Jovens Gênios : making education more captivating through AI

The platform Jovens Gênios, focused on elementary education, utilises artificial intelligence algorithms to personalise learning and gamification to make it more captivating. It operates in Brazil, revolutionising the educational process by offering active learning methodologies, real-time reports for administrators, and increased parental involvement in monitoring student performance.

The platform Jovens Gênios represents a direct response to the challenges faced by the Brazilian educational system, where learning outcomes are significantly below the desired level, and most students leave basic education without mastering fundamental skills in mathematics and language. This reality stems from a massified and demotivating educational model that fails to meet individual students’ needs, resulting in increasingly larger learning gaps.

 

By adopting scientific methodologies of active learning, such as gamification, projects, and flipped classrooms, coupled with the use of artificial intelligence to personalise teaching according to each student’s pace and interests, the platform Jovens Gênios has achieved significant results in the learning process. In just three years, we have already impacted over 40,000 students in middle school and more than 1,350 teachers in 300 schools across 19 Brazilian states.

 

Their potential impact is vast, encompassing teachers, administrators, and students from 5th to 9th grade in both public and private schools. In addition to reducing learning gaps and disinterest among students, their technology also contributes to formulating public policies aimed at educational development. By providing detailed reports on students’ performance and engagement in real-time, the Young Geniuses platform enables school administrators and policymakers to make informed and targeted decisions to improve the quality of education in Brazil.

 

Therefore, the Jovens Gênios not only offers an innovative technological solution to the country’s educational challenges but also has a significant impact on the lives of thousands of students, families, teachers, and administrators, contributing to a more inclusive, effective, and student-centred education.

The Jovens Gênios platform adopts a sophisticated approach that combines learning theories, artificial intelligence, and gamification to provide a highly personalised and engaging educational experience for each student. Artificial intelligence plays a central role, allowing the system to learn from data and identify each student’s key difficulties, individualising their learning path. We use three main pillars for this customization: Knowledge Space Theory (KST), Machine Learning, and Item Response Theory (IRT).

 

KST is used to map the student’s current knowledge state regarding the contents of elementary school II, as envisaged by the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC). Based on this mapping, a list of recommended activities is generated for the student, with machine learning algorithms optimising these recommendations for better learning outcomes. These algorithms ensure that the recommended activities are in each student’s Zone of Proximal Development, challenging enough to avoid monotony but suitable to prevent frustration, and contextualised with what the student is studying in school.

 

IRT is used as an evaluative instrument throughout the student’s journey, providing insights into the student’s current knowledge in KST and inferring the probability of the student achieving a minimum level of learning in each subject or activity. This optimises the amount of exercises the student should do, ensuring an efficient and effective approach to adaptive learning.

 

Additionally, we implement a gamification-based learning methodology using the Octalysis Framework. This framework applied in the Young Geniuses Explorers Platform incorporates eight theoretical-scientific pillars of gamification into various platform elements, motivating students to engage and learn more effectively and enjoyably.

 

This integrated and innovative approach allows Jovens Gênios to offer personalised and engaging education, empowering students to reach their full learning potential.

The Jovens Gênios platform has played a significant role in reducing educational gaps and increasing students’ interest in learning, resulting in tangible and positive social impact in various Brazilian communities.

 

The solution’s implementation occurred in a structured and collaborative manner, reaching over 350 partners nationwide, including public and private institutions. Through strategic partnerships, Young Geniuses managed to make its technology available in schools in various important municipalities, such as São José dos Campos (SP), Mesquita (RJ), and Serra (ES). This impact reach allowed the solution to reach a large number of students, contributing to reducing educational gaps and increasing student engagement.

The results obtained so far are promising, with over 70% of students engaging recurrently on the platform. During the Olympiad week, students answer an average of 700 questions, which has been associated with an average increase of 17% in learning proficiency after two months of intervention. These numbers represent a tangible change in students’ lives, reflecting real improvements in their academic outcomes and their interest in learning.

Additionally, Jovens Gênios has received national and international recognition for its contribution to education. Ranked among the top three edtech companies in Brazil in the iBest! 2022 Awards and recognized by Amazon as one of the four largest adaptive learning algorithms in the world, the company has been praised for its positive impact on transforming the Brazilian educational landscape.

In summary, The Jovens Gênios platform is playing a crucial role in improving the quality of education in Brazil, offering an innovative and effective solution to reduce educational gaps and increase students’ interest in learning. With a student-centred approach and strategic partnerships nationwide, Young Geniuses is helping to build a more promising future for future generations.