Why Students Still Need Struggle

What this episode covers

In education technology, there is often a strong focus on making learning easier, faster, and more efficient for students. Modern tools provide instant feedback, guided support, and increasingly sophisticated AI assistance, all designed to reduce friction in the learning process. Yet some of the most meaningful learning happens through challenge rather than convenience. Research on “desirable difficulties” shows that struggle, through spaced practice, problem-solving, and productive mistakes, helps students build deeper understanding and longer-lasting retention. True expertise is rarely developed through ease alone. The challenge for educational technology is ensuring that support does not become over-simplification. As these tools continue to evolve, the goal should not be to remove difficulty entirely, but to preserve the kind of productive struggle that strengthens critical thinking, resilience, and genuine learning.   Education technology evolves quickly. But the patterns of learning change slowly. That’s why we keep the cabinet open. Thanks for exploring The EdTech Curio Cabinet.   Do you have thoughts regarding this Curio you would like to share? Send us an email to [email protected]   You can find us on: youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@CurioSteward Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/curiosteward/ TikTok - curiosteward (@curiosteward) | TikTok LinkedIn - Curio Steward | LinkedIn

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