Building Better Learning: Put Pedagogy Before Platforms
Let’s Play a Game
Before I tell you who I am or why I started this Substack, let’s play a quick game. Below are real newspaper headlines about educational technology. For each one, guess which technology they were talking about:
1.
“If I could use a shortcut, I would save my homework and do it on the…”
—The Washington Post, 1986
A. Typewriter B. Calculator C. Computer
2.
“Kids learn differently today. They are visual learners, and we need visuals to get their attention.”
—Chicago Tribune, 1999
A. Overhead projector B. Whiteboard C. PowerPoint
3.
“Teachers fear ___ will interfere with ‘genuine’ or book-based learning—especially in the humanities and creative subjects.”
—The Guardian, 2005
A. Computers B. Tablets C. The Internet
4.
“Get ___ out of the classroom before it’s too late.”
—The New York Times, 2024
A. Laptops B. The Internet C. Tech
How did you do? Let’s check the answers:
B. Calculator – From 1986, when math teachers were protesting their use in classrooms.
B. Whiteboard – From 1999, celebrating whiteboards replacing blackboards.
A. Computers – From 2005, expressing fears about computers replacing “real” learning
C. Tech – From 2024, warning against all forms of technology in classrooms.
Notice something?
For decades, we’ve repeated the same conversations about educational technology. Each new tool is celebrated for its transformative promise—and feared for its potential to erode “real” learning or create student dependency.
Today, that conversation includes everything from AI to virtual reality to adaptive platforms. We’re told these tools will revolutionize learning—but at the same time we hear warnings they can destroy the foundations of learning itself.
After years researching educational effectiveness and implementing technology in real learning environments, here’s what I know to be true:
The core theories of education remain constant;
the means of delivery continue to advance.
Why This Matters (And Why You Should Care)
Everyone, it seems, is suddenly an AI education expert. Venture capitalists fund flashy EdTech startups. School administrators rush to adopt new policies. Companies make sweeping claims about revolutionizing learning.
Meanwhile, educators ask the critical question that actually matters: Will this help students learn?
In many of the loudest conversations around educational technology, the people driving decisions understand technology—but lack grounding in how learning works.
This isn’t academic hand-wringing. The tools we choose shape real classrooms and real futures. When decisions are driven by novelty instead of research-based practice, the risks are clear:
Wasting resources on solutions in search of a problem
Widening equity gaps for already marginalized learners
Mistaking digital engagement for deep learning
The risks are especially high in technical fields like engineering, where conceptual understanding is cumulative. If the foundation is weak, everything built on top of it collapses.
Why Should You Listen to ME?!
The internet isn’t exactly short on opinions about AI and education. So what makes mine worth your time?
I’m Dr. Nikitha Sambamurthy—an education researcher (Ph.D. in Engineering Education) and Editorial Director at Wiley, one of the world’s largest academic publishers. I make strategic decisions about educational technology that impact over a million students globally.
I was selected by the National Academy of Engineering as one of eight U.S. engineers—out of sixty total participants from academia, industry, and government—to talk about the role of AI in engineering education at the latest German-American Frontiers of Engineering symposium, a highly selective binational event spotlighting top U.S. and German engineering leaders.
I founded the publishing industry’s first and only education research group, which produces award-winning, peer-reviewed scholarship recognized with “best paper” honors. For this work—and the broader impact on EdTech innovation—I was recently honored with Purdue’s inaugural “38 by 38” alumni award, celebrating rising leaders whose work is already shaping the future of engineering.
I’ve also led a recent comprehensive assessment of AI capabilities for engineering content I manage at Wiley.
(And interestingly, we realized AI tech isn't there yet for our particular use case and delayed implementation. In the fall it will likely be a different story! But the takeaway here is, AI isn't a magic bullet—you have to evaluate how it works for you.)
In other words, I’ve done the work of critically evaluating AI in education—beyond the hype cycle and behind the scenes.
Behind the Wheel ≠ Build the Car
A colleague in engineering education, Dr. Monique Ross, offers a perfect analogy: Everyone can drive a car, but that doesn’t make them an automotive engineer.
Likewise, many people teach—but that doesn’t make them education experts. Designing effective learning experiences requires specialized knowledge of how people learn.
I don’t aim to turn everyone into researchers. As someone with a Ph.D. in education, experience teaching at universities, and now making EdTech decisions that affect millions of learners, I’m ready to be your AI education guide—someone who bridges educational research and real-world decision-making.
Building Better Learning: My Approach
This Substack is where educational research meets technological innovation—with a focus on practical frameworks for evaluating whether learning tools actually support how students learn.
You can expect:
Frameworks for evaluating learning technologies
Critical insights rooted in research—not marketing hype
Real-world applications that connect theory to practice across diverse learning environments
Thoughtfully integrated technology can transform education—not just digitize it. My commitment to you is to bring scholarly rigor and practical wisdom to every topic I tackle, helping you separate signal from noise and hype from substance.
While specific tools will come and go, the core principle has endured since the days of papyrus:
Theories of learning remain constant; the means of delivery continue to advance.
Whether you're an educator, a technologist, or simply curious about how learning really works in a digital world, I hope you’ll join me. And please contribute your thoughts in the comments! This space is about building better learning—grounded in research, informed by practice, and driven by what actually helps students succeed.