The story seems simple: two friends realize that the education system does not cover all the needs or covers the concerns of the students. The potential is not exploited or the curiosity of those under 14 years of age is explored. And decide to take action on the matter. The two friends are Javier Arroyo and Daniel González de Vega and their response was to create Smartick, a platform that emerged in 2009 as support for mathematics, but now it already includes coding and (fundamental), critical thinking.
To understand how it is used, its benefits and its future, we talk to Javier Arroyo. According to your data,What concrete improvements in mathematical and reader performance have observed In students who use Smartick constantly?
“94% of children who make Smartick improve their performance in mathematics and eight out of tenS -Arroyo explains -. Every year we carry out parents to know how their children have improved their academic performance thanks to Smartick and the results are evident: lStudents who follow Smartick reach an average note of 8.0 at school, equivalent to 561 points in international tests. This involves 1.6 points more than the Spanish average in the TIMSS reports and would place our students among the top positions in the world. ”
The interesting thing is that Arroyo also has data linked to concrete cases of high capacities students. The data reveal that it enhances their talent and gets that 46% of the children who use it are above their school year in mathematics in just six weeks. Almost half work content above their school year with a 40 -day 15 -minute sessions streak. The question arises alone: just 15 minutes?
“They are resolved daily on smartick More than 2 million exercises in sessions of only 15 minutes because it is proven that they are enough to achieve results and improve the potential of each child -confirms Arroyo -. But those 15 minutes are very well designed and studied so that they are very effective: we practice content interspersed, to settle it very well and the level passage only occurs when the foundations are very well placed. ”
How does Smartick adapt the level of difficulty in real time?
“Our algorithm analyzes each response and reaction time of the student -adds Arroyo -. Depending on this data, he immediately adjusts the sequence of exercises, choosing not only the level of difficulty, but also the type of problem that the most helps to consolidate the competition that is at stake. In this way, in this way, in this way, in this way, in this way, in this way, in this way, in this way, in this way, in this way, in this way, in this way We avoid both frustration due to excess difficulty and boredom due to lack of challengewe put each child at the level of challenge that keeps him motivated, in that state that psychology calls flow, of total concentration. ”
Obviously, the demands are different at each level, but also for each participant and this is a very complex challenge. What kind of initial evaluations do to detect the student level?
“When they start using smartick – Arroyo points out – an initial diagnostic test is carried out that covers different areas of the program that chooses (mathematics, reading comprehension, critical thinking or programming). This It allows us to locate it at a starting point for its age and real level, not only to the school year. From there, the system continues to evaluate continuously to emphasize learning. ”
Being much more personalized than traditional academic education, not only the subject is covered, the system also seeks to stimulate other cognitive skills such as attention, memory, reasoning and logic, key learning skills.
Obviously, the AI also occupies a place in learning, in fact the smartick team has begun to use the generative AI to generate part of the conversations with Socratick (the “guide” in the critical thinking section), After having trained the model, in critical thinkingor as support in some more level of the reading product.
Taking into account that millions of minors have passed through the platform, the amount of data they have allows you to break myths. One of them is linked to mathematics and gender. And no difference has been detected. This makes them conclude that, When traditional teaching bias is eliminated and pace is customized, the genre ceases to be a factor in mathematical performance. But there are also individual stories …
“In these 14 years, more than 500,000 children from more than 100 countries have learned with smartick -Arroyo entrusts us -. Behind this figure there are stories that inspire us every day: from A child who had spent almost 5 in oncological treatments between hospital and home and thanks to Smartick, joined the school being a phenomenon in mathematics. We have math or scholarship winners champions to follow studies in other countries. Girls who have recovered their trust and no longer say “I hate the mates.” For two years, we have done some ons with former students who go to university and we love it when, like this year, we know that Romeo, one of our high -capabilities students years ago, have admitted it in Utrecht with 16 years or as another, Daniel, comes from Zaragoza to study mathematics to Madrid and his mother tells us that Smartick marked him a lot. ”
How do cases of frustration or blocking handle? Do they detect when a child needs to lower the pace or change the type of stimulus?
“The Smartick method helps reinforce self -esteem and works frustration tolerance -says Arroyo -. By proposing individualized exercises, interactive tutorials and feedback of the activities they carry out are not blocked in the concepts That it is more difficult to learn, but they alternate them to acquire the main learning through different paths, but in the end of dominating all the necessary areas for disciplines, improving trust and without demotivating themselves. In any case, we have a pedagogical attention team that serves families daily who need advice on children’s motivation, if they have detected that it has been frustrated because it does not pay enough attention and then the answers do not fit the real level of what they can and parents have a website for their part in which they can do so set rewards for children. On the other hand, the program detects when the child carries a streak that is not very good and throws courage messages or even call the family team. We discover that completing gusts is a stimulus for children. ”
In a decade, how do they imagine that it will be the learning of mathematics? What would be the ideal place of smartick in that future?
“In an increasingly diverse environment, in which educational needs are growing by leaps and bounds, educational personalization and adaptation become increasingly essential. In this context Smartick can be an ideal complement for both students who need reinforcement and for those who have more capacities than the average of their class and can maximize their potential. Smartick aspires to be The reference tool that makes a really personalized learning of mathematics possiblereading comprehension and critical thinking worldwide. ”
Often the isolation that can cause the use of screens is criticized, why is smartick different?
“14 years ago, when we devised Smartick, we were clear that technology was the indispensable ally in personalized learning and adapting to each child’s rhythm and level of learning -says Arroyo -. They do not have to follow a predetermined and fixed curricul The algorithm proposed by Smartick adapts perfectly to each one, That is why he proposes different exercises and activities depending on how he responds and advancing in each discipline, something that would not be possible without a technological device ”.
Finally, Arroyo concludes with a reflection on the screens that he had to consider a long time ago.
“We miss the rigor of the debates that occur in other countries, where much more is distinguished between the educational use of screens and social networks. Of course there is a correlation, which is not known if causality, between the abuse of social networks and the mental health of the youngest, but we just aspired to be the best support in the learning of mathematics and the reading comprehension of children and that we are clear that improves the self -esteem of our students, just the opposite of what makes a misuse of social networks. ”