Hello. This is the UniqueGood Experience Trend Letter. We've been taught since childhood that students are the owners of their schools. However, when I think about whether this was ever actually the case, it raises some questions. But now, the form of education is also changing. Moving away from teacher-led, one-way knowledge delivery, we can now easily find forms of education where children become the protagonists, directly experiencing and understanding meaning. This time, we'd like to share examples of making education 'playable' and enjoyable.
Immersive Educational Experiences: 'The Vanishing Land'
Through our Experience Trend Letter, we've introduced the immersive theater 'Sleep No More' several times. Punchdrunk, the production company behind 'Sleep No More,' is pursuing new ventures beyond the theater with 'Punchdrunk Enrichment' - immersive theater for schools, families, and communities.
The case we're introducing today is 'The Vanishing Land,' content designed for upper elementary school students. It's designed for students to explore geography and environmental topics through interactive storytelling and game-based activities.
The two-week 'Vanishing Land' project begins with a game map brought by the teacher. This somewhat suspicious map was actually a portal to an island that has now disappeared. Children explore the island, learning about its environment and the flora and fauna that lived there. They then discover that this island is in danger of disappearing.
To save the island, they must continue playing the game. Children must find clues hidden throughout the school and return animals to their original habitats. Based on their island exploration experiences, children write their own stories. Through this process, students learn how to solve problems and protect the environment based on knowledge and experiences gained through the game.
Since the game requires working together to solve problems, children learn how to cooperate and communicate with each other. They realize the importance of teamwork and experience the process of problem-solving.
Experiencing Direct Economic Agency: 'Tax-Paying Children'
In Korea, we can also find various attempts to transform education, and among them, the famous example would be the YouTube channel 'Tax-Paying Children.' Set in an elementary school classroom in Busan, children choose jobs, work, receive salaries in classroom currency, pay taxes, and experience real-world economic activities.
In an era where economic knowledge is becoming increasingly important, 'Tax-Paying Children' appears to be both entertaining and educationally meaningful, as children directly become economic agents and physically understand economic principles rather than just learning from books. It seems like it could be a great opportunity to form proper economic concepts from an early age.
By providing an experience where children directly become economic agents, 'Tax-Paying Children' emerges as a fresh educational innovation case. It has been highlighted by various media outlets, becoming a hot topic and even published as a book. I hope there will be more 'Tax-Paying Children' programs in the future.
Looking Forward to the Emergence of More Diverse Participatory Education
However, some may question whether education conducted without textbooks and reference books can be effective. In the case of 'The Lost Lending Library,' another program by Punchdrunk Enrichment, over 40,000 children from 75 schools participated, and according to the teachers who ran the program, 85% of students showed improvement in speaking and reading abilities.
Of course, such participatory education may not completely replace traditional education. However, if children find it interesting and learn to discover the value of learning on their own, wouldn't that be meaningful enough? Innovation in educational experiences where students become the protagonists. We conclude this Experience Trend Letter hoping that education where students learn with their whole bodies, beyond textbooks, will continue to grow.