Teachtok and the New Learning Journeys

About Reglab

We are a private research center specializing in the media and technology sector, helping companies, associations, and policymakers make strategic decisions based on data and evidence.

Learn more at www.reglab.com.br.

Credits

Executive Director: Pedro Henrique Ramos

Research Coordinator: Marina Garrote

Authors: Pedro Henrique Ramos, Marina Garrote, Isabela Afonso Portas and Giulia Brombine,

Researchers: Isabela Afonso Portas, Giulia Brombine and Daniela Naomi Shimabukuro Nomura

Final Layout: Larissa Camargo

Suggested Citation: PORTAS, I. A.; BROMBINE, G.; RAMOS, P.; GARROTE, M. Teachtok

and the new learning journeys. São Paulo: Reglab, 2026.

Executive Summary

This study investigates the emergence of “teachtokers” and how formal education is adapting to short-video platforms. Based on an exploratory analysis and in-depth interviews with teacher content creators, Reglab analyzed

how this type of edutainment (education + entertainment) is changing the way of teaching.

The research explores the reasons teachers enter the digital environment, the strategies used to capture attention, and the tensions between the logic of digital formats and conceptual and pedagogical depth.

Key Findings:

• The Scroll Learning Phenomenon: Learning on the platform occurs in an incidental and non-linear way. Students do not necessarily open the app to study, but discover educational content while seeking entertainment, creating a fluid and fragmented learning dynamic.
• A New Didactics: Traditional pedagogical techniques are being replaced or adapted. Content is structured around “hooks,” simplification of complex concepts, and the use of viral trends, challenging depth but also generating interest and curiosity.
• A Shift in the Teacher-Student Relationship: In the digital environment, the relationship between teacher and student becomes closer and less formal. The teacher, once seen as a distant figure, becomes someone more accessible and human, using humor and a more relaxed language to connect with students.
• Professionalization and the Creator Economy: For many teachers, being on TikTok goes beyond the desire to “just teach.” It has become a way to strengthen one’s career, gain professional visibility, and supplement income, placing the teacher within the market logic of the content creator economy.

Introduction

Brazilian teachers are giving lessons on TikTok. Not as an experiment, not as a game, but as a practice complementary to classroom work, with millions of views and communities engaged with school content.

The platform has become a stage for ENEM review sessions, explanations of quantum physics, and historical curiosities. The phenomenon has a name: TeachTok. More than a trend or hashtag, it is a space for dialogue and innovation among educators from around the world, who exchange resources, ideas, and strategies through the sharing of short videos on the platform.

Educational TikTok in Numbers

Reach among Brazilian youth

Educational use by students

55%

62%

of teenagers aged 13–14 use TikTok

of young people aged 15–17 are on the platform

72%

46%

use video channels/apps for school research

turn to social networks as a research source

(TIC Kids Online 2024 data)(TIC Education 2024 data)

Engagement in educational hashtags (in views)

#estudos

112.2 bn

(Data from Exolyt 2025)1

#AprendaNoTikTok:

30.9 bn

#Edutok

199.9 bn

#TikTokeducacao

9.8 mn

1 The data presented were extracted between 12/29/2025 and 12/30/2025 from the Exolyt platform, a social analytics and intelligence tool specialized in TikTok that offers resources for brands, influencers, and agencies to monitor and understand the performance of accounts, videos, trends, and hashtags on the platform.

TikTok Initiatives in Brazil

Free review classes

for the ENEM in movie theaters with platform creators:

• 29,500 free tickets distributed in two days in the 2025 edition
• Screened in 48 movie theaters in 32 Brazilian cities, with presence in 100% of state capitals
• 2025 saw a 6x increase in the number of publications and 5.6x in views of ENEM-related content

Since 2021:

special project for the ENEM with a content hub

STEM Feed

Launch of the STEM feed

(Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), which functions as a second “For You” feed dedicated to educational content. The feature

is automatically activated for users between 13 and 17 years old.

TikTok’s content format can also favor the communicational development of teachers. Since short videos require synthesis and conciseness, they lead teachers to distill the most important information in a short time, more objectively. Features such as duet, reaction, green screen, and stitch2 expand the possibilities for didactic creation and encourage interactions that

challenge the traditional hierarchy between teacher and student (Vizcaíno-Verdú, Abidin, 2023).

This scenario aligns with pedagogical perspectives that advocate for the centrality of the student’s sociocultural context in educational processes, through a

horizontal relationship between educator and learner. At the same time, it is important to note that the educational use of TikTok also presents challenges, such as the risk of prioritizing entertainment over genuinely educational content and the pressure for viralization (Sánchez-López, Roig-Vila, Salcedo, 2023; Vizcaíno-Verdú, Abidin, 2023)

Given all this, several questions arise: how do these educators produce content? What motivates them? How do they balance pedagogical rigor and viralization? What does this migration to the digital space reveal about the limits and possibilities of contemporary education?

Methodology

This research used a qualitative approach to understand how Brazilian teachers in primary and secondary education and college preparatory courses use TikTok in their teaching practice. The study sought to investigate how these educators create educational content on the platform and how they perceive issues related to engagement, visibility, and interaction with students.

Initially, a literature review was conducted on TeachTok, the use of TikTok in education, and by teachers. References were selected from systematic searches in national and international academic databases, prioritizing recent and recurring studies in the field.

Subsequently, data collection was structured in two complementary stages. The first consisted of an exploratory mapping of teacher profiles producing educational content on TikTok. This stage aimed to outline the empirical universe of the research and identify initial patterns of teaching activity on the platform. To this end, a systematic search for teacher profiles was conducted, recording quantitative data such as teaching area, number of followers, and overall number of likes. In total, 54 professionals were mapped.

2 Reaction: A feature for selecting a user’s comment on a post and responding to it through a video. Duet: When a user records a video that is displayed alongside content previously published by another profile. Green Screen: Refers to the ability to use another image or video as a background for one’s own content. Stitch: A feature to cut and use scenes from other users’ videos in one’s own post.

The second stage focused on conducting semi-structured in-depth interviews with a sample of seven professionals who publish didactic content on TikTok and work in Primary Education, Secondary Education, or college preparatory courses, as shown in Table 1. The choice of this method stemmed from the understanding that the interview is not a unidirectional mechanism for transmitting information, but a cooperative undertaking in which interviewer and interviewee jointly construct ideas and meanings, allowing for the exploration and development of different realities and perceptions (Gaskell, 2008).

