Chapter
2
The Curated Learning Journey
“The essence of knowledge is, having it, to apply it; not having it, to confess your ignorance.” - Confucius
With a world of knowledge at our fingertips, the most valuable resource for a student is not necessarily the knowledge itself. The most valuable resource is one that puts that knowledge into a comprehensive framework for the student to most effectively learn & apply in the real world, complete with support & accountability. The most valuable resource is the curated learning journey.
The following is a breakdown of Evolve's curated learning journey from admission to graduation.
We have two objectives during admissions. The first is helping students unearth their passions & unlock their animus. The second is admitting only the students who would benefit most from this education.
Preparing students for the college level work and getting them credentials they can immediately use for gainful income.
The foundations give students a breadth of knowledge and nurture critical 21st century skills that create leaders and changemakers.
Based on a students animus we help them decide what impact they want to make, how they might achieve that, & what skills they will need to do so.
Students begin variable time to complete skill mastery which is done in 4 phases:
Once they have attained all the necessary skills, students graduate and receive vast support in a chosen track: employment or entrepreneurship.
As skills become outdated or passions change, students return to Evolve and begin the cycle through a new curated learning journey.
During Admissions we are focused on two primary objectives which are helping students to identify their animus (purpose) and admitting the best students for the Evolve program. This process includes the following elements: application, coaching, self discovery, rite of passage, & receiving a life board of advisors.
At Evolve, we are looking for individuals who have a passion for solving complex problems, challenge the status quo when necessary, will step up as a leader and collaborative global thinker, and are searching for fulfillment beyond one’s self. We want those who are curious, determined, persistent, mature, and passionate about what they do. We realize that our pedagogical approach is not for everyone; therefore it is not our responsibility to admit everyone. It is our responsibility to find the students who will create a massive impact in the world through our curriculum. For those that other options may be more well suited for their learning and goals, we do not leave them high and dry, but rather help guide them to those other options.
We strive to have as much “blind” admissions as possible, meaning we pay no care to geographic origins, socioeconomic status, or other demographics that may sway biases. Because our resources are online and we only hire to scale with the amount of students being admitted in a given year, we do not have a cap on the amount of students who can be admitted. This means that we will not have to choose between two qualified candidates. We also treat every student with the same criteria for admission.
As opposed to traditional admission processes, there are several things our admissions does not include:
Our admissions process focuses on taking a holistic approach to understanding if this student will thrive in the Evolve environment. During this time we are looking at 4 things: key characteristics of a student who would thrive in our environment, demonstration of a student’s cognitive abilities, demonstration of student’s ability to execute towards goals and solve complex problems, and a desire to expand their self awareness and their passions.
We achieve this by having students submit 3 pieces in their application: a portfolio, an exam, and interviews.
To understand a student’s ability to execute towards goals and solve complex problems, we ask the students to share their experiences and accomplishments both inside and outside of a structured academic environment. To assess this we have the student present and explain these experiences through a medium of their choice: audio, video, or written and compiling a comprehensive portfolio. By not requiring students to all write admissions letters, we allow the student to showcase creativity and self expression, putting their best selves forward.
In order to assess a student’s cognitive abilities, we have students take a pre assessment specifically designed by Evolve. We are looking for a strong baseline to navigate fast moving classes in advanced topics. We do not use standardized tests like the SAT or GRE because these tests lead to inequality weighted in favor of students who can afford prep classes and materials. The results of these tests measure how much a student can cram in prep for the exam, not how much knowledge is retained. Our test is unique and can not be prepped for which eliminates the need for costly prep material and truly measures one’s baseline. Simultaneously, these pre assessments measure a students competency, giving a lens to their skill strengths and weaknesses in the pursuit of mastery.
To fully understand the students’ passions & inquire about their key characteristics, we conduct automated interviews with each applicant. Students answer a set of predetermined and recorded questions with 2 minute on camera answers. By having interviews we can read body language & hear tonality. However the automation removes student anxieties of being interviewed and any bias from the interviewer.
During the interview and assessment of the other application elements we are looking for the following demonstration of key characteristics:
The last thing we look for is a desire to expand their self awareness and their passions. After the application, we assess which students meet our standards for admissions. Students who qualify are paired with an admissions coach to begin unveiling who they are, what they want, and unlocking their animus. Through positive inquiry we begin aligning what’s meaningful to them and consequential to the world. During this time we also conduct 360 interviews with those who have worked in some capacity with the student to assess strengths, weaknesses, behaviors, values, and working style. We want to help bring self awareness to the student and see a desire in the student to want to improve.
