The concepts behind digital twins—virtual replicas of physical systems that evolve in real time alongside their physical counterparts—can teach us something about improving learning processes.
Digital twins go beyond typical static or hypothetical simulations by continuously updating to reflect the current state of the physical entity being mirrored. This dynamic relationship allows for real-time insights into performance, opportunities for optimization, and early detection of potential issues.
In this article, we'll explore three specific approaches used by digital twins and applicable to learning: monitoring and experimenting with different strategies, using feedback to adjust future activities, and leveraging the power of teaching—even to simulated students—to enhance understanding.
One idea that digital twins highlight is the value of stepping outside an exact situation to observe and evaluate it from a broader perspective. In the context of learning, this is akin to metacognition—thinking about your own thinking. Metacognition involves self-awareness of one’s cognitive processes, such as gauging one’s understanding, identifying which strategies are effective, and reflecting on how to improve. Research shows that successful learners regularly engage in metacognitive practices, which are central to what is known as self-regulated learning.
When you pause after a study session to consider which methods helped you retain information better or which areas you struggled with, you’re engaging in metacognition. This reflection allows you to adjust your approach in future learning activities, much like how a digital twin might be used to fine-tune a physical system based on its performance data.
One of the benefits of digital twins is that they can integrate real-time data into their processes, allowing a richer understanding and greater ability to make accurate predictions and to inform the real-life system in making adjustments. Effective learning also benefits from incorporating real-time data, in the form of immediate feedback. Feedback helps learners recognize mistakes, adjust strategies, and reinforce correct understandings. The sooner this feedback is received, the more it can influence the learning process and reduce wasted time where students feel frustrated and unclear. It can also sidestep the experience many of us have had, turning in an assignment or exam and only getting feedback a week or two later, when we no longer feel a connection to the material and struggle to make sense of what we were thinking at the time.
Research in educational psychology supports the idea that timely, specific feedback is crucial for learning. It helps to create a loop where actions are quickly assessed and modified, leading to a more efficient learning process. Whether through quizzes, interactive exercises, or peer reviews, incorporating real-time feedback mechanisms into your study routine can significantly enhance your ability to learn and retain information.
A digital twin can help you understand the process it is mirroring even better, creating an opportunity to learn and improve through the act of constructing the appropriate model. Similarly, in education, one effective technique to improve learning is to teach; studies have shown that the act of teaching leads to better understanding and retention of material, as learners engage more deeply with the content, organize their knowledge more effectively, and develop stronger problem-solving strategies. This “protege effect” has been observed when learners prepare to teach, without actually going through the act of teaching.
This approach has been extended to the use of teachable agents, or simulated learners, which act as virtual students for a learner to instruct. Research has found that interacting with teachable agents can be just as effective as teaching real students, and is a very motivating use of technology. You can consider building your own teachable agent with the help of generative AI tools. With some careful prompting to set the expectations for your interaction, try teaching it whatever material you are currently studying, and see if you notice any places where your explanations aren’t as effective or clear as you’d like.
The concept of digital twins offers a great framework for optimizing your learning process. By stepping outside your immediate experience and engaging in metacognitive practices, you can gain valuable insights into how you learn. Incorporating real-time feedback into your study routines can help you make more informed adjustments along the way. Finally, embracing the role of a teacher, whether to real or simulated students, can deepen your understanding and solidify your knowledge.
Throughout this series, we’ve delved into how emerging technologies like 5G, cloud computing, and digital twins can shed light on the science of learning. By drawing analogies between these technological advances and research-based insights, we've highlighted how embracing these concepts can elevate your learning to new heights. Just as these technologies unlock unprecedented possibilities, applying these insights can advance your learning beyond what standard techniques may produce.