To better understand this scenario, we spoke with teachers who create educational content on TikTok, investigating how they produce their videos, how they interact with students and followers, their perceptions of the platform as a learning space, and their suggestions for strengthening the platform’s educational role in Brazil.

General Data

Anelize Vergara (@profanelize) — Works at an NGO as a volunteer, at a College Preparatory Course

• Previous experience in Lower Secondary and Secondary Education
• Has been a history teacher for 11 years (since 2014)
• Her audience consists of beginning teachers.

Antônio (@profantoniogeografia) — Works in Lower Secondary Education (9th grade) and Secondary Education in the State Network of SC

• Has been a Geography teacher (interdisciplinary with History/Sociology) for 16 years
• His audience is made up of the school community and the general public (lawyers, doctors, politicians).

Daniel Almeida (prof.danielalmeida) — Works in Secondary Education and a College Preparatory Course in the State Network of Paraná, Private Network, and University Preparatory Course (UEL); Has been a history teacher for 8 years; His audience is 80% college-entrance exam candidates and 20% adults/parents.

Jorge (@profjorgeabreu) — Works in Lower Secondary Education (currently 6th and 7th grades) in the Private Network and also in Secondary Education/College if needed

• Has been a mathematics teacher for 14 years
• His audience consists of students and “math lovers.”

Josiane (@prof.josianearaujo) — Works in Primary Education I and II (Early and Later Years) in the Municipal Public Network

• Has been a teacher for 5 years in English, Portuguese, and History
• Her audience consists of undergraduate students and those interested in Literature and History.

Rafael (@purafisica) — Works at a Preparatory Course/Institute (Medicine Preparation)

• Previously taught Secondary Education
• Has been a physics teacher for nearly 20 years
• His audience consists of medical school applicants and young adults between 24–34 years old.

Victor Polilo (@professorvictorpolillo) — Works in Lower Secondary Education (Later Years), Secondary Education, and a College Preparatory Course in the Private Network

• Has been a mathematics teacher for 10 years
• His audience consists of college-entrance exam candidates and young people aged 19 to 29.

To analyze the interviews, we used thematic analysis, a qualitative research method that helps identify patterns and themes that appear frequently in participants’ speech. The process works as follows:

• We carefully read the transcripts and marked the most important passages, and in each case assigned a descriptive label — words or short phrases that summarized what was being said. We called these codes.
• We then grouped these codes by similarity, creating larger groups that function as categories.
• Finally, we organized these categories into themes, which represent the most important patterns found and help divide the text.

This method ensures that our conclusions are always based on what the interviewees actually said, and not on guesswork. The complete methodology can be found in the annex of this report.

1st Level of Coding (initial categorization)	2nd Level of Coding (grouping of codes)	3rd Level of Coding (Themes)
“my first teaching degree is in letters,	Teaching
Portuguese and English. Then I did pedagogy,	subjects
then I did history” (Josiane)
“I am a teacher in the state network of Santa Catarina	Public or
since 2015″ (Antônio)	private schools
“I work with the later years of primary education,	Education level
eighth and ninth grade and secondary education” (Victor)	taught	General Data
“The age group that follows me the most, that has the	Current audience
highest percentage is 24 to 34 years old.” (Rafael)
“I worked for 11 years, from the sixth grade to	Time in the
secondary education.” (Anelize)	classroom

1st Level of Coding (initial categorization) 2nd Level of Coding (grouping of codes) 3rd Level of Coding (Themes) “I actually trained as a secondary school teacher. Something I never wanted, never wanted to be a teacher, never imagined it. But then destiny is fire.” (Jorge) — The discovery of teaching — “So, during the pandemic, students from the preparatory course said, professor, record these classes for us. And then I said, okay, but recording a class… it’s heavy. I have to transfer it to the computer… and then they said, no, no need to send it, just create a YouTube channel and keep uploading those classes there.” (Victor) — The pandemic and entry into the digital — Trajectory — “I look for information, I find texts and rewrite texts for myself that fit the model I’m going to present. So yes, the entire production chain from start to finish, I take care of it.” (Antônio) — Content creation process — Between the classroom and the digital environment — “Then I said, guys, the other day I saw on TikTok, so-and-so talking about this and it’s an important point. Watch his video later.” (Anelize) — Content used in the classroom — “When I see that the whole class didn’t understand a topic, I think more people certainly didn’t understand it either. And then I cover that topic at least as a tip.” (Victor) — Where ideas come from — Visibility, conversion and sustainability of the teaching work in the digital space — “My entire work is only with the internet, with teacher training, with social networks on the internet.” (Anelize) — “They see a lot of the teacher as that annoying figure who’s going to take their phone and whatnot. And the TikTok teacher is a cooler teacher, so they can deal better with TikTok Josiane than with the in-person Josiane.” (Josiane) — Closeness with students — Learning — “From the beginning I saw TikTok as an environment favorable to education and one that encourages, right? Because I was always encouraged by the platform on various occasions.” (Antônio) — Can you learn on TikTok? — “Today I think about my classes a lot to make them similar to a short video. I know I put in one minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes of attention, so I try to tighten things up and make it attractive.” (Josiane) — Learnings from content production —

