrations – like computer programs that won’t load – as possible.)
If a process is technical or complex, break it into parts, or be sure you have a particularly compelling exhibition at the end.
We’ll start correcting course next week, starting with asking Eagles: “What are curious about in the world?”
That’s where we should have started. Why do Guides have to learn the same lessons, again and again?