You are a Non-Profit. You are interested in Cohort Based Courses (CBC). But you don’t know where to start. No problem. Here is a post with everything you need to know: 1️⃣ What are CBCs ? 2️⃣ Why are they working ? 3️⃣ Things to keep in mind to launch one 4️⃣ Sources to learn more
Background: - Recently, several non-profits reached out to ask about CBCs. So this thread. - I am not an expert on CBCs but a student of them (have taken a few & studied many) - I am writing this for non-profits but most of it is broadly applicable Let’s start with basics…
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1️⃣ WHAT ARE CBCs:
To understand them, you have to understand their precursor, MOOCs. MOOC’s aim: Use internet to spread learning. So learners across the world can learn from the best teachers. But MOOCs became infamous for their poor completion rates, outcomes & satisfaction.
MOOCs struggled for many reasons. But at the core they mis-diagnosed the problem: ‘People are not learning as they don’t have good content (especially Video content) So if we give them great content, they will learn.’ Anyone whose has taught can see the flaw in this argument.
Good content is necessary but NOT sufficient for learning. Motivation, peers, support, teacher also matter. MOOCs didn’t have most of them & that’s why they struggled.
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But over the last decade, MOOCs have morphed into 3 different models of Adult Online Learning.
All 3 models seem to be working much better than MOOCs but they are very different. They are: (a) Certification Courses (get a prestigious degree) (b) Bootcamps (learn skills & get a job) (c) CBCs (Learn what interests you & find a community) I wrote about them last year: Where on earth is online learning working ?
Let’s zoom in on CBCs.
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I see them as: - Online Courses for Adults - Paid or Free - Core Promise: learning, community, pursuing interests - Jobs & Certification are not the main focus So why have the become a rage all of a sudden ?
2️⃣ WHY ARE CBCs WORKING:
I think there are 4 reasons: (A) 🤝 Community (B) 🗓 Structure (C) 👩🏫 Learners + Content + Teacher (D) 🧰 Tools & Access Let’s understand each in more detail…
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(A) 🤝 Community: This is a 10x improvement over MOOCs. Many benefits: - Share a learning journey (more fun than solitary discoveries) - Support with questions & challenges - Safe space to open up - Peer-accountability - Chance to meet new people (don’t underestimate this)
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(B) 🗓 Structure People bought MOOCs for convenience (learn anytime-anywhere). But didn’t complete them because ‘life’ 🤷♀️ For that, CBCs add structure: - Clear Start-End dates - A weekly/monthly calendar - Completion requirements & progress trackers - Some flexibility
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(C) 👩🏫 Learners + Content + Teacher CBCs: - Are Interest based. So often, learners opt in even without external incentives (job-degree) - Cover niche content which is often not available in person - Have teachers who are practitioners with high credibility in their community
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(D) 🧰 Tools & Access Much better in 2020s (CBCs) than in 2010s (MOOCs) Great tools for: (i) Course Hosting: Maven, Disco, Teachable… (ii) Live sessions with interactive features: Zoom, Teams etc. (iii) Async Community: Slack, Discord are great. Even Whatsapp works.
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In my view, it is this combination of: 🤝 Community 🗓 Structure 👩🏫 Learners + Content + Teacher 🧰 Tools & Access is why CBCs are working. They won’t work for everything but they give me hope for the future. Now’s let talk about how you can leverage them…
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3️⃣ THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND FOR YOUR CBC
This a list of things I have learnt from studying successful & unsuccessful CBC creators. I have adapted them for non-profits and present them as a series of DONT’s (❌) & DOs (✅)
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❌ Don’t do a CBCs just for Cost or Scale reasons Non-profits have tight budgets & scale pressures. But the fastest way to ruin a successful in-person programs is to take it online, just to reduce costs & increase scale. Costs & Scale are your problems, not your beneficiary’s.
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✅ Build your CBC for things that can never be done in person There is a successful CBC on growing Bonsai. You could never do this in-person: too niche for a physical geography. But online, even if only 1 in a million people are interested, you have an audience of ~5000 people
Before considering CBCs, look at your mission & ask: What valuable course/community is ONLY possible online ? Good answers: - A valuable topic that is too niche (in-person) or - A powerful community that is too expensive (in-person) Build a CBC only if you have a good answer.
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❌ Don’t mass distribute content & expect a community to emerge In CBCs, community is built cohort by cohort. Cohorts mean: - Clear start & end date - An identity (Cohort 3, Winter Batch) - In-cohort relationship building Fellowships & Communities of Practice get this right.
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✅ Keep the community alive Best CBCs have active async communities as: - Learning continues beyond course - Lots of peer support, encouragement, problem solving - Community goes beyond creators These require nurturing but overtime can become the most valuable part of the CBC.
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❌ Don’t completely discard your in-person program A working program means: - You know your community’s needs - You can deliver them So break your program into Principles & Practices. Principles are Format independent so Keep them. Practices are Format dependent so Adapt them
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✅ Tech is a Hygiene factor Hygiene factor: - It’s absence causes dissatisfaction - But it’s presence doesn’t cause satisfaction - It merely removes dissatisfaction Bad tech will break your course. But just good tech won’t make it. The magic lies elsewhere.
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❌ There is no One best Format 3 courses I attended: - One was 95% lecture. - Another had week long reflections with 1 end of week discussion - Another had weekly projects, small group work & lots of feedback All worked, as the format was the right one for that group & that topic.
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✅ Start with the Outcome Most courses have 1 or more of these: (a) Tangible benefit (Get a job, Pass an exam) (b) Improve Skill-Knowledge (Become a better teacher, Learn about available scholarships) (c) Internal Growth (Become more confident, deal with trauma) (d) Networking
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To summarise all the ✅ & ❌ for building CBCs: - Find a Course-Community that can only be built online - Run cohorts & keep the community alive - Keep your in-person program’s Principles & adapt the Practices - Tech is hygiene - No one best best format - Start with outcomes
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4️⃣ TO LEARN MORE:
I am happy to chat. DM me. I have learnt from: - CBC Pioneers: Wes Kao, Tiago, David, YC - CBC consultants/coaches: Barry, Julia, Charlote, Aditi - CBC platforms’s free resources (including CBCs to run CBCs)
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CBCs hold a lot of promise for adult learning. I can’t wait to see what unfolds. But we also have a history of over-focussing on the tip of the iceberg (tech-new way) & under-focussing on the rest of the iceberg (learner & teacher): The 1 Edtech story everyone should know: One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) I hope we don’t make the same mistake here.