Sprint Lab
A unique science course for high school students — where learning starts with what they're actually curious about, not with the syllabus.
Sprint Lab is a science course for high school students that starts from what they are curious about instead of the syllabus. This case study by EdTech product designer Itamar Katan covers the track catalog, the student dashboard and the lesson experience.
Forget everything you knew about science lessons.
Sprint Lab flips the classic science class on its head: instead of starting from the curriculum, it starts from a student's curiosity — and builds the science around it.
The Problem
Ask a high schooler when they last learned something that felt interesting, challenging, and relevant — and you'll usually get silence. Traditional science lessons compete for attention against an internet that is infinitely more engaging.
The Approach
Package real science inside topics teenagers genuinely wonder about — from how animations actually work to the science behind artificial intelligence. If the hook is curiosity, the depth can follow.
Curiosity is the front door.
The landing experience makes a promise: here you learn from what interests you, how it interests you. Provocative track cards — "Donald Duck, illusions, and how animations work", "Natural remedies across African cultures", "Do chimpanzees think about retirement?" — signal immediately that this is not another textbook.
Every visual choice, from the cinematic imagery to the dark, premium UI, is designed to feel closer to a streaming platform than to a classroom tool.
A track for every kind of curious.
The track catalog works like a discovery feed: filter by arts, nature, psychology, science & space, or technology — or just type what you're curious about today.
For students who don't know where to start, an AI recommendation card asks what they're into and matches them to a track — turning "I don't know what to choose" from a dead end into a conversation.
A home base that keeps momentum.
The student dashboard is built around continuity: a hero card for the active track with visible progress, a "continue where you left off" row, and an achievements shelf that celebrates completed tracks with their final evaluations.
Progress is always one glance — and one tap — away, so returning never feels like starting over.
Lessons that feel like exploring, not scrolling.
Inside a track, each chapter mixes story cards, short videos, and quick checks for understanding, with a syllabus sidebar that shows the journey ahead — including what's still locked.
The interaction patterns go beyond multiple choice: class polls, open questions with AI feedback, branching "where do you want to go next?" choices, and even chats with historical personas like Albert Einstein.
Finishing a course ends with a personal evaluation and a final score — a real sense of achievement, not just a checkmark.
Sprint Lab, clearly.
What is Sprint Lab?
A science course for high school students. It packages real science inside topics teenagers already wonder about, from how animation works to the science behind AI.
How do students choose what to learn?
The track catalog works like a discovery feed. Students filter by arts, nature, psychology, science & space or technology, or type what they are curious about. An AI recommendation card helps students who don't know where to start.
What happens inside a lesson?
Each chapter mixes story cards, short videos and quick checks, plus class polls, open questions with AI feedback, branching choices and chats with historical personas like Albert Einstein.
How does a course end?
With a personal evaluation and a final score, so finishing feels like a real achievement.
Why does it look like a streaming app?
The dark, cinematic design is meant to feel closer to a streaming platform than to a classroom tool, because science lessons compete with the internet for attention.