Session Focus: Lead Belay combines self-reflection, peer learning, group coaching, and experiential learning to give emerging (millennial) managers needed support.   ? Cohort-based collaborative learning and coaching are the hottest topics in L&D right now During the Covid-19 pandemic, collaborative learning and coaching are rising for many organizations. Many ELE member companies are sharing best and next practices and validated with the Global L&D Trends Research presented at our May 2022 Exchange. Technology and semi-synchronous learning design help scale with cohorts ranging from 6-8 to more than 1,000. By benchmarking with your peers, this seven-week series explains the basic concepts and principles for cohort-based learning at scale.

For many of us, the journey starts with providing in-person classroom training (synchronous), e-learning (asynchronous), or blended learning. ? An emerging next practice is semi-synchronous collaborative peer learning. Learning solutions become instructorless and easier to scale when well thought out and done right.

Wes Kao is a long-time believer in “cohort-based” learning programs. Cohort-based learning involves a group of students—a cohort—all moving through a syllabus together at the same time. Cohort-based learning is the opposite of asynchronous, mass online open courses, (MOOCs) where students move at their own pace through course content. Kao said that cohort-based courses are far more engaging for learners than MOOCs, which have been criticized for low enrollment and completion rates. Over the past decade, cohort-based classes have risen in popularity, addressing common complaints about MOOCs. Cohort-based classes offer live feedback from a teacher and courses with set start and end dates. In real-time, groups of students are able to hold each other accountable, push each other to experiment with class material, and challenge each other’s ideas. Source: Wes Kao, co-founder of Maven, Interview

1️⃣ First, we will explore

• • How to cultivate a sense of safety and belonging
  • Why you should put learners, not instructors, at the center of your learning experience
  • How to accelerate knowledge sharing and peer facilitation

2️⃣ Next, Mike Kester will share a cohort-based solution that combines self-reflection, peer learning, group coaching, and experiential learning to give emerging managers the support they need to be their best. 3️⃣ A strategic transformation for many organizations is creating Learning 4.0 Mindset Shifts to help reinforce skills, facilitate feedback, increase collaboration, and share expertise across teams. Through a collaborative ecosystem of tech-savvy peer-to-peer and expert assessments, employees actively engage in the mastery of skill development.

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We are interested in diving deeper into cohort-based learning solutions and finding success using some or all of the eight principles:

1. Well-designed social interactions
2. A sense of safety and belonging
3. Real people engaging authentically
4. Opportunities for individual reflection
5. Knowledge sharing and peer facilitation
6. Arguing (constructively) together
7. Learners, not instructors, at the center
8. Human stories expertly told

Pre-read: Cohort-Based Learning at Scale – Eight Principles for Success (Nomadic, 2022) ELE Produces this Learning Circle: Designing Cohort Learning to Scale