How do we learn?
Technology is changing our learning habits. For our generation (GenZ), educational materials are no longer just worksheets, and the learning environment is definitely not just school. We learn from short videos and posts on social media, in discussions on Discord and Twitter, we ask experts and now mainly ChatGPT.
Project goals
To create an educational environment that reflects current technological and social changes.
An environment where students can effectively use modern technology for their personal development.
To support teachers in adapting these new tools.
Teaching will become more interactive and relevant to life outside school.
About research
number of respondents
age range
year of the research
type of research
Research conclusions
Good relationships, but uninteresting teaching
We look forward to school mainly for our friends and we have good relationships with teachers, but quite often we find the lessons uninteresting, have trouble concentrating, and don’t think we’re learning things that we’ll use outside of school.
Discouraging from artificial intelligence
Of the surveyed pupils and students, 34% encountered teachers discouraging or directly prohibiting them from using artificial intelligence tools. onversely, only 24% experienced teachers directly assigning them tasks that involved working with artificial intelligence tools.
ChatGPT and Photomath
45% of surveyed pupils and students have already used some artificial intelligence tool. Among them, we most frequently use ChatGPT (89%), followed by Photomath (43%) with a significant gap. In terms of subjects, we most often use artificial intelligence tools for Czech language, foreign language, and mathematics.
Primarily own notes
As our primary learning material, our own written notes still strongly predominate, along with textbooks and paper materials from teachers. Only about a quarter of us use various online sources and materials among our most frequent resources.
Missing discussion
We lack debate and discussion classes, which we consider to be the most beneficial.
Recommendations
- Technology as a valued element We recommend actively encouraging teachers to incorporate available technologies into teaching. This has a positive effect on us – we remember information better and classes are more interesting.
- More active role of students in teaching We prefer learning where we are actively involved and can participate and express ourselves. Traditional frontal teaching will likely remain important but needs to be interspersed with other forms and new approaches.
- Personal notes still lead It’s important to guide us to use and appreciate the rich information sources available through the internet and technology. Younger students more often use textbooks and personal notes, which may be necessary for learning basic information, but older students should use more electronic materials, online articles, videos and AI.
- Consider AI work in assignment design rather than bans Regarding AI use in homework, it’s important to educate teachers not to view AI-assisted work only as making independent work easier, but to learn to incorporate AI benefits when designing assignments, with reasonable reflection on its capabilities and emphasis on critical evaluation of results.
- More awareness about phone impact Research shows we don’t realize how random phone use during class affects our attention. Instead of outright bans, we recommend more education about using phones during random moments in class.
- Show benefits of screen limits and time management Daily phone time limits mainly affect younger students and are usually set by parents. Setting our own limits is rare, slightly higher among adolescents and young adults (15%) but still not significant. There’s room to help find appropriate ways to set personal time limits for apps and social media. We recommend communicating the benefits and positive mental health impacts of conscious time management.
- View social media and other platforms as homework supplements and stay informed
One-fifth of us use materials from various online channels and profiles, especially YouTube, for homework. It’s good to know popular educational profiles, be inspired by their approach, and recommend them as homework supplements. It’s also important to be aware of what we follow for development and entertainment, and reflect on and incorporate these topics into teaching. - AI as essential part of media education and source work When solving tasks, we often rely only on search engines. Málo explicitně jmeFew of us explicitly name specific platforms like Wikipedia. Only a small portion (mainly high school students) use AI and chatbots (about 10%). With AI becoming more accessible, it will be important to teach us how to effectively use chatbots, formulate commands, and verify information. And generally view working with AI-generated results as a necessary future component of media education.nujeme konkrétní platformy, například Wikipedii.
About research
number of respondents
age range
year of the research
type of research
Research conclusions
AI in education
Artificial intelligence should be a natural part of learning, but students must learn to critically evaluate its outputs. It should help, not replace, thinking.
Connecting schools and companies
Linking education to work increases students’ readiness for the labour market. Companies can help with mentoring, internships or trainee programmes.
Learning throughout the whole life
Motivation for lifelong learning must be strengthened and equal opportunities must be ensured. Investing in life-long learning brings long-term benefits to society as a whole.
The power of soft skills
Communication, collaboration and adaptability are key to the future of work. These skills need to be developed across all subjects.
Modern forms of learning
Young people prefer short, interactive and online formats. Schools should use digital tools and trends in education.
Recommendations
Recommendations for educational organisations and schools
- Integrating AI into the educational process AI tools should be systematically integrated into education, as most young people already use them for learning. But it is also key to teach students to critically evaluate AI outputs and develop their analytical thinking alongside their use of technology. AI should serve as an educational assistant, not as a substitute for independent thinking.
- Developing soft skills Communication, teamwork and the ability to learn quickly are becoming increasingly important in the fast-paced world of work. These skills need to be developed across all subjects.
- New formats of education The young generation prefers shorter learning modules, online courses and interactive formats to the traditional frontal teaching. Education today is also done through social media – it is important to follow trends and influencers that can effectively educate the young.
- Presentation of role models Show students that career paths can be diverse and that success depends not only on school knowledge but also on soft skills, resilience and adaptability. Present stories of people who can be role models and motivators.
Recommendations for the private sector
- Training programmes for young people Invest in training trainee programmes linked to specific job opportunities. Involving employers in training enables students to be better prepared for the practical demands of the labour market.
- Corporate training Training Training works best when employees see a clear benefit – financial reward or career progression. For young employees, we recommend mentoring programs with clear milestones and transparent communication of career options, including the conditions for achieving them.
- Adapting to new generations of employees Prepare for a generation that prioritises meaningful work over high earnings. To increase the attractiveness of positions, we need to rethink the communication of job descriptions and accept greater employee mobility between companies and industries.
- Cooperation with schools Focus on practical cooperation between education and practice. Experts from companies can enrich learning with real-life experience and help young people better navigate the labour market.
System recommendations
- Promoting the integration of formal and non-formal education Better integration of different forms of education will create a more flexible system. Digitisation allows for the emergence of online and shorter formats that can make education more accessible to a wider range of people.
- Motivation for lifelong learning Financial support is a clear incentive for continuing education. However, we need to reflect on why lifelong learning is not commonplace in our society and ensure that schools do not create an aversion to learning.
- Promoting equal opportunities Focus on programmes for early school leavers. If parents are in education, this increases their children’s chances of better educational outcomes – so the investment in parents pays off in the next generation.
Reasearch partners
Our main goal is to help young people reach financial maturity. Working in education as young people ourselves, we see how our learning and priorities are changing. However, we feel our opinions and needs are overlooked – both what we learn and how we learn. Therefore, we decided to move into research activities and investigate young people’s perspectives on key topics.
Our mission is to support democratic discussion, constitutional and rule of law, and the international anchoring of the Czech Republic through data, consulting, and informing citizens.
In our Foundation, we focus on children and young people, who we see as the foundation for the future prosperity of the entire country. Therefore, through education, we want to develop in them such knowledge, skills and attitudes that will contribute to their greater independence, self-sufficiency and financial health.
We are not indifferent to the fact that there are still many people who live in poor conditions and very often face obstacles that prevent them from living their lives fully. We are aware that we live comfortable lives, and it is important for us to use money meaningfully.
Based is an educational project created by high school and university students, originating from the presidential election debate Zavolíme! Our goal is to fill a market gap in connecting formal and informal education and expand existing social science education through the creation of audiovisual content with methodological materials.
Contact
Contact us with any questions, comments, or to join the initiative. We’ll be happy to connect with you. Either reach out directly to Maria or write to us through the contact form. →
+420 734 216 069
vyzkumy@nekrachni.cz