Another win for a sound application of #datascience and #research!
It's great to see validation of the significant changes made to the Duolingo learning experience last year. The change was to force all learners through a set learning path, rather than allowing the flexibility to choose the next activity. My primary reason for using Duolingo is to give my brain a regular workout with the goal of improving brain health, and learning a language is secondary. So while I wasn't entirely excited about the change, I carried on.
When Duolingo made the experience change, there was a fair bit of backlash from users. However, I was surprised by the reaction of Barbara Oakley, an influential learning science expert who I greatly respect. While Barb had been a huge fan of the app up to that point, she decided to delete her Duolingo account. Her objection was to the loss of autonomy for the user over choosing what activity to do next.
While Barb may have a valid point, I believe that changes such as this should be considered looking at the entire picture: will requiring making fewer choices increase engagement, does a set adapted path result in a more effective learning experience, will a set learning path ensure that learners will complete all activities necessary to improve learning and retention, etc. Personally I found that I learned better because the set learning path required me to complete all the different types of activities such as stories, that I avoided in the old experience. I'm still using Duolingo regularly and I'm going to complete an 800 day streak this weekend.
Once again kudos to Duolingo and Luis von Ahn for trusting the research, staying the course, and not reacting to the backlash.
A year after launching our redesigned home screen, we're excited to share that the new design is driving great learning results 🎉
Learners on the path scored significantly higher on reading and listening compared to learners who used the previous version of Duolingo. Check out this newly-published study from our Efficacy Research Lab: https://lnkd.in/efC2hAyu
#languagelearning #research
Why not proud as a 🦚? Fits better, no? Either way, congratulations.