1st Level of Coding (initial categorization)	2nd Level of Coding (grouping of codes)	3rd Level of Coding (Themes)
“But my production process doesn’t take 1 hour,	Challenges of the	Challenges
right? It’s quite large, so I don’t have enough time,	Double Journey	Challenges
because I work 40 hours.” (Antonio)		Challenges
“Many teachers don’t have this media literacy,		Challenges
this literacy of things that for		Challenges
us seem very obvious, very basic, but	Learning	Challenges
many teachers don’t have, from downloading an	Alone to Speak	Challenges
app to understanding how the	a New Language	Challenges
dynamics of the network work. I think there’s a lack of training		Challenges
for this.” (Anelize)		Challenges
“You’ll only produce. Is shallow content,		Challenges
shallow content, does it teach? It does, but it’s a	The Shallow Trap	Challenges
temporary content. It enters your head, soon it leaves”.		Challenges
(Jorge)		Challenges
“I think that today, more than seeing it as a		Challenges
legitimate learning space or not,		Challenges
we need to transform it into a learning	The Unequal Battle	Challenges
space, because one thing is a fact. I	for Attention	Challenges
lost my students to TikTok. I am no longer		Challenges
more fun than TikTok.” (Josiane)		Challenges
“These days, on the internet, whoever has more followers	When Followers Are Worth More than	Challenges
is an authority.” (Jorge)		Challenges
	Diplomas	Challenges
“One of the things that held me back a lot in relation
to this was, ‘but there are a lot of people teaching	Recommendations
this on the internet’ and I discovered and I heard this	for teachers
a few times. That there are a lot of people teaching, but there aren’t a lot of people teaching the way you teach.” (Josiane)	who wish to produce content	Recommendations
		Recommendations
“I think there needs to be something more incisive even at the algorithm level, like, ‘these channels with this type of content we’re going to hack an algorithm and give them reach, whether it’s	Institutional Support from TikTok	and Future Perspectives
short video or long video’.” (Rafael)

Trajectory

The interviews reveal that the professional trajectory of the interviewed teachers is marked by non-linear paths, both in their entry into teaching and in the adoption of TikTok as a space for producing educational content.

• In general, teaching did not emerge, for most participants, as an initially planned choice, but as an alternative that consolidated itself through practice and identification with classroom work.
• A similar dynamic is observed in the entry into the digital environment: the use of TikTok emerged, largely, as a response to contingent contexts,

especially the pandemic, and subsequently came to be incorporated in a more structured way into teaching practices.

For most of the interviewees, teaching arose as a circumstantial possibility, linked to transitions, unemployment, or professional redirection. Direct contact with the classroom was decisive in reshaping the profession, which went from a secondary option to a central place in their trajectories.

Josiane Araújo, an English and Portuguese teacher, began giving classes to fill her time, with no intention of pursuing a teaching career, but discovered an affinity for teaching in practice:

“So being a teacher was definitely not my first choice. In fact, I never imagined myself as a teacher […] I was unemployed, I had nothing to do and so I started teaching English in a project just to fill my time. And then I discovered that I really liked teaching.”3

A similar process appears in the account of Jorge Abreu, a mathematics teacher, who describes initial resistance to teacher training, overcome during his compulsory internship, when he began to recognize himself in the role of teacher:

“I started to like it after I began my internship […] and I fell in love with it, man, me inside a classroom, being an authority.”

3 In certain circumstances, specific linguistic adaptations were made to the quotes presented in this study to ensure the original intent of the interviewees in the textual transcription. The preservation of the discursive register was maintained whenever possible, respecting the established methodological principles.

Other interviewees had trajectories oriented toward academic research, but were redirected by opportunities to teach in basic education. Anelize Vergara, a history teacher, although she aspired to an academic career, redefined her relationship with teaching after working at a school following her master’s degree:

“My focus was always on research. I wanted to be a university professor and so on, but then, when I defended my master’s […] I got a teaching position at a school in my city and I ended up staying, really enjoying it.”

Entry into the platform was strongly associated with contexts of forced adaptation, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. Social isolation and remote teaching acted as catalysts for experimentation with digital formats.

Rafael Irigoyen, a physics teacher, had already been producing content on YouTube since 2012, but it was in 2020 that he directed his efforts toward TikTok, due to the platform’s growth and the need to adapt his language:

“I started, let’s say, to change the way I produce content, or at least, let’s say, the focus was 2020, it was the year of the pandemic.”

Other interviewees saw in TikTok opportunities for personal experiences during social isolation. Antônio Ferreira, a geography teacher, reports that video production emerged as a way to cope with confinement, which ended up sparking interest in audiovisual language and editing. In 2021, he was invited to the platform’s acceleration program.

Beyond the incentives offered by the company, the migration to the digital also responded to the limits of remote teaching models, especially regarding the reach of materials. Daniel Almeida, a history teacher, highlights that:

“During the pandemic, we had the idea of continuing classes, but in a remote format. And there was the possibility of putting classes on a drive. But the class on the drive was more restricted.”

In some cases, the initiative came from the students themselves. Victor Polillo, a mathematics teacher, began recording classes at the request of students during remote teaching. Although the initial suggestion was YouTube, TikTok proved viable, partly because it offered financial incentives for educational production:

“TikTok gave incentives, including financial ones, for us to produce more for that platform and precisely to shed that stigma of being a platform for dancing videos.”

Entry into the platform was also related to specific moments in personal life. Josiane Araújo began producing content during maternity leave, motivated by the absence of her school routine and the desire to maintain her connection with teaching:

“It was during my son’s maternity leave […] I started to miss teaching […] And then I thought, what if I combined the useful with the pleasant during this time when I’m not doing anything and started recording some videos about this?”

The Classroom and the Digital Environment

The interviews reveal that teachers’ activity on TikTok is built from a continuous relationship between classroom/preparatory-course teaching practice and the digital environment. Far from operating as dissociated spheres, classroom and social media platform feed each other: everyday experiences, difficulties, and interactions from school life inform content production, while the logic of the short video

and digital communication impacts in-person pedagogical practice. In other words, participants describe a cyclical movement in which TikTok functions simultaneously as a space for pedagogical experimentation, professional showcase, and symbolic extension of the classroom.

The accounts indicate that educational content production on TikTok is carried out by the teachers themselves, who handle all stages: research, planning, recording, and editing. This individual model, called the “I-team,” demands time

and effort to adapt complex content to short, dynamic formats

aligned with the platform’s circulation logic.

The pursuit of naturalness is central and is linked to the attempt to reproduce in the digital environment communicational strategies already consolidated in the classroom. Josiane, for example, avoids formal scripts and prefers spontaneous communication, similar to in-person classes:

“I don’t write a script because I can’t follow a script. I can’t memorize a script. If I put it on a teleprompter I get lost… the little jokes I make in the classroom are the same jokes I make in my videos.”

Antônio highlights the impossibility of delegating stages of the creative process, emphasizing that decisions about language, framing, and editing are part of individual pedagogical reasoning:

“I can’t delegate any part of my process. Because it’s me who has to figure out how I’m going to make the camera movement or how I’m going to use the images, what I’m going to say.”