If the student exhibits great potential during coaching but is unsure of who they are or what their animus may be, we help them discover their animus by having them go through gap experience. During this time they work closely with their coach to differentiate between values, beliefs, and rules placed on them by others and ones they want to hold true for themselves. They also go through a series of experiences that are codesigned by the student and the coach based on the student’s interests. These experiences are designed to help spark the student’s animus and discover what meaningful purpose they may wish to pursue. As students go through experiences, they work with the coach to reflect on each of them.
Going to college for many is a way to separate themselves from the life and environment of their family, particularly their parents. In many ancient societies this time was a rite of passage to adulthood. In order to foster the student’s independence, individuality, and facilitate this cognitive development, for those accepted we treat admission as a rite of passage. This means creating a highly memorable and meaningful experience for each student who enters that reaches the emotional level of their brain. It means going beyond a simple acceptance letter and instead creating a celebration.
Once admitted to Evolve, students receive their Evolutionary Board Of Advisors. One major downfall of recent online education platforms such as MOOC’s are that they have poor retention and graduation rates (Haber, 2014). Students do not have the support they need to successfully navigate the learning environment. For this reason we equip students with a tribe of people to support them. The EBA is an entire team committed to focusing on students at every stage of their learning journey. These people work directly with the students or behind the scenes to ensure the experience with the education, curriculum, and learning resources is maximally utilized for each student. Each role is specifically designed to support specific components of the students journey but innovation, ownership, a sense of urgency, and continuous learning are part of every EBA’s job description.
The Evolutionary Board Of Advisors includes:
This model is different from most traditional universities, where the same faculty member typically serves many or all of these roles. Evolve’s “division of labor” enables each EBA member to deliver top-notch, student-focused support.
Notice that professors are not listed. That is because we do not have one traditional professor who stands in front of a classroom distilling information to many students. Rather we have many arms of support guiding one student through their learning.
We believe that education should be given to all those who seek it. However, we are not disillusioned to believe we can provide the best education for everyone. This doesn’t mean that we elude responsibility for nurturing the wisdom of these individuals. For those that are not admitted to Evolve, we help connect, guide, and support access to other education alternatives that may fit their learning needs and goals more effectively. Any student that comes into contact with our organization will be given the opportunity through ourselves or our partners to evolve through education.
When a student is entering into college, they hope by the end that they will have employable skills which will result in a raise in income. Although we all wish to make an impact on the world, we can not do so without taking care of our financial responsibilities first. Many students, particularly ones who are already employed, are seeking knowledge that will help them advance in their career resulting in a higher income. However, they do not have the privilege to spend four years obtaining a bachelor’s degree. The opportunity cost of being out of work or stress of working full time while taking full time classes is just too high. As a result, students either never enter into these programs or enter & eventually dropout without earning the very thing that would increase their income so they may be able to continue their education. These students need a meaningful credential in the near term to earn a living as they study. What is the solution? Helping them to acquire skills that give them gainful employment as quickly as possible.
At Evolve, we turn the traditional model on its head by putting specialization before and after the general liberal arts education. The result is a learning journey by which most of the Foundational Courses are preceded by technical skill certifications. These skill certifications will allow students to immediately seek gainful income opportunities far before completing their education. It calms the flight or fight response to urgently needing money. As a subsequent result, students will be able to focus on their studies and discover the missions they wish to pursue because they can now financially afford to do so.
"AT EVOLVE, WE TURN THE TRADITIONAL MODEL ON ITS HEAD BY PUTTING SPECIALIZATION BEFORE AND AFTER THE GENERAL LIBERAL ARTS EDUCATION."
We also recognize that many students may not be college ready. Furthermore, they may not be ready for a highly self motivated and directed style of learning such as Evolve’s. This means that a student’s introduction to this learning journey needs to prepare them and get them ready for college level work.
When a student is admitted to Evolve, they begin with two simultaneous tracks of curriculum. The first are Quick Start skills that are immediately actionable in life, professions, and learning. The second are Gainful Income skills that will result in a skillset they can employ to quickly raise their income.
