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UCLA used to have a tour for incoming students during summer orientation. At the beginning of the tour, the guide would inform the students that they were about

UCLA used to have a tour for incoming students during summer orientation. At the beginning of the tour, the guide would inform the students that they were about to hear some pretty wild stories about the campus, but that only one of the claims was a lie. Over the hour-long tour, some pretty wild claims were floated (this building had to be rotated to reduce sunset glare hitting the 405, or that fountain was sabotaged during its design to look like a toilet, or that sculpture is entirely made of ear wax.) At the end of the tour the lie was finally revealed: that they were all lies, and the original claim itself was false.

cortesoft 4y ago
Oh man, I still remember that from my tour 21 years ago. That whole orientation was such a magical moment in my life.
- MontagFTB 4y ago
  I was a fourth year in 2001- glad to hear they were giving the same tour then!
JKCalhoun 4y ago
My problem with find the lie, like the NPR game show "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me", is that the lies are often more interesting than the truth and can be the thing that sticks with you. That does not sound like it would promote good teaching.
- elliottkember 4y ago
  Well, adding interesting things to your lesson would make the whole lecture more interesting, no matter whether they are lies. The other information gets in, because you're listening intently for the next outlandish thing.
- _moof 4y ago
  As tempting as this method sounds I'd be reluctant to employ it for the simple fact that the things you learn first (in this case the lies) are more likely to stick than the corrections. That's not the only factor in learning, obviously, and boy can I appreciate frustration around motivating people to engage with material more actively. Still, the principle of primacy gives me pause. I wonder how much of the effect is due merely to increased attention from the novelty. What I mean is, could a similar effect be achieved by some other method that grabs attention in some other way without introducing incorrect material?

cortesoft 4y ago

Oh man, I still remember that from my tour 21 years ago. That whole orientation was such a magical moment in my life.

MontagFTB 4y ago
I was a fourth year in 2001- glad to hear they were giving the same tour then!

JKCalhoun 4y ago

My problem with find the lie, like the NPR game show "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me", is that the lies are often more interesting than the truth and can be the thing that sticks with you. That does not sound like it would promote good teaching.

elliottkember 4y ago
Well, adding interesting things to your lesson would make the whole lecture more interesting, no matter whether they are lies. The other information gets in, because you're listening intently for the next outlandish thing.
_moof 4y ago
As tempting as this method sounds I'd be reluctant to employ it for the simple fact that the things you learn first (in this case the lies) are more likely to stick than the corrections. That's not the only factor in learning, obviously, and boy can I appreciate frustration around motivating people to engage with material more actively. Still, the principle of primacy gives me pause. I wonder how much of the effect is due merely to increased attention from the novelty. What I mean is, could a similar effect be achieved by some other method that grabs attention in some other way without introducing incorrect material?