Anelize, in turn, associates autonomous production with TikTok’s own identity, emphasizing that the less polished aesthetic is perceived as part of the platform’s communicational value:

“On TikTok it’s precisely that naturalness, if it’s something more organic, including even the video editing. So, for example, I edit it myself, I don’t worry too much about it being something aesthetically super wonderful.”

In addition to producing content for the network, the interviewed teachers report using TikTok as a pedagogical resource in the classroom, either by sharing their own videos with students or by curating content from other creators.

Rafael describes the direct incorporation of his videos into the school routine, especially as supplementary support material:

“There on WhatsApp, I send it to the students for them to see the images and so on. So the TikTok content is inside my classroom.”

Anelize also highlights the dimension of curation and exchange with students, noting that the use of references from the platform itself helps bring school content closer to students’ cultural repertoire:

“Guys, the other day I saw on TikTok, so-and-so talking about this and it’s an important point. Watch his video later… I was recommending things or they would also bring things from their bubble.”

The in-person classroom plays a central role in defining the topics of videos. Recurring questions and difficulties among students are converted into topics for digital content production, reinforcing the idea of TikTok as an extension of teaching practice and allowing pedagogical problems to be reworked for wider audiences.

Examples abound for all the interviewees. Victor identifies in students’ comprehension gaps an opportunity to extend the reach of explanations that go beyond the school space:

“When I see that the whole class didn’t understand a topic, I think more people certainly didn’t understand it either. And then I cover that topic at least as a tip.”

Rafael describes a more systematized process of recording these ideas, integrating his daily teaching work with his digital production organization:

“Today I already have a production system, I have a Trello… when something occurs to me, sometimes I’m in class actually teaching in my course and something comes up like ‘this is good material for a video'”

This active listening can also be systematized through community tools. Teacher Daniel Almeida, for example, uses WhatsApp groups so that students themselves define the topics of the videos, ensuring that content responds to real needs:

“I managed to converge their interest to my benefit. (…) When they find something, they send it in the community and that helps me. (…) So my video script, basically my students are the ones who produce it.”

Finally, TikTok also functions as a tool for professional visibility, serving as a gateway to courses, mentoring, and educational products outside the platform. In general, direct monetization through views is considered limited, with audience conversion being the main strategic objective.

Daniel describes TikTok as a discovery channel for his products:

“My monetization from this work comes from students I get from the community who want a mentoring session and want the study program.”

Anelize reports conversion experiences even without structured paid traffic strategies:

“I’ve also made sales through TikTok, not that many, because I haven’t done paid traffic or anything like that, but I’ve made many sales.”

The interviews show distinct trajectories regarding the financial sustainability of digital work. Some teachers have consolidated their activity mainly online, while others see the income as supplementary or unstable.

Jorge highlights the autonomy achieved through digital production:

“I’m recording my course… and living off the internet. As I’m already managing to live, right? I’m not rich yet, but I’m already managing to live.”

In contrast, Rafael emphasizes the unpredictability of this model:

“I don’t monetize the content itself in the sense that it doesn’t give me enough income to live off it. […] It’s very up and down.”

The testimonies indicate that, although TikTok expands opportunities for visibility and conversion, the consolidation of the digital as the main source of teaching income remains conditioned on individual factors and the platform’s dynamics.

Learning

The interviews reveal that the discussion about learning on TikTok is not organized solely around the transmission of content — it involves affective, relational, and contextual dimensions that permeate the educational experience. For the teachers, the platform operates as an environment of approach and encounter with knowledge, in which learning is frequently indirect, fragmented, and situated.

The presence of teachers on digital platforms is perceived as relevant for pedagogical closeness and classroom engagement. Being on TikTok

is understood as a way of recognizing students’ cultural repertoires and building bridges between the digital and the school. As Victor says,

“The artist has to go where the audience is, right? The idea is the same for me.”

By occupying the same digital space as students, teachers report a reduction in the symbolic distance from the traditional figure of the teacher. Activity on TikTok contributes to a more accessible and close image, which

contrasts with the formal authority of the classroom. Although it does not replace

structured pedagogical practices, this closeness is perceived as a factor that creates more favorable conditions for engagement and for the circulation of knowledge.

Josiane describes this displacement when comparing students’ perceptions of the in-person teacher and her digital version:

“They see the teacher very much as that annoying figure… And the TikTok teacher is a cooler teacher.”

This closeness is associated, by the interviewees, with positive effects on student engagement. Although it is not understood as a guarantee of learning, the creation of affective bonds is seen as a facilitator of the pedagogical process.

“This does create closeness, yes, between the student and the teacher. Not necessarily is this converted into interest in class, but it helps.”

For Daniel Almeida, this digital presence alters students’ perception of the authority figure, making it more accessible:

“Now, them, with me being present in person, they have a distance. But if I have a digital presence… they humanize me much more. (…) I arrive in the classroom, the student is already a little more familiar.”

On the other hand, although they recognize its educational potential, the platform is still seen as an incidental learning space, in which knowledge emerges from a casual encounter with educational content during everyday use of the network.

“They end up having the chance to come across content that is really focused on their education.”

“It is a learning space, but not an intentional one.”

Anelize simultaneously recognizes the educational potential and the risks associated with the platform, especially regarding the possibility of content circulating that requires contextualization and deeper treatment:

“It is a very important tool for education. At the same time, there is a lot of clickbait, a lot of wrong information.”

The experience of producing educational content for TikTok is also formative for the teachers themselves. The short video format requires the development of synthesis skills, communicational clarity, and attention management — skills incorporated into in-person teaching practice:

“I believe I learned to speak better, to express myself better.”

“The short video script taught me to be much more concise with the most relevant information.”

“Today I think about my classes a lot to make them similar to a short video.”

Tips and Messages from “TeachTokers”

The interviews show that teachers see TikTok as a space to strengthen teaching and learning, pointing out ways to expand the presence of educational content on the platform.

The interviewed teachers encourage colleagues to produce content without seeking technical perfection or exclusive topics. Authenticity and one’s own teaching style are differentiating factors for building a connection with the audience.

“There are a lot of people teaching, but there aren’t a lot of people teaching the way you teach.”

