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Textbooks are a cornerstone of education, but they have a fundamental limitation: they are a one-size-fits-all medium. The manual creation of textbooks demands significant human effort, and as a result they lack alternative perspectives, multiple formats and tailored variations that can make learning more effective and engaging. At Google, we’re exploring how we can use generative AI (GenAI) to automatically generate alternative representations or personalized examples, while preserving the integrity of the source material. What if students had the power to shape their own learning journey, exploring materials using various formats that fit their evolving needs? What if we could reimagine the textbook to be as unique as every learner? (View Highlight)
Our approach is built on two key pillars that work together to augment the learning experience: (1) generating various multimodal representations of the content, and (2) taking foundational steps toward personalization. (View Highlight)
The seminal dual coding theory states that forging mental connections between different representations strengthens the underlying conceptual schema in our brain. Subsequent research indeed showed that when students actively engage with information in various formats, they build a more robust and complete mental model of the material. Inspired by this, our approach empowers students with the agency to choose and intermix multiple formats and modalities to best help them understand the material. In addition, personalization is increasingly becoming an aspirational standard in K-12 educational settings, and so our research reflects this. We aim to enhance the relatability and effectiveness of educational content by adapting it to student attributes. Moreover, we incorporate quizzing capabilities that enable us to further tailor the experience according to the learners’ real-time responses. Such personalization can be a powerful method for enhancing motivation and deepening learning. (View Highlight)
The Learn Your Way interface asks the learner to select their grade and interests (e.g., sports, music, food). The original source material is first re-leveled to the learner’s reported grade level, while maintaining the scope of its content. This is followed by the strategic replacement of generic examples with ones that are personalized to the learner’s reported interests. The resulting text serves as the basis for the generation of all the other representations, effectively propagating the personalization effect and setting up a pipeline for further personalization. (View Highlight)
Our research comes to life in Learn Your Way. The interface brings together multiple, personalized representations of content including: (1) immersive text, (2) section-level quizzes, (3) slides & narration, (4) audio lessons, and (5) mind maps.
• Immersive text: Breaks the content up into digestible sections that are augmented with generated images and embedded questions. Put together, these transform passive reading into an active multimodal experience that follows learning science principles.
• Section-level quizzes: Promote active learning by allowing a user to interactively assess their learning, and uncover existing knowledge gaps.
• Slides & narration: Offers presentations that span the entire source material and include engaging activities like fill-in-the-blanks, as well as a narrated version, mimicking a recorded lesson.
• Audio lesson: Provides simulated conversations, coupled with visual aids, between an AI-powered teacher and a student that models how a real learner might engage with the material, including the expression of misconceptions, which are clarified by the teacher.
• Mind map: Organizes the knowledge hierarchically and allows learners to zoom in and out from the big picture to the details. (View Highlight)
An AI-powered learning tool is only valuable if it both effectively improves learning outcomes and students want to use it. Learn Your Way now serves as a research platform for us to conduct studies with partners around the world to explore how AI-powered transformations and personalization affects outcomes, and to ensure that what we build is effective and locally relevant.
Recently, we conducted a randomized controlled study with 60 students from the Chicago area, ages 15–18 and with similar reading levels. Participants were given up to 40 minutes to learn about adolescent brain development from a textbook, and randomly assigned to learn using Learn Your Way or a traditional digital PDF reader. (View Highlight)
We assessed students with a quiz immediately after the study session, and with a retention test 3–5 days later, using assessments designed by pedagogical experts to be a good measure of content comprehension. We also surveyed them about the learning experience, and to gain deeper insights beyond these quantitative metrics, each student participated in a 30-minute qualitative interview where they could share more nuanced feedback about their experience.
The results were compelling and statistically significant. Here are the highlights. See the tech report for more details.
• Positive learning outcomes: The Learn Your Way group scored, on average, 9% higher on the immediate assessment following the study session.
• Better long-term retention: Similarly, the Learn Your Way group scored 11% higher on the retention assessment 3-5 days later (78% vs. 67%).
• Positive user sentiment: 100% of students who used Learn Your Way reported that they felt the tool made them more comfortable taking the assessment, compared to 70% in the digital reader control group. 93% said they would want to use Learn Your Way for future learning, compared to just 67% for the digital reader.
• Valuable experience: Insights from the qualitative interviews revealed that students found great value in Learn Your Way. (View Highlight)
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