In order to prepare students for their education, there are few skills that they should know. These skills are broken down into three categories: life skills, professional skills, and learning skills. Life skills include things such as goal setting, time management, and personal financial management. Professional skills include things such as career management, professional communication, and decision making. Learning skills include identifying learning style, developing, healthy learning habits, resourcefulness, & self directed learning.
Gainful income skills are tracks of curriculum that will teach students immediately employable skills that would help them increase their incomes. For example, for someone who may be working as a graphic designer currently, they could increase their income by learning skills related to UX/UI design. These skill tracks would be highly curated in collaboration with employers and market leaders to ensure their applicability. When a student completes a certificate track, they will be able to show current or future employers and be rewarded for their progression of continuing education & skill acquisition.
These skill tracks also have a secondary effect of allowing students to test different interests before committing time and energy into fully learning a domain later in the choice of their mission. Students can earn several different certifications while they find what they are most passionate about.
Education must balance breadth versus depth. Breadth provides the foundational knowledge that can be transferred between a variety of disciplines and is key to understanding the basis of problems. Depth allows for deep understanding of specific knowledge and skills related to a narrowly focused subject in order to gain mastery (Kosslyn, Nelson, 2017)
Breadth is addressed during the foundational courses where students gain a breadth of knowledge that can be applied to multiple contexts and problems. They practice applying this knowledge by sampling and working across multiple disciplines.
The goal is to provide the knowledge and meta skills that make students highly effective in the 21st century across any context & helps them fulfill their purpose after graduation. We want to prepare students with the ability to adapt to the ever evolving world, job market, and self. We want to not only train our students to think like specialists but also to increase their mastery of key knowledge and skills they would need when pursuing a specialty or solution. Evolve students become team builders and system thinkers with a breadth of cross disciplinary knowledge and innovative problem solving skills.
Critical thinking is required now more than ever with the amount of information, decisions, and global problems our world faces today. Critical thinking involves analyzing, evaluating, and knowing when to apply data, knowledge, or a particular skillset. Critical thinking involves fully understanding a problem from each angle, knowing the amount of uncertainty in the situation, and all the factors that could affect the outcomes of making an effective decision. In Bloom’s Taxonomy Apply, Analyze, and Evaluate require deeper levels of thinking about information. When students apply knowledge, they take ideas and concepts and use them in new ways. When students analyze they draw conclusions from a wide range of domains. When students evaluate they justify stands or decisions. These skills are what make a critical thinker and they all come before creative thinking (Levi, 2019).
The skills learned in critical thinking include:
Understand & Evaluate Information - Explaining Ideas Or Concepts
Applying Information & Knowledge To New Contexts
Analyzing Problems
Analyzing Arguments
Evaluating Inferences
Effective Decision Making
Critical thinking was the ability to understand, analyze, and evaluate information and knowledge and then know when to correctly apply it. Creative thinking uses these skills as a foundation to synthesize and produce something new or original, often in pursuit of the student’s animus or declared mission. Creative thinking is a marriage between science and art to create solutions that effectively solve problems while simultaneously enriching the culture. It is the practice of combining or rearranging two or more unlikely things in new and useful ways. Creativity is based on facilitated discovery, generating solutions to problems, and creating something new. Traditional schooling beats creativity out of us to prepare us for factories and cubicles, yet this is not how innovation and creativity thrive.
The skills learned in creative thinking include:
Problem Solving
Use and application of the scientific method
Establishing A Creative Practice
Creating products, processes, and services
Identify 21st century tools for creative creation
Understanding how human’s decisions, solutions, and creations impact and influence evolution
In order to solve global challenges, critical thinking and creative thinking can not be understated in their importance. However, if one is not able to communicate the result of that thinking to others and persuade them of it’s merit then it gains no momentum. One must understand all the modes of communication from verbal expression to media and know which fits the situation best. One must also understand that various modes of communication generally occur simultaneously and need to work together as symphonies to effectively explain, persuade, and inform others. Before speaking one must learn to actively listen to understand others and tailor their message to their audience so that communication is geared towards not tearing each other down but looking for solutions.
The skills learned in communication include:
Acquire ability to analyze what others communicate both written and verbal
Learn the ability to actively listen, have empathy, and hold space for others
Write and speak clearly
Use Nonverbal Effectively
Using and interpreting multiple forms of media to communicate
Understand technology and communication
Understand and apply the art of persuasion to communicate
The human species has evolved to thrive in complex social systems from the age of tribes to entire communities, organizations, and governments. In order to accomplish any goal, one must learn how to effectively interact with others. This is true at the scale of intimate relationships to entire world organizations. Each of these relationships exist within a complex social system where the behavior of interdependent individuals can not be isolated and aggregated to realize the collective behavior. In this relationship, individuals affect the collective and the collective affects the individual.
