WonderBridge: Transforming Hidden Student Questions into Classroom Intelligence

WonderBridge: Transforming Hidden Student Questions into Classroom Intelligence
Jade Jimenez-Salls | Innovation Studio Final Project
"Making curiosity visible, trackable, and actionable"
The Problem: Students Have Deep Curiosity, But It's Hidden
"I'm still kinda confused about the difference between weathering and erosion. They sound the same to me."
"The rocks near the creek by my house are really smooth. Is that from erosion?"
"Why does soil smell different after it rains?"
"If weathering breaks rocks down, does that mean mountains are getting smaller?"
The Gap We Discovered
40 thoughtful questions from ONE Earth science unit
Students wrote these privately. Never asked in class
Teachers have no idea this level of curiosity exists
Why Questions Stay Hidden
Fear of judgment suppresses question-asking in middle school classrooms. Our research validates that students possess rich curiosity but lack safe channels to express it. This creates an invisible gap between what students wonder and what teachers can address.
Market Research Validates the Problem
Teacher Interview Insights
Mrs. Hurley, 6th Grade Math
"I'd love a tool that helps document student curiosities without adding to my already overwhelming workload. If it could show me patterns in what kids are wondering about, that would be gold."
Mr. Jenkins, 8th Grade Math
"I use exit tickets to gauge understanding, but responses get lost among grading tasks. I need something that organizes this feedback automatically so I can act on it."
Ms. Williams, IT Teacher
"I have an idea board in my classroom, but there's no systematic way to measure how curiosity evolves over time. I want to celebrate growth, not just collect questions."
Key Finding: Teachers desperately want curiosity tracking, but existing tools require too much manual effort. They need intelligence, not just data collection.
The Solution: WonderBridge Platform
Anonymous Questions + Teacher Intelligence
Wonderbridge transforms hidden student questions into actionable classroom insights. Our platform creates emotional safety through anonymity while giving teachers the intelligence they need to personalize instruction without extra work.
01
Students Post Anonymously
Students share "I wonder..." questions during or after lessons in a judgment-free environment
02
AI Auto-Categorizes
Machine learning instantly organizes questions by type, learning need, and curriculum alignment
03
Teachers Get Insights
Dashboard reveals misconceptions, extension opportunities, and engagement patterns without manual sorting
04
Curiosity Becomes Data
Track individual and class-wide curiosity growth over time, aligned with SEL goals
Student Question Analysis Report
This report analyzes 40 student questions about weathering, erosion, and soil science to identify key areas of curiosity, confusion, and real-world connection.
Question Category Breakdown
25%
Conceptual Confusion
Questions indicating a lack of understanding of core definitions and processes.
Example: "I'm still kinda confused about the difference between weathering and erosion. They sound the same to me."
20%
Process Inquiry
Questions seeking to understand the mechanisms and factors involved.
Example: "Does weathering happen fast or does it take a super long time?"
30%
Real-World Connection
Questions linking classroom learning to personal experiences.
Example: "The rocks near the creek by my house are really smooth. Is that from erosion?"
25%
Composition & Properties
Questions exploring the nature of soil, its formation, and characteristics.
Example: "I'm confused about what soil actually is. Is it just dirt or is it more than that?"
What Teachers See
WonderBridge automatically breaks down student questions into these categories, providing actionable insights into student thinking.
Implications for WonderBridge
Content Focus: Prioritize clear explanations using real-world examples
Feature Development: Encourage students to connect learning to experiences
Teacher Value: Provide actionable insights for personalized instruction
Target Market: Middle School Educators
Primary Market: Middle School Teachers
150+ students per teacher creates massive visibility challenges
SEL is top district priority validated through our market research
Personalization pressure without adequate tools or time
Grades 6-8 focus where curiosity decline is most severe
Teachers are drowning in data but starving for insights. They need tools that reduce workload while improving student connection.
Secondary Market: Students Ages 11-14
Critical curiosity decline period when students stop asking questions
Need safe spaces for authentic questions without peer judgment
Crave real-world connections to academic content
Digital natives comfortable with online platforms
This age group wants to engage but lacks channels that feel emotionally safe and personally relevant.
