Why Productive Struggle Matters in AI-Powered Learning with Dacia Toll of Coursemojo

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We're exclusively aligning to high-quality instructional materials.

Mm-hmm.

So instead of saying, "Hey, teachers, upload whatever you want, and we'll transform it into this experience," we are saying, at first we can only work with these three curricula, then we got up to seven. This year we're at about 10 curricula across grades three through 10, but it's been painstaking-

Mm-hmm

... to take the texts and tasks, identify the hardest thinking part of every lesson, and then really work to transform and honor that experience. And it's because we're really [laughs]-- so back to the first part, we're really committed to outcomes. And so if you are, and if you know about what it takes to improve reading achievement in particular, you know that it's not just about reading skills and strategies. It's actually about knowledge, background knowledge, vocabulary, and complex texts.

[upbeat music] Welcome to EdTech Insiders, the top podcast covering the education technology industry. From funding rounds, to impact, to AI developments across early childhood, K12, higher ed, and work, you'll find it all here at EdTech Insiders. Remember to subscribe to the pod, check out our newsletter, and also our event calendar. And to go deeper, check out EdTech Insiders Plus, where you can get premium content, access to our WhatsApp channel, early access to events, and back-channel insights from Alex and Ben. Hope you enjoy today's pod. [upbeat music] Hello, EdTech Insider listeners. Today we have an absolutely special guest, someone who's inspired me throughout my career, and who continues to push the envelope on what's possible in EdTech, Dacia Toll, the co-founder and co-CEO of CourseMojo. Welcome to EdTech Insider, Dacia.

Very happy to be here, Ben.

So just a little bit about CourseMojo. It helps students achieve significant reading gains with an AI teaching assistant aligned to top-rated ELA curriculum. Dacia was a teacher and principal in New Haven, so we'll hear a little bit about that journey, and her school posted the greatest achievement gains of any middle school in Connecticut. Then you founded Achievement First, and AF is where I first met you in, in the charter school revolution, and here we are in the EdTech world. So let's start there. Can you tell us, Dacia, a little bit about your unlikely journey as an EdTech entrepreneur and founder? What led you from your teaching experience, principal experience, and charter network experience to found CourseMojo?

Yeah. It is unlikely, particularly for people who know me. I was, and frankly probably still am, an EdTech skeptic, so it is, I don't know, certainly strange, maybe ironic, that I'm doing what I'm doing now. And part of it is, I mean, we-- you're talking about the time at AF. I'm simultaneously s- like so proud of what that