INTERACTIVE LEARNING: CHILDREN'S HEALTH EDUCATION BOOKS

RECENTLY, BANTAM BOOKS, POCKET BOOKS AND RANDOM HOUSE HAVE EACH PUBLISHED AN ENORMOUSLY POPULAR SERIES OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS. IN THESE BOOKS, THE READER IS CAST AS THE CENTRAL CHARACTER IN THE STORY AND IS REQUIRED TO MAKE A SERIES OF DECISIONS. EACH DECISION IS REPRESENTED AS A DICHOTOMY AND, DEPENDING ON THE READER'S CHOICE, HE OR SHE IS DIRECTED TO DIFFERENT PAGES IN THE BOOK AND THEREBY EXPERIENCES A PARTICULAR SET OF CONSEQUENCES AS A RESULT OF HIS OR HER PARTICULAR CHOICES. THE PUBLISHERS OF THESE SERIES ATTRIBUTE THEIR POPULARITY TO SEVERAL FACTORS. THEY ACTIVELY ENGAGE THE READER, THE STORIES ARE SHORT (USUALLY 10-12 PAGES) AND FAST-MOVING AND THE READER EXERCISES SOME DEGREE OF CONTROL OVER THE OUTCOME. ACCORDING TO TEACHERS WHO HAVE USED THESE BOOKS TO TEACH STUDENTS TO READ, THEY ARE PARTICULARLY HELPFUL IN STIMULATING THE INTEREST OF MALE STUDENTS AND OF STUDENTS WHO HAVE OTHERWISE SHOWN LITTLE INTEREST IN LEARNING TO READ AND/OR WHO HAVE BEEN SLOW IN LEARNING TO READ. THESE BOOKS HAVE NOT, HOWEVER, BEEN USED AS VEHICLES TO CONVEY SPECIFIC FACTUAL INFORMATION. BECAUSE THE COMMERCIAL SUCCESS AND THE INTEREST AND ACCEPTANCE OF THIS READING FORMAT BY PRE- AND EARLY ADOLESCENTS HAVE BEEN SO CLEARLY DEMONSTRATED, KENEKO COMMUNICATIONS, INC., IS PROPOSING TO APPLY THIS INNOVATIVE CONCEPT TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SERIES OF HEALTH EDUCATION BOOKS FOR PRE- AND EARLY ADOLESCENTS. PHASE I, THROUGH FORMAL AND INFORMAL SURVEYS OF TEACHERS, HEALTH EDUCATORS, CHILDREN'S PUBLISHERS AND WRITERS, WOULD DETERMINE THE VIABILITY AND MARKETABILITY OF THIS CONCEPT AS IT IS APPLIED TO HEALTH EDUCATION CONTENT, AND IDENTIFY 2-3 APPROPRIATE HEALTH TOPICS. IN ADDITION, PHASE I WOULD ASSESS THE FEASIBILITY OF THIS INTERACTIVE READING FORMAT TO ACCURATELY DEPOT THE PROBABILITIES OF VARIOUS HEALTH OUTCOMES AS THEY RELATE TO INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIORAL CHOICES AND DECISIONS. IF THE VIABILITY AND MARKETABILITY OF THIS CONCEPT ARE BORNE OUT IN PHASE I, PHASE II WOULD DEVELOP A PARALLEL SERIES OF 2-3 HEALTH EDUCATION BOOKS USING BOTH THE INTERACTIVE READING FORMAT AND A STRAIGHTFORWARD FORMAT. EFFECTIVENESS OF THESE TWO EDUCATIONAL FORMATS WOULD BE COMPARED USING A TIGHTLY CONTROLLED EXPERIMENT DESIGN. IMPACT ON COGNITIVE AND EFFECTIVE OUTCOMES AND BEHAVIORAL INTENTIONS WOULD BE ASSESSED VIA MULTIPLE MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES AND INSTRUMENTS.