For these reasons it is crucial for students to see themselves as not just mere cogs in a system but rather as agents whose behaviors and initiatives have the power to influence these systems. Collaboration starts at the world level and drills down to individuals in this system, understanding how to influence both individual members of a system and the system as whole as well. Students learn how to step up as leaders, but also how to effectively be a team member, and how to distinguish between when on is required to reach an agreed upon goal. They also gain deep knowledge about themselves and how to relate and navigate this understanding with others.
The skills learned in collaboration include:
Understanding Complex Systems
Understanding Our World
Understanding Ourselves And others
Learning how to have intervention in a system: Negotiating, Mediating, and Persuading
Working effectively with others
Resolving Ethical problems and having social consciousness
Our fifth foundational course prepares students for navigating the real world, both in the workplace and their personal and interpersonal lives. The focus is helping to create fully actualized individuals who have practical life skills and cognitive tools for achieving whatever goals they have set for themselves in the future.
The skills learned in character building include:
Understand the self through self actualization and living a purposeful life
Utilizing life architecture to design the life you want and acquiring life skills
Developing Character Learning Outcomes
Understanding The Inner Workings Of The Brain And Optimizing Performance
Understanding How The Body Functions And Optimizing Energy, Health, And Longevity
Build Capacity For Lifelong Learning And Exploration Through Meta Learning
Our goal for the education at Evolve is twofold in that it creates positive outcomes for both the individual students and the world at large. We want students to reach their goals, maximize their potential, and live fulfilling lives. We also want to make meaningful solutions to the global challenges our world faces. We believe that both of these can be addressed through education we are fundamentally concerned with tying these two pieces together. We call this process unlocking the animus. As a reminder An animus is a fiery energy that is created by a hostility or ill feeling that someone has towards a problem they see in the world. It’s something that everytime you think about it you feel so angry that it is occurring that it creates a motivation to take relentless action to right this wrong in the world (Bilyeu, 2019). It gives people a sense of purpose. One of the strongest motivators in life is a search for meaning or purpose.
Dr. Bill Damon, Director of the Stanford Center for Adolescence, defines purpose as “a stable and generalized intention to accomplish something that is at the same time meaningful to the self and consequential for the world beyond the self” (Damon, 2008).
PURPOSE = MEANINGFUL TO THE SELF + CONSQUENTIAL TO THE WORLD
To break this down, let’s look at each part separately. The self is the culmination of your beliefs, thoughts, emotions, memories, and knowledge base, basically the software of the mind. So everything you do runs through the filters of these to decide if it is meaningful or not. The second piece is something that is consequential to the world. If we understand that nature optimizes for what is good for the whole in order to continue its existence and growth, then actions that are in alignment with that are rewarded. Our job is to align what we want for the self with what is good for the whole of nature.
One of the problems with universities today is before students enter their first year they are supposed to know exactly who they are and what they want to do with their life. They are given a sheet of classes and majors to pick from that will determine the trajectory of the rest of their life. Yet they have not even taken the time to fully create their own identity separate from what has been programmed in them from their parents, society, and the traditional education system. As a result, they end up choosing something that is safe, pleases their parents, will make a lot of income, or will be easy to take while partying... In Micheal B Horn’s book choosing college he describes 5 Jobs to be done for college students. One of those jobs is “Help me do what is expected of me”. This student is just going to college to fulfill the next logical step in the checklist of life (Horn, Moesta, 2019). Yet this choice does not often lead to fulfillment. It is not based on what the student is passionate about. Because it does not challenge the students prior programming, it continues the status quo. Which does not help the world at large to evolve.
WE MUST ASK WHO YOU ARE
Before a student is enrolled in a university, they should have a more clear understanding of who they are, what they are passionate about, and what difference they want to make in the world. This means going through a process of radical self inquiry to start unraveling a students childhood programming while simultaneously introducing them to a variety things that may cultivate their passions. A passion is not something that is lost, waiting to be discovered. Rather it is an interest that starts as a spark of curiosity. Then with constant attention and time spent in that interest on a road to mastery, it becomes a passion. When that passion is connected to making positive outcomes for more than just the self, it becomes a purpose.
