A Post-COVID Education Model
The hurdle in education is no longer access to course material, but rather, knowing which resources match your current understanding and learning style. Every imaginable course is readily available online, complete with examples, exercises, visuals, and more; nevertheless, teachers feel the need to make classes and materials “their own”, reinventing the wheel year after year. These “bespoke” course lessons aren’t tailored to each student, who are grouped by age rather than their knowledge. In this legacy education model, theory is taught for years before concepts are put into action. We’ve seen first hand how quickly market environments can shift. Extended periods of education divided by long intervals give time for misconceptions to calcify and knowledge to stagnate.
Catalyze Academy tackles these issues directly, reimagining education as a personalized, hands-on experience that leverages the best technologies and internet resources. First, our industry experts, professional educators, and proprietary algorithms help students to set goals, based on their existing understanding of topics and unique style of learning. They are assigned course material during 1-on-1 mentorship sessions with Catalyze Academy learning coaches, who serve as a knowledge check before students move on to new concepts. As students proceed through their track — concept-by-concept — they know the Catalyze Academy mentors are available to help them connect ideas, fill in knowledge gaps, or get over any learning hurtles that arise, on demand. Lastly, program participants qualify for real world projects, to put practice over theory.
Leveraging the vast resources available across the internet has massive implications. First, it lowers the cost for students. With such great a variety of resources available, why have teachers spend time recreating and teaching each lesson? Instead, let teachers focus on the points where a student is having trouble. Additionally, that time and energy can be invested into understanding each student’s unique learning style to better match them with lessons and projects.
Indeed, 1-on-1 mentorship has been shown to have incredible benefits for students. No lesson can be missed, and each student’s mastery is assured without a classroom to hide behind. Inversely, students are in a low-risk environment to ask questions, assert ideas, and truly engage with the lessons. Catalyze Academy’s systematic tracking of student’s learning and communication styles further amplifies the effectiveness of this 1-to-1 education model.
After students have learned from the best resources and tested their knowledge with experts, they’re given opportunities to see how their learning maps onto the real world, through Catalyze Academy’s corporate partnerships. The benefits are countless. Abstractions are left behind, forcing students to prioritize useful mental models and concepts. Not only is it more engaging and inspiring, they also retain the key information better. Overall, these projects frame the skills and concepts within goals, helping students give their own answer to the question “why am I learning this?”
Want to help America’s brightest learn through projects at your company? Signup here.