$2.8B
Learning Analytics Market
Rapidly growing sector focused on student data intelligence
$47B
Global EdTech Sector
Massive market opportunity for innovative solutions
150+
Students Per Teacher
Average middle school teacher caseload
Business Model: Freemium SaaS
Free Tier
Basic Question Collection
Anonymous student posting
Simple teacher view
Up to 30 students
Basic question library
The free tier removes barriers to entry and lets teachers experience the value of collecting student curiosity. It functions similarly to Padlet but with a curiosity-specific focus.
Premium Tier
$15/month per teacher
Advanced AI categorization and analytics
Individual student curiosity tracking over time
Curriculum alignment features
District dashboard for administrators
Priority support and training
Premium unlocks the true intelligence layer—transforming raw questions into instructional insights that save hours of teacher time weekly.
Revenue Validation: Our student question analysis proves teachers would pay for insights like automatic misconception identification and extension project opportunities. These features address real pain points discovered in teacher interviews.
Competitive Differentiation: Intelligence vs. Collection
1
Padlet: General Collaboration Tool
What Teachers See: 40 random student posts scattered across a digital board
What Teachers Must Do: Manually read, organize, categorize, and analyze every single question—adding hours to their workload
Result: Data collection without insight. Questions get posted but rarely lead to instructional change.
2
WonderBridge: Curiosity Intelligence
What Teachers See: Automatic breakdown—15% misconceptions, 35% real-world connections, 25% extension opportunities, 25% clarification requests
What Teachers Get: Instant instructional priorities, curriculum gaps identified, individual student tracking, and growth patterns over time
Result: Actionable intelligence that reduces workload while personalizing instruction.
The Key Difference
We don't just collect questions—we turn curiosity into actionable classroom data that actually reduces teacher workload. While Padlet shows you what students said, WonderBridge tells you what it means and what to do about it.
Prototype Experiment: Validating Core Assumptions
Risky Assumption Tested
"Teachers can use anonymous curiosity data for immediate instructional decisions without knowing which specific students asked which questions."
Experiment Design
Used actual student questions as seed content in Padlet prototype. Tested with pilot teacher for categorization exercise.
Measurement
Tracked time to identify patterns, instructional priorities, and misconceptions from anonymous question data.
Key Learning
Teachers immediately saw value and wanted automatic categorization—validates core value proposition.
Critical Insight: Our pilot teacher spent 45 minutes manually categorizing questions but said she would use this data weekly if categorization was automatic. This validates our $15/month premium tier—teachers will pay for time savings and intelligence.
Product Roadmap & AI-Powered Features
1
Phase 1: MVP Launch
Anonymous Posting Platform
Students submit "I wonder..." questions. Teachers view questions in simple dashboard. Basic filtering and search functionality.
2
Phase 2: Intelligence Layer
AI-Powered Teacher Dashboard
Automatic categorization by question type. Misconception detection alerts. Individual student curiosity tracking begins.
3
Phase 3: Gamification
Curiosity Challenges
Student engagement features. Curriculum-aligned curiosity prompts. Class-wide curiosity growth metrics and celebrations.
AI Integration: The Intelligence Engine
Text Clustering
Groups similar questions to reveal common misconceptions and knowledge gaps across the class
Sentiment Analysis
Detects emotional tone to identify frustrated learners who need immediate support
Curriculum Alignment
Auto-generates curiosity prompts aligned to standards and upcoming lessons
Market Validation & Financial Trajectory
Research Validation
Teacher Interviews
3 educators confirmed problem/solution fit and expressed willingness to pay for automatic insights
Student Questions
40+ authentic questions proving hidden curiosity exists at scale in every classroom
SEL Alignment
Market trend research shows districts prioritizing social-emotional learning and student voice
Financial Projections
Year 1: 50 teachers × $15/month × 10 months
Year 2: 500 teachers across 10 schools
Year 3: 2,500 teachers across 50 schools
Key Success Metrics
85%
Teacher Retention Rate
Target for year-over-year subscription renewals
4
Questions Per Student Monthly
Average engagement target proving platform usage
2
Hours Saved Weekly
Teacher time savings from automated categorization
The Ask & Next Steps
Immediate Goals
Secure 5 pilot teachers for beta testing spring semester
Develop MVP with basic AI categorization by January
Validate teacher dashboard design through user testing
Build educator advisory board of 10-15 teachers
How You Can Help
Connect us with middle school science/math teachers interested in pilot
Join our educator advisory board for product feedback
Sign up for early access at CuriosityBank.com
Share with education-focused investors in your network
Contact: jsalls1@student.gsu.edu