In this rapidly changing world, where every aspect of our lives is changing rapidly, all thanks to the development of technology. In those aspects, education is also one of the most influential parts of life. Education is rapidly changing according to the technology.

To tackle this uncertainty in the education sector, we need a flexible system of education where online education improves its learners, in which a deeper understanding of the concepts as well as critical thinking and teambuilding are required.

Several learning approaches exist to attain this flexibility. One of the most popular is cohort-based learning. This approach facilitates a digital platform where learners with different backgrounds, perspectives, and skills work together as a team to achieve their shared goals by facing challenges together.

What is Cohort-Based Learning?

Cohort-based learning is a learning approach as a group (group) where learners enrol in a course together at the same time and schedule at the same pace. instead of individual learning, learners can interact, discuss ideas, and get supervision from the instructors. It's similar to a small virtual class that conducts the same course and lessons for all the cohort learners. This method is becoming popular day by day because of its combined structured learning with community support.

Why Should You Consider Cohort-Based Learning?

If you are considering how cohort-based learning can benefit your organization compared to traditional online education, here are some of the benefits.

1. Community Engagement: 

Online learning is one of the challenging factors in isolation. The learner may feel isolated from the class or the learning itself because there is no in-person contact with the instructors. So, cohort-based learning focuses on community-based online education, where the learner feels enthusiastic and motivated.

According to the National Library of Medicine study article highlights that building a sense of community among the students will improve their academic performance, which results in high retention and educational success rates.  

2. Accountability:

By enrolling in a cohort-based community, learners will get their roles and responsibilities, which they are accountable for. If the learner is facing difficulty, his fellow learners will guide him to be accountable for his role.

According to a Forbes article on Cohort-Based learning highlights that the cohort environment will increase the rate of success due to an increase in accountability among learners.

3. Interactive Learning:

Instead of one-way communication from instructor to learners from traditional online teaching. Cohort-based learning facilitates two-way communication, which makes the classes more interactive.

Interactive learning is one of the most influential and effective ways of learning which makes learners more connected, recently Duolingo, one of the biggest language learning platforms is implemented gamification into their platform which makes language learning more interactive.

4. Expert Guidance:

with cohort-based learning learners not only get reviewed about their mentors directly but also get insights about their performance with their fellow learners which makes them motivated to learn which eventually increases the positive learning experience.

There is a whole page named Expertise reversal effect which means the teaching method can vary according to the learner's ability and previous experience, but the expert guide who can interact with the learner will teach the learner even more effectively.

5. Skill Application:

The cohort-based learning system is all about learning the concepts through practical application, which may help the learners tackle their future difficulties through a better problem-solving approach with the help of their collaborative and teamwork skills.

According to the Forbes article titled 3 ways to maximize your learning application of the learned skills will make learners remember the concept even better than just learning.  

What is a Cohort Platform?

A cohort platform is an online tool that facilitates cohort-based learning by allowing its users to join groups of learners and provide them with all the technical aspects to progress in their educational program. These tools have features like virtual group discussions, scheduled classes, real-time feedback mechanisms from the instructors etc to build an environment for learners who will collaborate and learn the concepts more practically. Popular cohort platforms are often used for online courses, boot camps, and professional development programs. And here are the top 6 platforms that facilitate the best in the industry environment for cohort-based learning.

Best 6 cohort-based learning platforms

In this comparison, we consider the overall overview of the platform, the main key features it provides to its customers, and its advantages and disadvantages.

Also, we are considering one of the most important things is the pricing of the platform considering all these factors here are the top 6 best cohort-based learning platforms.

1. Learnyst

Learnyst is one of the most flexible and innovative platforms that provide technological
services to educational institutions and corporate organizations to operate their online education or training, and it also provides innovative approaches like the cohort-based learning approach.

It offers tools, such as live classes, assignments, tests, webinars, quizzes, and various features, to run your entire online educational institution smoothly. Learnyst also features learners' communities, where instructors can build a community-oriented learning environment with their peers.

Learnyst also focuses on institution growth, providing data analytics and marketing tools to improve your institution's overall educational quality and attract new learners. It provides all the necessary tools to run successful cohort-based learning on a single platform.  

Key Features:

Live Classes:

Learnyst provides live class features which are necessary need to conduct any Cohort-related courses classes, which provide high-quality visuals and audio for better learning experience.

Content Security:

Utilizes DRM (Digital Rights Management) encryption (similar to Netflix) to protect courses from piracy, ensuring content remains secure.

Community-Based:

learners can create a community related to their topic for discussion and communication purposes.

Advance Learner Insights:

Identify which students have higher potential to buy from you shortly.

Branded Mobile App and Website:

You can have fully branded native apps in both the App Store and Google Play Store. Differentiate yourself from your competitors.

Advanced Quiz and Assessments:

Provides an Advanced test and quiz feature to improve the learner's learning outcomes.

Marketing Tools:

You can utilize marketing-related tools like email, affiliate marketing, etc. to promote your organization.

Dynamic Pricing:

This allows you to price your offerings based on your learner's location pricing strategies, catering to an international audience effectively.