“Teachers are sometimes missing a chance to be closer to their students in the classroom by not using what students already consume.”

“In the process, I take great pleasure, because I am learning.”

Participants emphasize that the consolidation of TikTok as a learning space depends on the institutional appreciation of educational

content. Teachers identify structural difficulties for education to gain organic visibility given the predominance of entertainment, and positively evaluate previous platform initiatives to incentivize educational production, with support programs and financial incentives.

“It is very difficult for education to compete in the algorithm with entertainment (…) if TikTok wants to become an education space, it needs to embrace education in a more institutional way.”

Challenges

Despite TikTok’s potential as a space for circulating educational content, the interviewed teachers point to a series of challenges associated with producing content on the platform. These challenges stem both from the material conditions of teaching work and from the dynamics of the digital environment itself, marked by the logic of attention, the centrality of engagement, and automated curation.

The gathered perceptions indicate tensions between teaching, producing content sustainably, and adapting to the different implicit norms of the platform.

One of the main challenges identified is the work overload in producing digital content, common among public school teachers. Creating videos for TikTok adds unpaid hours to the teaching routine, already marked by

long working hours. Research, recording, editing, and publishing take up time that overlaps with professional and personal responsibilities.

“But my production process doesn’t take 1 hour, right? It’s quite large, so I don’t have enough time, because I work 40 hours.”

“I work 30 hours at the municipality, I have two small children, so I have this difficulty finding time to record.”

Another challenge is the lack of training for the pedagogical use of social networks. Schools and education secretariats do not offer technical or pedagogical training for digital content production. Professionals learn on their own, through trial and error, which increases inequalities among teachers and limits the educational use of the platform.

“many teachers don’t have this media literacy, this literacy […] from downloading an app to understanding how the dynamics of the network work.”

“There is no training on media literacy […] it was all very empirical.”

The interviewees highlight characteristics specific to the short video format, which pose challenges to addressing more complex content. Although they recognize TikTok’s potential as a gateway to students’ interest, there is

consensus that the platform acts in a complementary way, not replacing pedagogical practices aimed at deeper understanding and the consolidation of learning.

Victor expresses concern about the illusion of learning promoted by condensed content.

“I don’t try to teach anyone Mathematics. I simply give a tip about something, present a curiosity… the idea of learning a quadratic equation in 1.5 minutes is very seductive.”

This reading is reinforced by Rafael, who explicitly acknowledges the limits of the short video format and rejects the pretension of achieving the same depth as the classroom:

“It is superficial, I am fully aware that what I explore there in that short interval of time is something superficial. You can’t have the pretension of being as in-depth as in a classroom.”

Professionals also report difficulties in adapting traditional teaching formats to the platform’s environment. Longer or lecture-style video lessons tend to perform poorly in the feed:

“If you just put that traditional video lesson format, whoever is scrolling there through the feed is not interested in a physics video lesson […] That classroom video lesson content has a very hard time penetrating that short format.”

There is also concern about the impacts of continuous consumption of short videos on students’ ability to concentrate, especially in contexts requiring long periods of focus:

“This short video format engages too much and disrupts the ability to concentrate, to focus for certain periods of time. This is something I struggle with a lot and I have this discussion with them, because they are preparing for medicine, so they need long periods of focus.”

This concern also relates to the competition for space with entertainment videos that require less cognitive effort and tend to generate greater engagement. This asymmetry puts teachers at a disadvantage on the platform.

“I lost my students to TikTok. I am no longer more fun than TikTok” (Josiane).

Finally, teachers point to the inversion of authority criteria in the digital environment as a relevant challenge. On TikTok, the number of followers frequently overshadows academic training as an indicator of legitimacy, exposing qualified teachers to questioning and attacks.

“These days, on the internet, whoever has more followers is an authority. The person can have nothing, may not have graduated, but if they have more followers than you, they are more of an authority than you.” (Jorge).

“What bothers me is seeing a large audience questioning what I’m saying.” (Antônio)

“The number of times I’ve been corrected without being wrong is impressive.” (Rafael).

Analysis and Comments

In light of the perspectives shared in the interviews conducted with teachers who create educational content on TikTok, we sought to understand how these experiences relate to studies on technology-mediated learning and to the dynamics of digital platforms themselves. In qualitative research, recurring consensuses can reflect both common structural experiences and effects of visibility and discursive circulation specific to the digital environment. Thus, the question guiding this analysis is: do teachers’ perceptions about TeachTok find support in empirical and theoretical studies on education in platforms?

The following analysis focuses on three points of convergence among the interviewees: (i) the reconfiguration of teaching authority and identity; (ii) TikTok as a space for discovery-based learning and closeness with students; and (iii) the structural limits of the short video format for learning.

Reconfiguration of Teaching Identity and Authority

Teachers’ accounts indicate a transformation in how teaching authority is constructed in the digital environment. Instead of relying exclusively on the institutional position of the school, this authority is negotiated through language, cultural identification, and continuous presence on the platform. This perception finds support in the definition of TeachTok by Vizcaíno-Verdú and Abidin (2023) as a digital subculture marked by processes of teacher micro-celebrification.

Drawing on studies by Barber (2014), Nuruddin-Hidayat et al. (2020), Camas-Garrido et al. (2021), Eriksson-Krutrök (2021), and Grillo and Kier (2021) to understand how teachers interact with social media with a focus on teaching and micro-celebrification, Vizcaíno-Verdú and Abidin (2023) understand that teachers working on TikTok build their public identities from four pillars:

• responsibility — demonstration of pedagogical competence and ethical commitment to the accessible and reliable dissemination of knowledge
• commitment — dedication to planning and content production, including time management to address topics that go beyond the strictly academic curriculum
• authority — construction of non-hierarchical but relational legitimacy, established by the ability to generate identification, empathy, and provide pedagogical utility to followers
• recognition — appreciation expressed by the public through praise, criticism, and engagement, which validates the relevance of teaching work on the platform

This movement helps explain why the interviewees associate their presence on the platform with greater closeness to students and the strengthening of bonds in the classroom.

