Cohort-Based Learning Platform: What It Can Mean to Your Organization

We are living in the post-MOOC era. The massive open online courses that initially democratized learning by amalgamating top content and instructors but ultimately left many learners “depressed, disheartened,” and in the dust have been replaced by the rise of cohort-based learning. As opposed to the isolation and disillusionment of self-paced learning, which has completion rates of just 3-6%, cohort-based courses (or CBCs) bring students to learn and perform together as a group. By comparison, CBCs boast an 85% completion rate.

As learning leaders, we know that when we bring people together magic happens. There’s a spark that occurs during discussion and debate, feedback and interaction, practice and application. It’s the type of irreplaceable synergy that gives learners the confidence to do their jobs in any situation. We have found that cohort-based learning creates a deeper understanding of shared objectives and shows learners how to achieve goals — together — in the workplace.

Let’s dive deeper into why cohort-based learning is the future of skills development and capability building.

What Is Cohort-Based Learning and Who Is it For?

The beauty of cohort-based learning is how it taps into our long-held memories and beliefs about what learning should be — a shared activity in which the members of the group all contribute, collaborate, and consume the same content together at the same time. Students encourage each other through both a spirit of togetherness as well as of competition and hold themselves and others accountable. There is easy access to the instructor, and communication flows freely. This is our experience with learning from grade school to grad school.

Cohort-based learning mirrors this educational model via interactive online courses where a group of students advances through the material together — in synchronous “cohorts” — centered on hands-on, feedback-based learning. The reason this learning model works so well is the shared aspect. Students are mastering the material together, at the same time, heightening the impact of learning and building relationships through a shared experience. Because learners share their own diverse viewpoints and understanding and application of the course material with each other as they advance, a cohort provides a higher likelihood that students will complete a course and be able to successfully apply the material.

The Benefits of Cohort-Based Learning

The inherent structure (learners all begin and end courses at the same time), accountability (learners lean on each other for support and adherence to a set schedule), and community building (learners share their experiences, perspectives, and relationships to the content and to each other) offered by a cohort learning platform means it consistently demonstrates strong learner outcomes.

Cohort-based learning presents more accountability because it is bi-directional, offering an exchange of knowledge between the instructor and learners, as well as between learners and their peers. While self-paced learning can lend itself to one-directional knowledge transfer, cohort-based courses empower organizations to implement deep capability building — the future-oriented abilities (such as inclusive leadership, design thinking, and entrepreneurial mindset) that make individuals, teams, and entire enterprises robust and resilient.

Most impactfully, cohort-based courses are poised to fulfill the expectations of online education through their ability to build community. Learners can continue to support each other long after the cohort is completed, creating a tight-knit group that perpetuates the promise of fostering a professional network.

Choosing the Right Cohort-Based Learning Model

Social and collaborative learning platforms such as NovoEd help organizations build capability academies that allow teams to innovate and grow by learning together and from each other. This type of immersive, interactive learning replicates the experience of cohort-based classrooms and supercharges it by placing it — literally — in the hands of learners.

A cohort-based learning platform will keep students engage throughout the learning process. Users can interact with one another in real-time while completing assignments or working on group projects. Additional lines of communication increase the flow of information, while helping participants build valuable relationships.

With enhanced interaction and engagement between all contributing members, including learners, their peers, their instructors, and mentors, cohort-based learning is a powerful tool for organizations that are looking for online learning that drives learner connection and growth and organizational transformation.