A part of the goal of Evolve is to help the world and entire society to evolve together. In uncovering each student’s animus and purpose, we hope to cultivate a desire to solve the grand challenges of the world. Grand challenges are defined as problems that require a critical mass of ingenuity, knowledge, and execution that is far beyond anyone person to solve.
These problems are legacy problems, meaning they will continue to recur as technology and society advances.
Inspired by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, these grand challenges focus on health, environment, security, education, energy, food, water, prosperity/economics, disaster resilience, space, shelter & built environment, governance, technology and society, human rights & empowerment, and culture (United Nations, 2020)
Just as philosophy requires us to ask bigger questions of ourselves, these grand challenges push students to tackle complex problems, ask larger questions about themselves, society, and the world around them and then attempt to answer those questions with what they have learned. Because of the complexity of these challenges it requires collaboration between multiple disciplines to deduce executable solutions. So instead of students learning one major and only working in one major, students learn a variety of disciplines as they interact with the other collaborators. Yet they work in a team to solve these issues which requires them to specialize in their particular piece of the team’s solutions.
Students work with their Evolutionary Board of Advisors and a specially designed curriculum to understand what is meaningful to them & how that can also be consequential to the world. During this time they are trying a variety of different experiences to generate purposeful projects, try out interests, reflect on their experiences as they make decisions, and refine their choices in an iterative process.
During the foundational courses, students gain a breadth of knowledge that can be applied to multiple contexts and problems. They practice applying this knowledge by sampling and working with each of the grand challenges. During this time they will begin to build an interest of one more than others. At the end of the foundational courses students will declare which mission they wish to pursue and start down the path of mastery in the skill tree necessary to address that mission. The skill trees are what provide specialty and depth of knowledge.
Missions are fundamentally different from majors. At a traditional university, a student may decide to major in biology. That major will help prepare students for working in fields related to biology but may be less applicable to anything outside of biology. At Evolve, a student declares a mission and learns whatever skills are necessary to achieve that mission. For example, if their mission was providing clean drinking water for the world, they may learn skills that would be traditionally taught in biology, computer science, business, sociology, and more. This prepares students to actually make real change in the world while simultaneously preparing them for many avenues for work.
During the process at Evolve, students identify a problem they care about in the world and declare it as their mission to solve this problem. In the foundational courses, students gain the ability to theorize solutions to complex problems. Students use these skills to develop a theory about how their chosen problem could be solved and the skills necessary to execute that solution. These identified skills compose a skill tree and learning pathway for students to acquire the skills necessary to execute their solution. Once they master their skills and begin executing, they will continuously evaluate whether or not the solution is getting the desired result and solving the problem. If the executed solution is not getting the desired result, they realize a new solution and reskill when necessary.
Our job is to help students map out mission pathways to student’s end goals, help students choose and execute on a mission and associated skill tree, keep students on track, and ensure students are gaining the proper knowledge to succeed throughout the experience.
During this experience we must balance breadth versus depth of knowledge As a reminder, breadth provides the foundational knowledge that can be transferred between a variety of disciplines and is key to understanding the basis of problems. As the breadth definition implies, much of this knowledge is introduced during the foundational courses given before a student declares a mission.
Depth allows for deep understanding of specific knowledge and skills related to a narrowly focused subject in order to gain mastery. This is facilitated by the skill trees for each student’s declared mission. In order to continue to facilitate breadth during their study in their skill tree path, students collaborate with other students in skill development in order to experience working with other fields to solve complex problems. They also take courses from other skill trees which allow them to create new perspectives and novel approaches by learning knowledge and skills outside of their skill tree. Further depth is obtained through application of these skills in real world situations.
Evolve conceives of a students education as a skill tree, much like you would have for a character in a video game. This skill tree is rooted in the foundation of core skills that every student learns to be empowered individuals in an ever evolving society. Once students complete their foundational courses, they work closely with their Evolutionary Board of Advisors to craft a skill tree that aligns with their animus passion and the mission they have decided.
As a result, the pathway of the student and the courses they take are entirely reliant upon the skills that students need to acquire in order to achieve their mission. This requires Evolve and a student’s advisors ensuring that students have the courses, network, and resources required to learn these skills. In order to ensure that the skills that make up their skill tree have the highest probability of success, the student and advisors work closely with external influencers of businesses, communities, and organizations that bring perspectives of real world needs, problems, and skill application. Courses within the skill tree are codesigned between faculty, students, businesses and organizations to create the specific knowledge necessary to address the mission issues.