Finally, the recurring use of humor, storytelling, and contemporary cultural references, widely mentioned in the interviews, reinforces this symbolic reconstruction of relational authority. As Vizcaíno-Verdú and Abidin (2023) point out, these strategies contribute to reducing the symbolic distance between educator and learner, without eliminating the asymmetry inherent in the pedagogical relationship. Authority does not disappear, but is reconfigured on more horizontal, close, and empathetic foundations, approaching pedagogical perspectives that value dialogue, cultural mediation, and the shared construction of meanings.

Scroll learning, edutainment, and teacher/student closeness

Most interviewees understand TikTok as a space for informal and spontaneous learning, in which educational content is

found casually amid flows of entertainment. This dynamic, which emerges from the continuous movement through the feed, can be understood as a form of scroll learning, in which contact with

knowledge occurs while the user navigates the platform aimlessly. This perception aligns with TikTok’s own self-definition as a discovery and entertainment platform, with the mission to “inspire creativity and bring joy.”

Scroll Learning — In this study, scroll learning describes a form of informal learning on TikTok that occurs outside formal environments and combines intentional and incidental dimensions (Kumar; Nanda, 2024). Unlike active searching, scroll learning emerges from continuous browsing of the feed, in which contact with educational content happens in a fragmented and spontaneous way. Entertainment functions as a gateway to discoveries, broadening repertoires and sparking curiosity.

TikTok’s architecture favors this dynamic. As Turvy (2025) points out, the platform operates with a low barrier to entry for creators and users. This allows teachers to produce educational videos with simple resources, such as a phone and native editing tools. Accessing this content without actively searching for it, through the “For You” feed, sustains forms of curiosity-driven learning.

In this environment, edutainment practices are consolidated, integrating information and playful elements (Seligman; Bona, 2024). Thus, school content is translated into the platform’s languages — humor, short narratives, cultural references — expanding circulation without replacing formal spaces.

The interviews indicate that this communicational arrangement also favors closeness between teachers and students. By sharing cultural codes and media environments similar to those of students, teachers reduce symbolic distances and facilitate communication. This proximity does not stem only

from the teacher’s individual posture, but from the way the platform organizes visibility, interaction, and engagement.

Furthermore, features such as comments, video replies, and duets encourage direct exchanges. According to Turvy (2025) and Jerasa and Ura (2025), these tools

contribute to transforming the educational process into a more participatory and responsive experience, in which students feel authorized to ask questions, react, and co-construct meanings.

Teachers demonstrate awareness of the limits of this dynamic. The informality and proximity on the platform are pedagogical and cultural mediation resources, not substitutes for the school relationship. Learning on TikTok functions as a gateway and broadening of repertoire, but depends on pedagogical mediation for the consolidation of knowledge in its formal context.

The balance between format synthesis vs. content density

Despite recognition of the platform’s pedagogical potential, the interviewees express recurring concern about the limits imposed by the short video format. The need to condense complex concepts into a few minutes appears associated with challenges related to conceptual depth, a perception especially present among teachers in the exact sciences.

This tension does not invalidate the pedagogical uses described in the previous topics, but highlights a structural paradox of the platform: the same resources that favor initial engagement and closeness with students also impose restrictions on the depth of explanation.

Ramos and Oliveira (2024), drawing on Lessig (2006), argue that the code of platforms functions as implicit rules (the code is law) that induce behavior. On TikTok, the short video, dynamic editing, and quick responses require direct, visual, and easily assimilable messages. Content that requires long explanations or greater attention faces engagement difficulties, while narratives aligned with the platform’s language tend to be more successful.

The majority of the accounts from the interviewed teachers indicate, however, a clear awareness of this dilemma. Far from attributing to TikTok the function of replacing formal spaces of teaching, the interviewees describe the platform as a device for initial engagement, curiosity, and cultural mediation. Thus, the pedagogical value of the platform lies less in the consolidation of learning and more in its capacity to activate interest, reduce symbolic barriers, and create conditions for school content to circulate and gain meaning in other educational times and spaces.

Implications for Educational Public Policies

The findings of this study should be understood in a context in which the digital environment has been progressively recognized as a structural dimension of education. Data such as TIC Kids 2024 and TIC Education 2024

indicate that more than half of Brazilian adolescents between 13 and 17 years old use TikTok, while a significant portion of students turn to videos and social networks as a source of school research. This scenario reinforces that learning occurs in hybrid ecosystems, in which formal and informal environments are articulated. Recent public educational policies in Brazil, such as the incorporation of digital culture into the BNCC and the recognition of digital education as a right, provide a relevant framework for understanding and enhancing these dynamics.

The promulgation of the National Policy on Digital Education (PNED) in 2023 and the implementation of the National Strategy for Connected Schools (ENEC) indicate an institutional effort to integrate connectivity, teacher training, and media literacy into education systems. However, the accounts of the interviewed teachers suggest that not only the production of educational content on digital platforms such as TikTok, but also its use for pedagogical practices in the classroom, still occurs in a mostly individual, poorly institutionalized manner, and with limited formal recognition. In this sense, the findings of the study point to the possibility of broadening the scope

of these policies, addressing more explicitly the responsible creation of educational content and scientific communication on digital platforms widely used by students.

Beyond training, the results highlight the importance of material and structural conditions for these practices to develop sustainably. Initiatives such as the Connected Education Innovation Program, which has already guaranteed transfers to tens of thousands of schools, advance the dimension of infrastructure and access, but the accounts indicate that teachers continue to individually bear the costs of equipment, software, and work time.

Finally, the findings align with recent initiatives aimed at media literacy and the conscious use of technologies, such as the Brazilian Strategy for Media Education and the guidelines associated with Law No. 15,100/2025. By highlighting both the pedagogical potential and the limits of TikTok as an informal learning space, the study suggests that public policies can benefit from integrated approaches that also promote teacher training and the appreciation of educational content. Recognizing the digital as a pedagogical territory implies strengthening responsible teaching practices and the dissemination of knowledge in environments already central to the daily lives of children and young people.

Conclusions

What did this study seek to answer?

We investigated how Brazilian teachers in primary, secondary, and college preparatory education have been using TikTok as a practice complementary to pedagogical work, exploring short videos to produce and circulate school content, dialogue with students, and experiment with new

forms of educational mediation. Based on the experiences of teachers active in TeachTok, we sought to understand how this content is produced, what motivates their presence on the platform, how they balance pedagogical rigor and the platform’s visibility logic, and in what way TikTok is perceived as a learning space and a means of closeness with students.

