Argumentation for Cohort Based Courses
Definition for CBC
Cohort-based courses (CBCs), interactive online courses where a group of students advances through the material together in “cohorts” — with hands-on, feedback-based learning at the core.
The problem with traditional online courses MOOCs
MOOC stands for massively open online courses.
- low completion rate just 3 to 6 percent 1
- no build in urgency, when you can watch/learn anytime
- only for one-directional learning with no (immediate) opportunity for questions in real-time. So MOOCs primarily for knowledge transfer.
Main reasons for learning with CBCs
- What is scarce in online learning is community.
- much higher completion rate than MOOCs (example altMBA 96% completion rate)
- for teaching anything that requires feedback, discussion, hands-on practice
- for developing higher-order skills that require analysis, evaluation, synthesis, judgement and creativity. (not sure how CBCs support on all these skills. Likely a cohorts adds the group element to the skills and complements the solo variant of e.g. analysis)
Argumentation for better learning via CBC
- Interleaving learning - instructors mix different topics, ideas and activities with intentionally switching between them
- e.g. via breakouts, role-play, discussions, debates with instructor or fellow-learners
- engaging and real-time instead of passive and solo
- learning manifests with more efforts taken while making mistakes, stumbling, pitching, iterating, drawing inspiration and learning from each other
- **interactive processing** as most powerful approach to comprehension and retention 2
- discussions and debates produce new ideas and points of view
- bi-directional learning - exchange of knowledge between instructor and learner with and learner with fellow learners
- social interaction helps learners to achieve their goals
- longer term support of each other also after the course itself
- (likely needed) accountability and urgency that comes from time constraints of a live course
Some building blocks of CBCs
- live lectures with instructors
- active participation in conversations
- applied learning exercises
- fixed start and end date to enforce real-time aspect and create scarcity (assumption: scarcity as driver for engagement)
- build in social contract
- assumption: via gaining reputation when showing up and/or not leaving the group hanging
- assumption: being in a learning community real-time is a scarce moment too
Linking
- Source: In Online Ed, Content Is No Longer King-Cohorts Are
- Study showing low completion rate of MOOCs