A key aspect of these skill trees are that there are no defined number of classes that a student must go through. Whether it takes one course or 7 in order to master a skill, what we care about is whether the students have the skills necessary to make the change they are seeking and reach the goals that they want in their life. It is not about a number of checkboxes that a student crosses off, but rather if they are getting the result they are looking for.
At Evolve we believe that learning should not be measured by the amount of credits one accrues which is a measure of “butt in seat” hours, but rather if they have mastered the knowledge and skills necessary to execute on their goals and missions. This is why we adopt a competency based approach to education. By doing this we can accelerate students’ progress-to-graduation while assuring the quality and validity of their education. This unique approach has a few implications.
To understand the competency based approach, let me illustrate skill execution of installing a seat for an american car manufacturer vs Toyota. In America, you would be taught all the steps to install the seat from the beginning. You would then be told to execute on all those steps after learning them in totality. What is the likelihood you would be able to actually remember and do each step effectively enough to pass safety standards? Slim. In contrast, Toyota would tell you, “these are the seven steps required to install this seat successfully. You don’t have the privilege of learning step 2 until you have demonstrated mastery of step 1. If you master step 1 in a minute, you may begin learning step 2 in a minute. If it takes you an hour, then you can learn step 2 in an hour. And if it takes you a day, then you can learn step 2 tomorrow. It makes no sense for us to teach you subsequent steps if you don’t do the prior ones correctly.” Using this approach you would be able to execute each step with high efficiency, installing the seat correctly every time.
"YOU DONT HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF LEARNING STEP 2 UNTIL YOU HAVE DEMONSTRATED MASTERY OF STEP 1."
This same approach is how we view skill acquisition. What sense does it make for students to learn more advanced skills if they do not yet grasp the foundational concepts? If we just assess students at the end of their skill acquisition, how can we be sure they can execute them effectively every time and in different contexts? This unique approach has a few implications.
The first implication is our focus solely on mastery of skills and knowledge means it doesn’t matter the amount of time necessary to achieve that mastery. This allows students to progress at their own pace. In this scenario, learning becomes the constant—and is demonstrated through mastery of learning objectives, or competencies—and time becomes the variable.
The second implication is curriculum is built on skill competencies and mastery. Student’s learning curriculum fulfills the necessary competencies to learn skills in their skill trees. Learning resources, course delivery, learner support, and assessments must be adjusted to the new model and aligned with competencies. The learning resources (developed locally, licensed from commercial vendors, or adapted from open educational resources) must be of high quality, accurate, engaging, at the appropriate level of difficulty, consistent for all students, and be well matched to the learning objectives defined for the skill trees.
The last implication is in order to graduate, students must demonstrate mastery through appropriate application of skill knowledge. They must be able to apply their skills to a wide variety of contexts, not just in the contexts that they learned them in. In order to facilitate the path to mastery students will move through 4 phases of skill development. At each phase, students will demonstrate mastery through varying levels of assessment and project execution appropriate to that phase which assure students’ mastery of skill competencies.
It has been noted that only 10% of any skill is learned inside the classroom, 20% is learned from peers and mentors, and a whopping 70% comes from experience (Swaniker, 2018). We learn best by doing. Our focus at Evolve is not whether a student can regurgitate information, but rather that they can apply it by doing real things. Through experiential learning we give students a wealth of opportunities to put learning into practice through experiences, establish networks, and pursue passions.
"ONLY 10% OF ANY SKILL IS LEARNED INSIDE THE CLASSROOM. 70% COMES FROM EXPERIENCE."
The 4 phases for skill acquisition and mastery are:
Exposure consists of curated learning experiences focused on knowledge accumulation, information gathering, and resource access. During this time we are introducing students to topics, problems, and perspectives. These experiences provide a breadth of knowledge and are meant to build a foundation for understanding while challenging worldviews and perspectives, exposing students to various industries, problems to be solved, and people in this space. At this time, students are taking self directed learning through the provided online resources or attending conferences, summits, & discussions with thought leaders.
Students master subjects at different rates and bring diverse levels of prior experience and knowledge to that mastery. We acknowledge that past experience through pre-assessments. Self-diagnostic tools, or “pre-assessments,” are used at the beginning of each course for students to measure their knowledge. This identifies areas of strength and weakness for the student.