And what did we find?

The interviews reveal that TeachTok operates as a space for cultural mediation, where teachers articulate content with the platform’s languages, expanding school reach among young people.

Their perceptions point to a reconfiguration of teaching authority in the digital sphere. Authority becomes relational, based on cultural identification, recurring presence, and content utility. This reduces symbolic distances between teachers and students, strengthening bonds in the classroom.

The study also shows that TikTok functions as a space for scroll learning, in which contact with educational content occurs spontaneously in entertainment flows. Thus, the platform’s architecture favors edutainment, allowing school content to engage with students’ cultural references without replacing the formal education spaces for deeper learning.

Although not explicitly named, media literacy emerges as a cross-cutting practice. By producing content, dealing with TikTok’s operating logic, adapting languages, and reflecting on the engagement and limitations of their productions,

teachers develop competencies related to the use and understanding of the logic of digital platforms and the responsible production of content.

Finally, the interviewees recognize structural limits of TikTok. The short format imposes restrictions on the depth of content. This perception indicates a clear understanding: TikTok is mobilized as a device for initial engagement, curiosity, and cultural mediation — something that can be complementary to formal educational processes.

And why does this matter?

By listening to teachers in primary education and college preparatory courses, this study contributes to a qualified debate about digital platforms in education. The analysis suggests that TikTok’s pedagogical value lies in the ability to bring actors closer together, activate interests, and broaden repertoires — provided its limits are recognized and its use is articulated with broad pedagogical practices. TeachTok presents itself as a field of experimentation that reflects the tensions and possibilities of learning in digital environments.

In this context, the findings also engage with the recent digital education agenda in Brazil, indicating that recognizing the digital environment as a complementary learning space can benefit from public policies that value teacher mediation, media literacy, and the responsible production of educational content on digital platforms.

Directions for Future Studies

This exploratory qualitative study brought together seven TikTok teachers to understand their perceptions about the platform, digital pedagogical practices, and challenges in content production. The central objective was to give prominence to teachers’ voices in a scenario of growing use of digital platforms in education, promoting a space for qualified listening and reflection on the role of TeachTok in the Brazilian educational ecosystem.

Although the interviews identified relevant trends, consensuses, and tensions, the results do not exhaust the debate. There is room for future studies to deepen the relationship between digital technologies, pedagogical practices, and platform-mediated learning.

Among the possible directions for future studies, the following stand out:

Students’ perspectives on learning on TikTok: The present study focused exclusively on teachers’ perceptions and practices, without including the perspective of students. Future research can investigate how students perceive, consume, and engage with educational content on the platform,

exploring their usage habits, curation strategies, perceptions of teacher credibility in the digital environment, and the actual impacts of this content on their learning processes.

Content and pedagogical format analysis in videos: This study was based on self-reports about production practices, without direct analysis of the videos published by the teachers. Future work can conduct systematic analyses of educational content circulating in the Brazilian TeachTok, investigating discursive strategies, visual and audio resources, pedagogical adequacy of formats, conceptual accuracy of information, and alignment with official curricula.

Quantitative studies on reach and engagement: Considering the small sample and qualitative nature of this research, future studies with a quantitative approach can map on a large scale the universe of Brazilian teachers producing educational content, analyzing metrics of reach, engagement, audience profiles, and viralization patterns, contributing to a broader understanding of the scale and effects of TeachTok in the national context.

Actual impacts on formal learning: This study explored perceptions about learning, but did not measure direct impacts on students’ educational outcomes. Future research with experimental or quasi-experimental designs can investigate to what extent the use of TikTok content as a complementary pedagogical resource influences performance indicators, knowledge retention, motivation to study, and classroom engagement.

Longitudinal studies on digital teacher trajectories: Data were collected at a specific point in time, reflecting a particular moment in the relationship between teachers and the platform. Longitudinal studies can track teachers’ trajectories over time, examining how their practices, perceptions, and production strategies evolve, as well as the effects of algorithmic changes, platform policies, and broader educational contexts.

Together, these directions reinforce the need to deepen the dialogue between teachers, students, digital platforms, and educational institutions, consolidating an empirical foundation that supports the development of informed, ethical, and meaningful-learning-promoting digital pedagogical practices.

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Reglab Methodology Annex

Title	Swipe Up and Learn! Teaching practices and learning on TikTok.
Research question	How do teachers in primary, secondary, and college preparatory education use TikTok to produce educational content, promoting media literacy practices and engagement among young students?
Methodology summary	This study adopted a qualitative approach with the objective of understanding how Brazilian teachers in basic education and college preparatory courses use TikTok in their pedagogical practices. The research investigated the production of educational content, engagement, and visibility on the platform. Data collection was structured in two stages: (1) exploratory mapping of teacher profiles producing educational content on TikTok, with recording of quantitative data; (2) semi-structured in-depth interviews with 8 teachers. Data analysis was carried out through content analysis with thematic categorization of the interviews based on their transcripts.
Data collection	For the exploratory mapping of profiles, a systematic search was conducted in TikTok’s search tab using the terms “teacher of [subject],” “class on [subject],” and “tips on [subject],” covering the following areas: Portuguese, English, mathematics, physics, chemistry, geography, history, literature, sociology, and philosophy. Additionally, the keywords “classroom,” “video lesson,” and “teacher” were used to broaden the search reach. The sample was composed following criteria of diversity and representativeness. The established selection criteria were: (1) teachers working in basic education classrooms or college preparatory courses; (2) profiles that share educational, informational content related to their teaching subjects. The selection of participants combined active searching on the TikTok platform as the main strategy, complemented by convenience sampling. Contact was made through social networks provided by teachers in their profiles (Instagram, email, or direct message on TikTok). Of the 54 people mapped and contacted, 8 agreed to participate in the research and were interviewed in the period between 11/04/2025 and 01/12/2026. Of the 8 interviews conducted, one was discarded for not meeting the criterion of simultaneously working in the classroom and producing content for TikTok. The interviews were conducted online, with an average duration of 45 minutes each, and addressed topics related to the pedagogical strategies adopted on the platform, the content production process, the relationship with students, and perceptions about teaching, visibility, and engagement in the digital environment. The dynamic was conducted by the Reglab research team and recorded in audio, with the express authorization of the participants through a free and informed consent form. The recordings were fully transcribed and stored. The interview dynamics were conducted based on a semi-structured script, combining broad engagement questions with more specific questions on the following topics: pedagogical strategies adopted in content production, creative and technical process of video production, relationship with students and followers on the platform, perceptions about TikTok’s educational role, visibility and engagement challenges, and impacts of digital presence on in-person teaching practice.

