When i was at conacademy, my rnd group worked on this lengthy project to try to have open ended activities for things. For instance, in history, if you want to learn to make an argument for what historical causation is, that's a pretty complex thing. It includes a sense of how important was this cause versus a different cause. And so if i were to ask you, what was the most important cause of world war one, that's something that, if you were to give that as a multiple choice question, it wouldn't teach you very much in terms of wisdom for historical causation. I mean, a typical question like that, not on the a p exam.
Software Engineer Andy Matuschak talks about his essay "Why Books Don't Work" with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Matuschak argues that most books rely on transmissionism, the idea that an author can share an idea in print and the reader will absorb it. And yet after reading a non-fiction book, most readers will struggle to remember any of the ideas in the book. Matuschak argues for a different approach to transmitting ideas via the web including different ways that authors or teachers can test for understanding that will increase the chances of retention and mastery of complex ideas.