From there an individualized study plan is developed for the student to fulfill all competencies of that skill. If a student demonstrates mastery of this knowledge set or skill, then they will not be required to take a course related to it. Many existing resources for pre-assessments exist through organizations such as LearningCounts.org or Open Education Resources University which offers Prior Learning Assessments. These organizations award college credits through exams and portfolios for things such as starting a business, serving in the military, & even hobbies such as theater or volunteer experiences.
While students engage specific coursework as needed based on competency levels, high intensity rapid feedback mechanisms such as quizzes or generation prompts are given. No grades are assigned to these, rather they exist to create spaced repetition, recall, and inform the student of their progress towards mastery.
Engagement experiences are focused and allow students to sharpen their understanding of a certain topic, problem, or perspective through an interactive exercise, discussion, or challenge. These experiences help students synthesize what they have learned from their exposure experiences and apply it to a focused challenge or question. It also introduces students to specific skill sets that are required to complete these engagements experiences.
Phase 1 which consists mainly of self learning experiences and Phase 2 occur simultaneously. During Phase 2, students attend group seminars to demonstrate knowledge gained during Phase 1 and receive support from faculty and peers in understanding and application. During seminars they demonstrate mastery through active learning mechanisms such as role playing, peer instruction, socratic circles, and more. These demonstrations are noted and evaluated by evaluators. Students also engage in half day or full day designed experiences within the communities, cities, and networks they are a part of to provide a bridge between the classroom and practical skills needed in the real world.
Immersion experiences provide depth of understanding through sustained and reoccurring engagement with local communities in student driven initiatives. These experiences are where the rubber meets the road and begin the consulting relationship between an organization who has a problem and a student who’s animus and skill tree align with that problem. Student’s seek to understand organizational partner’s needs where they can deploy current skills and knowledge in novel contexts and apply them to specific challenges. During this time students are researching, working with, and creating proposals for purposeful projects.
Students demonstrate real world application of knowledge learned in Phase 1 & 2 through these purposeful projects which may include consulting, internships, and movement towards their mission with research and problem definition, proposals of interest, and team formations.
Phase 4 is when students execute their purposeful projects and are evaluated on the mastery of their skills. These projects connect students directly with practitioners, allowing them to apply knowledge to real world problems, and how they can channel their passions and purpose in a meaningful way. Students want to pursue their passions and find purpose in their learning, and working on relevant impactful challenges can help them do this.
Upon completion of projects, students demonstrate final mastery through three mechanisms. First, students will reflect on their experiences with their EBAs through questions revealing if they felt passionate about the experience and if they had enough skill mastery for the challenge or if they need more improvement. Second, students will present their learning in a creative way appropriate to them and the project context, which will later serve as portfolio pieces as well. Finally, students will be taking skill specific assessments which may include computer-based objective exams, essays, portfolios, or industry certifications.
After unlocking their animus, completing the foundational concepts necessary to thrive, and showing mastery of their skill tree, students are ready for graduation. Beyond the year in foundations, a student’s time at Evolve mastering their skill tree and understanding the problem they want to solve will be different for every student.
We believe that it is our responsibility to help students transform their passions, interests, and skills into execution and action that best contributes to society. In this we regard, it is our responsibility to give students guidance and support in planning their professional lives, starting from the first interaction with Evolve and continuing on for the rest of their lives.
We achieve this through our Professional Development Agency which is a team of individuals looking out for a student’s career, giving guidance to career opportunities, missteps to avoid, how to make career transitions, making introductions and connecting to networks, helps students build a personal brand and market themselves, and how to find the best fit for the student and what they want to achieve. It’s kind of like how a talent agent handles a movie star’s career.
WE PROMISE TO OFFER THESE SERVICES FOR A STUDENTS ENTIRE LIFETIME BEYOND THEIR GRADUATION AT EVOLVE
We understand that solving the challenges students are passionate about results in a variety of paths after graduation including employment & entrepreneurship. For this reason, the agency offers support for any of these tracks now and in the future of a students career. Regardless of their track, we anticipate that students will change course in their careers, look for new opportunities, or want support in leveling up on their current choices which is why we promise to offer these services for a students entire lifetime beyond their graduation at Evolve. This holds us accountable for how well graduates do upon graduation and becomes evidence for significantly increased return on investment from our education as students make contributions to existing organizations and those that they will start.
