LEARNING BY TEACHING: New Scientist reports that Japanese researchers at University of Tsukuba found that children learned English faster when working with robots who made mistakes and had to be corrected by the kids themselves. The small group of 19 children, between 4 and 8, seemed more engaged in learning with robots that appeared to "learn" from them, thus suggesting that mistake-prone robots feel more "human" than the perfectionist counterparts. It's a common theory: learning by teaching empowers the student and reinforces the value of the lesson, according to Digital Trends. Learn by doing is great--but we only wish that such reports rested on more than the tiny shoulders of 19 kids.
