What Sugata Mitra’s “Hole in the Wall” Teaches Us About Starlight and the Future of Self-Coaching

In the late 1990s, Professor Sugata Mitra embedded a computer in a wall in a Delhi slum and left it there — with no instructions. What followed became one of the most provocative education experiments of the 21st century. Children, without guidance, taught themselves to browse, draw, and even research molecular biology. Mitra called it “minimally invasive education.” The world called it revolutionary.

Fast forward to 2025. Across classrooms in the UK, teachers are uploading lesson recordings to Starlight — an AI-powered coaching tool — and receiving transcripts and feedback, sometimes without ever speaking to a human coach. Remarkably, many are learning to coach themselves, iterating on their practice with minimal external input.

The parallels between Mitra’s hole in the wall and the autonomous use of Starlight are worth exploring.

Self-Discovery Through Technology

In both cases, the core idea is this: give people access to a powerful tool, and they’ll often figure out how to improve themselves.

• Mitra’s children learned through curiosity, peer scaffolding, and persistence. No adult taught them how to use a mouse or search the web.

• Starlight users are similarly empowered. With just a USB digital recorder and an upload link, teachers receive actionable feedback. They revisit their transcripts, reflect on their questioning, student talk time, or pace — and begin improving their practice independently.

This is not “no intervention.” It’s self-driven, curiosity-led development.

The Role of the Coach: Absent or Evolving?

A key difference is that Starlight was designed to support — and eventually augment — human coaching, not replace it. Mitra's experiment challenged the assumption that adult instruction is always necessary; Starlight recognises that coaching is vital but explores how far autonomy can go before human input becomes essential.

In the best-case scenario, Starlight functions like a "mirror": reflecting practice back to the teacher. Coaches don’t disappear — but they become facilitators, helping interpret patterns and shape direction. For some, Starlight’s feedback might be enough to spark change. For others, it prompts rich conversations with a mentor.

What Happens When There’s No One There?

Mitra’s work led to the concept of a “granny cloud” — retired volunteers offering warmth and encouragement through Skype, not instruction. In the absence of experts, he found that encouragement alone catalysed learning.

Similarly, in schools using Starlight, we’re seeing teachers become their own coaches — or better yet, each other’s. When feedback is fast, regular, and specific, it opens up informal peer discussion, reflection, and community learning. It's not about telling teachers what to do — it's about creating the conditions for discovery and growth.

The Limits of Autonomy

Both models share a tension: autonomy can flourish — but only when curiosity is strong and conditions are right.

• In some schools, Starlight sits unused, or feedback sits unread. Just as not every child in Mitra’s experiment thrived, not every teacher engages without structure.

• That’s why successful implementation involves culture. Leaders must build time, trust, and shared purpose around tools like Starlight.

What We’re Learning

Mitra proved that access + autonomy = learning. Starlight is testing whether insight + autonomy = improvement. The early signs are promising. Some teachers say they’ve made more progress in weeks than they might have with termly observations.

Starlight, like the hole in the wall, is not a replacement for human relationships. It’s a tool — but one that respects the intelligence, initiative, and professionalism of teachers.

Final Thought

In both cases, we see a shift in trust: away from control, toward empowerment.

Sugata Mitra left a computer in a wall and walked away. We’re leaving a portal to feedback in teachers’ hands — and discovering that when trusted, teachers, like those children in Delhi, will surprise us.

We don’t always need someone to teach us. Sometimes, we just need something — or someone — to believe in our capacity to grow.

The Insight Engine is written by Adam Sturdee, co-founder of Starlight—the UK’s first AI-powered coaching platform—and Assistant Headteacher at St Augustine’s Catholic College. This blog is part of a wider mission to support educators through meaningful reflection, not performance metrics. It documents the journey of building Starlight from the ground up, and explores how AI, when shaped with care, can reduce workload, surface insight, and help teachers think more deeply about their practice. Rooted in the belief that growth should be private, professional, and purposeful, The Insight Engine offers ideas and stories that put insight—not judgment—at the centre of development.