Data analysis

In this study, we adopted the reflexive thematic analysis proposed by Braun and Clarke (2006), a method appropriate for exploratory qualitative investigations in highly complex scenarios. This method prioritizes the situated interpretation of data over rigid and exhaustive coding, favoring flexible and recursive analytical strategies. The interviews were initially analyzed by two researchers, who highlighted, from the full transcripts, the most common and frequent themes among participants’ speech, validating them with the aid of the NotebookLM tool. Once defined, coding was carried out based on the initial themes, resulting in the topics presented in this research. The full transcripts of the interviews were processed and coded in Atlas.ti software, and the codes were reviewed by the two researchers responsible for the research, a process that ensured interpretative consistency and reliability, guaranteeing adherence to the original empirical corpus. The analysis stage was conducted between December 12, 2025, and December 18, 2025.

Bias reduction procedures

Consolidated theoretical-methodological references: the data collection and analysis techniques adopted in this study followed practices recognized in the academic literature. The methodological approach was discussed internally before and after the interviews, allowing for the incorporation of critiques and suggestions into the final research design, before the analysis process began. Complementary verification tool: although the initial coding of the data was conducted by the research team, analytical support software (NotebookLM) was used as a cross-verification tool, with the objective of validating the consistency of the identified categories and detecting any interpretative gaps that might have gone unnoticed in the initial coding. Triangulation of methods: in the analysis and comments section, empirical findings were contrasted with documentary analysis of secondary sources, with the objective of comparing, validating, and reinforcing the consistency of the interpretations constructed from the interviews. These references, when used, were expressly cited throughout the text. Double independent analysis: two researchers reviewed the set of codes and themes in a cross-referenced manner, reducing individual biases. The final definition of themes was carried out in collective discussion with two other researchers from the Reglab team, ensuring multiple perspectives and control of individual biases in data interpretation. Recording and methodological transparency: all stages of the analytical process were documented, including successive versions of the drafting files. This practice allows the traceability of the methodological path, in accordance with Reglab’s guidelines for transparency and replicability.

Other Methodological Limitations

Dependence on external tools: part of the analytical process depended on the use and performance of proprietary software, which may limit replicability in different contexts. Qualitative scope and exploratory nature: the findings of this study derive from seven in-depth interviews with teachers who produce educational content on TikTok. The narratives offer analytical depth and interpretive richness, but do not claim statistical representativeness. Response rate and small sample: of the 54 people contacted, only 8 agreed to participate in the research (response rate of approximately 13%), with one interview discarded for not meeting the inclusion criteria. The low response rate and small sample size may have introduced biases, since teachers who chose not to participate may have different perspectives, experiences, and motivations from those who made themselves available for the interviews. Absence of primary data triangulation: the study was based exclusively on interviews, without complementary analysis of videos produced by teachers, direct observation of pedagogical practices, or consultation of other primary data sources that could enrich or validate the accounts collected. Dependence on self-reports: the data were obtained through teachers’ own narratives about their practices, perceptions, and experiences, without direct observation of teaching work in the classroom or analysis of actual student engagement with the content produced. This dependence may have introduced social desirability or memory biases. Absence of students’ perspectives: the study did not include interviews or other forms of data collection with students, limiting the understanding of how students perceive and engage with the educational content produced by their teachers on TikTok, as well as the effects of this pedagogical mediation on their learning processes. Temporal scope: data were collected between November and December 2025, in a specific context of platform use and pedagogical practices. Considering the rapid transformation of digital platform dynamics and technology-mediated educational practices, the findings reflect the scenario prevailing in that period, which may limit their temporal validity in future analyses.

Software use

The software used in the development of this study were: MS Office Suite for text editing, spreadsheets, and charts; Adobe Suite for layout and finalization of charts and illustrations; Atlas.ti for organizing, coding, and analyzing qualitative data; Microsoft Teams and Cockatoo for transcribing focus group audio to text; ChatGPT 5o for brainstorming, systematization of information, grammatical review (spelling, grammar, and synonym search), language adequacy, and adherence to the Reglab Writing Manual; Notion AI for research organization and schedule structuring; Exolyt for collecting data on hashtag views on TikTok;

Ethical guidelines

Research funding: this publication was sponsored by TikTok Brasil (BYTEDANCE BRASIL TECNOLOGIA LTDA.). Although this is a commissioned study, Reglab maintained full editorial and methodological control over the project, with autonomous definition of methodology, analysis of results, and drafting of this research report. The authors preserved full professional independence and assume full responsibility for the content and conclusions presented. Personal data processing: the research involved the processing of personal data only in the collection and analysis stages, in a limited and proportionate manner to the objectives of the study, in compliance with Law 13,709/2018 (LGPD). Legal basis: all participants formally authorized their participation by signing a consent form, with full awareness of the research objectives and data use. Purpose and adequacy: the data were used exclusively for the purposes of this research, in accordance with the consent obtained, and were not used for other purposes. Minimization and anonymization: personally identifiable information that was not relevant to the objectives of the study was anonymized in the transcripts and removed from the active database. Confidentiality: in presenting the results, data were kept confidential and citations were adjusted, where necessary, to preserve the confidentiality of sources. Only a restricted number of researchers directly involved in the project had access to personal data and original documents. Data recording and security: files were stored with password access controls and in accordance with Reglab’s internal information security policies. Retention and disposal: data will be stored for up to 12 months, exclusively for methodological audit and possible replication purposes, and will subsequently be deleted. Responsible use of public data: although some of the analyzed data are public, their use was carried out in a responsible and ethical manner, with the exclusive objective of independent research. Methodological transparency: the research methodology was described in detail to ensure transparency and replicability, contributing to scientific integrity and enabling independent validation of the results. Non-discrimination and respect for diversity: the research was conducted in a manner that respects diversity and avoids any form of discrimination.

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