Why every lesson starts with a question
WeLearn (w5n.ai) is an AI tutor that builds a course around your goal. Each lesson asks you a question before it explains anything. The method behind this is called productive failure.
What productive failure is
The idea comes from Manu Kapur's research. Learners first try a problem they haven't been taught to solve, and most of them don't solve it. Then they're taught the standard method. They learn it better than students who were taught the method from the start, because trying first showed them what the problem asks for.
What the research found
In Kapur's studies, both groups did equally well when they used the procedure they had been taught. The learners who struggled first also understood why it works, and did better on new problems.
Kapur, M. (2014). Productive failure in learning math. Cognitive Science.
How a WeLearn lesson applies it
Each lesson opens with a question you can try without any background. It's set in an everyday situation that works the same way as the topic, so your intuition has something to go on. Your answer shows what you already assume, right or wrong. The tutor asks about your reasoning without giving away the answer. After that comes the reading, written to address what your answer revealed.