In the employment track we are helping graduates match their mission with companies who are hiring positions requiring their skill set, have culture fit, and will result in gainful employment for the student.
The Professional Development Agency supports employment in the following ways:
Career Coaching
Portfolio Building
Personal Branding, Marketing, & PR
Employer Network
In the entrepreneurship track we help graduates begin the formation phases of their startup ideas. This means creating a vision and expressing it, building a team, gathering the resources necessary to validate their idea.
The Professional Development Agency supports entrepreneurship in the following ways:
Founder & Team Coaching
Team Formation
Startup School
Startup Network
Startup Accelerator
In today’s society, employers only get one piece of paper that is supposed to tell them everything they need to know about the person they are hiring. They must trust that higher education institutions will provide them with the talent they need by looking at the name on a resume. But this says nothing about the students actual skills and abilities, what their experiences are, and how this is beneficial to an organization.
What if instead of a resume or transcript that is just a mere list of time spent somewhere, a Skill Portfolio could provide snapshots of the whole student in visual data that is detailed and unique to that individual and their abilities? This portfolio would become a living artifact of competencies that employers assess the future potential of candidates. It would record all the skills, classes, experiences, and mastery levels of that student.
Inside this portfolio would be a snapshot of the person’s strengths and weaknesses with evidence behind them much like a baseball card represents a player’s stats. (Dalio, 2017). This idea comes from Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Principles. Combining these with personality results on things like OCEAN or Big 5, DISC, language of appreciation, and core values will help to better align students with people and organizations they would like to work with.
A SKILL PORTFOLIO COULD PROVIDE SNAPSHOTS OF THE WHOLE STUDENT IN VISUAL DATA THAT IS DETAILED AND UNIQUE TO THAT INDIVIDUAL
When students complete skill sets and show mastery, they earn badges which is recognized as a competency or achievement. The credentialing for these badges will be in collaboration with top businesses, universities, and badge service providers such as Mozilla Foundation. As many student’s skill trees will align with preestablished industries, we will also support students in attaining the most highly recognized and respected industry credentials, such as LEED certification for sustainable design and construction for example.
With the use of blockchain technology, the skill portfolio can serve as a verifiable personal ledger of educational achievements, skills mastered, and projects completed. Upon completion of each course, the learner’s achievement is recorded on the blockchain through a token transaction that also has the data about the achievement. Moreover, this would allow students to input experiences not only acquired while in school, but other experiences outside of school that make them proficient in skills employers are looking for. All of their performance and feedback is made public. It’s like a CV of what you have learned, but it is reliable, secure and public to the extent that you want and need.
With the rapid change that is occurring our society and world, it is hard to expect that our students will always have the skills they need. Although we equip students with a broad range of transferable skills, the advancements in technology and the workforce may require a set of skills that do not even exist yet. Conconcurently, students will also change as individuals and reach new milestones in life experiences that may have them wanting to pursue something else than they had originally attended school for. We want to be there for our students during both of these instances which is why we actively promote and facilitate lifelong learning.
After graduating from Evolve, students continue to access the online platform for life and freely use the content and resources it provides. As we teach our students the skills necessary for self driven learning, students will be able to develop their own learning projects as they need to brush up on skills in their career & life. Students also stay connected to their evolutionary board of advisors and the professional development network. These individuals play an important role in continuing to champion the students’ success long after they have graduated. They provide mentorship and guidance through transitions in life, achieving fulfillment in their lives, and assessing whether their skills are still adequate to address the challenges the student cares about.
These are assessed through continued coaching and asking questions such as:
The answers to these questions signal whether a student may want to return to Evolve.
Should students wish to update their skills or pursue an entirely new problem, they may reenter the Evolve program. The process is widely the same, with the exception of needing to take the foundational course again. Students and their board assess a student’s self awareness and passions to identify their animus. Once identified, a new skill tree and accompanying learning experiences are created. With the ease of completing curriculum online, the continuing education fits in with the life of the student who may have other obligations such as family or their current career. Because Evolve focuses on mastery rather than credit hours, these students can complete their reskill at the pace appropriate for them.
This ensures the success of our students for a lifetime. It also allows older students to return and update the Evolve curriculum with what has or has not worked to solve problems that other students may be interested in pursuing. It allows for older students to become board advisors for younger students, passing wisdom down through generations. Finally, it creates an even more diverse student body by introducing multiple generations.
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