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it is cheering to see pushback to this in the replies and QTs yes, this increases retention. but so many people describe their relationship with Duolingo streaks as one that is compelling in a way that is bad for them & supplants their desire to learn a language. @abouelatta_ali/1594707015032455168Permalink Look on archive.org
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like, yes, vocabulary learning is the kind of thing that benefits from spaced repetition, which means repeatedly coming back to an app to practice is good for long term learning. but that connection is not strong enough to withstand Goodhart's Law.Permalink Look on archive.org
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on Goodhart's Law (in the context of the Google search algorithm) @v21/1435174607846264836Look on archive.org
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of course, this dynamic is complicated by the fact that Duolingo (the company) has different incentives than their users. they want people to keep engaging with the app, their users want to learn a language. they're both pulling in a similar, but not identical, direction.Permalink Look on archive.org
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see also, this thread @adrianhon/1595436401851568130 (I have not yet Adrian's book, but if you're interested in gamification & the way that this kind of stuff can go interestingly wrong, I reckon it's probably a pretty good read)Permalink Look on archive.org