Technologies like ChatGPT etc. promised to revolutionized Ed-Tech but in my opinion have miserably failed (except if you count getting answers to your homework problems without trying revolutionary)
I also think that a lot of EdTech products and a lot of Youtube channels are also catering to "pop science" with videos on diverse topics. But we still lack a product that could teach someone say Calculus or Kinematics
Another area where technology has failed is the ability to understand where the student is struggling. And I don't mean evaluating them and putting them on basic, advanced, etc. levels. But say you are stuck on a Calculus problems and have made some progress, a teacher would be able to look at your solution and guide you effectively. Even current AI solutions will give you a generic hint (at best).
So your thoughts totally resonate -- EdTech truly is a tech disappointment. I am beginning to think that it is maybe not Tech but perhaps we do not fully understand the idea of learning OR maybe the current technologies are not built for learning.
I would love to hear thoughts from this community.
Okay, but psychology research like this needs to be taken with context on long term behavior. Is this advice practical? No, not in this case. The problem is that very few people can actively learn that way for multiple hours in one day, let alone be motivated for studying in that intense way for subjects they do not like. Any barrier will stop them. That research applies to cramming for exams, when stressed, which most EdTech isn't really useful for (at that point, people are learning intensely anyway). This human nature has not changed.
And your suggestions (not to be rude) are to excite kids about the subjects they find least motivating. But the problem is already motivation.
Youtube is motivating because it is fun. It might not work, but it fits the motivation level you have.
Why not forget about the strong moats/tendencies of EdTech projects to fail to revolutionise, forget them targetting parents, and either pick a subgroup of learners who actively do want to change how they learn, or work on the motivation problem? Why are some kids so much less motivated to learn Math than others? Should we change that and how can we?##
Here's an example I find interesting: The western world accomplished bringing Biology from dominantly male to an equally balanced subject. How did that change happen? We benefit from all these women researching in Biology. Could it happen to other sciences? Or the reverse? These kind of questions interest me.
The reason some kids are not motivated to do math is because they believe they are bad at it, and nobody likes to do something that makes them feel dumb or not good. The kids that love math (like myself - I remember I was SO excited about math as a kid) are good at it, and teachers are constantly complimenting them.
You can hack the brain to feeling good while learning. I just need like 200M but I might be able to do it without.
I don't mean to be negative, but can you name a research paper where a normal students 7 hour school day was changed to formative assessment all week long for a semester or more, and the grades improved? Or identify why students on Duolingo don't tend to learn as well as those taking in person classes? Why does the effect of the Testing Effect/formative assessment tail off when it is used more and over greater time periods?
The point is, the research on learning methods usually researches them in isolation and in 5-15-60 minute study sessions. Maybe doing 15 minutes of formative assessment improves your grades, but puts you off doing other work or makes you less effective in later lessons, when done regularly. There is a lack of useful longitudinal research in Education for the depressing reason that the two main effects are your genetic background, and private teacher attention.
I don't think kids are not motivated about math because they are bad at it. It doesn't seem like a subject that most kids see themselves using every day, because the adults they see around them don't seem to (and in fact largely don't) use Maths. While I value and enjoy Maths, and know how knowing maths makes a massive difference to your experience or life, kids can't, and really won't have good reasons to understand or be motivated through that. e.g. it's not a fear of negativity (though in class under pressure it is). It's an absence of motivation in the first place.