Overview:

Pro's:

•       Superior protection against content piracy with the use of DRM, similar to OTT platforms like Netflix.
•       Promotional tools like email, system, and affiliate marketing.
•       Learners can create a community for concept-based discussion with the instructor.
•       Identify which students have higher potential to buy from you shortly.
•       Educators get to keep 100% of their revenue. Learnyst takes 0% share. 
•       The platform supports content formats such as advanced quizzes for better learning outcomes that engage and motivate learners. 
•       Instant Customer Support

Con's:

• Requires a steeper learning curve for new users unfamiliar with Learnyst

Price:

• Starts at $36/month billed annually with 0% transaction fees  

2. Maven:

Maven is an LMS service-based platform that provides cohort-based learning to its customers, which includes tools like live courses. Which makes the learners engage with their instructors in real-time communication.

The effective communication from instructor to learner will eventually create a personal relationship with their fellow learners. Maven also provides expert instructors to teach learners a wide range of concepts of their specific industries.
 

Features:

•       Focused on interactive, live, cohort-based courses.
•       Expert instructors teaching from a wide range of industries.
•       Tools like Concepts-based learners group for discussion, and community engagement.

Pro's:

•       Interactive and real-time learning.
•       Networking with professionals for enhanced learning.
•       Strong community-building tools.

Con's:

•       Some courses can be expensive.
•       Limited to professional and advanced-level courses.
•       Not flexible enough to adjust according to concepts.

Pricing:

Prices vary depending on the course but generally range from $500 to $3,000 per course.

3. Teachable

Teachable is one of the most popular LMS platforms in online educational systems which makes them enter into the cohort-based learning approach. They have already specialized in the technical aspects of online education, and they have come up with an integrated communication system that facilitates a well-suited cohort-based platform.  

Features:

• Customizable Course Pages for Customers
• Integrated Payment System Globally
• Advanced Reporting Tools for Frequent Analysis

Pro's:

• Has User-Friendly Interface for Learners
• Strong Tools for Marketing of Courses on a Single Platform
• Instant Customer Support

Con's:

• Transaction Fees:

  Unlike Learnyst, Teachable charges transaction fees on its lower-tier plans, which can add up for high-volume sellers.

• Limited Integration Options:

  While Teachable has essential integrations, it may lack the breadth of connectivity options offered by platforms like Learnyst.

Price:

Starts at $49/month basic to $199 for Pro+ billed annually and also a 5% transaction fee.

4. EducateMe

Educateme is a cohort-based learning platform that has a user-friendly interface and provides tools that can be helpful for educators to manage their cohort learning easily. It provides features like the record class feature and also activity held in the platform reports, which can be used to analyze the course progress. Which is gathered from the learners about their feedback regarding the course.

Features:

Automated meeting recording
Messenger for easy communication
In-app notifications feature

Pro’s:

Flexible for both individual and institutional creators
Communication tools integration for communication
User-friendly interface

Con’s:

Limited marketing tool options
Charges are high.

Price:

After Free Trail, the plan starts at $150 per month for 50 active users included

5. Eduflow

Eduflow is a collaborative learning platform where they provide cohort-based learning to their users. Which has a user-friendly interface, with which user can customize their learning template without any complicated steps.
Eduflow offers a freemium for free users where the user will get access to limited tools in their platform, and they should upgrade their plan to premium to enjoy all features.
 

Features:

Editing tools for course designing
Recording features for classes
Progress tracking for courses

Pro’s:

You can record classes in multimedia.
Peer and instructor review system
Easy-to-use platform

Con’s:

Low Peer Review Engagement
Limited Customization

Pricing:

Eduflow offers a limited free plan, a basic plan at $49 per month with limited features for 50 monthly active users.

6. Teachfloor

Teachfloor is a social learning platform that integrates with Zoom video conferencing to facilitate cohort-based learning. Its easy-to-use dashboard makes teachfloor one of the most popular cohort-based platforms.
This platform has all the necessary tools and features that can be used to manage a successful cohort-based approach. It provides reports on the learner's performance to instructors for improvement.

Features:

Social community group integration helps educators create a communicational bond between educators and learners.
Reports feature gathers the data about the learners.
Video conference integration

Pro’s:

Reports to facilitate organizational growth
Easy to operate user dashboard
Integrated reminders for any events

Con’s:

Doesn’t support one-to-one video conference
A limited number of features
Doesn’t have a mobile app

Pricing:

The basic plan starts at $89/month.

Which Platform is Best for You?

Analyzing all 6 platform's features, advantages, disadvantages, and, most importantly, pricing will give you an overall idea about which platform is suitable for you.

But in case this much information made you confused about which platform is best for you, then try to differentiate the platform with the following categories:

Features:

How many features are there in the platform, from basic to advanced?

Number of Students:

How many learners are there in your current stage?

Flexibility:

is that platform flexible enough to be usable under all possible electronic devices?

CB Analysis:

After considering all the factors, finally, go with the cost-benefit analysis to understand the value of service for money.

These can be the factors that you should consider before considering the right cohort-based platform for your institution.

FAQs

1. What does Cohort mean in School?

In school, a Cohort is a group of students who are enrolled in the same educational course or program share the same education experience and learn through group activities, discussions and project work.

2. What is a Cohort Platform?

The cohort platform is a platform that provides all the technical tools to educators and learners to learn in a cohort-based model.

3. What is a cohort in LMS?

A cohort is a group of learners in the LMS who learn together in the course within a certain time. 

4. Where is cohort used?

Cohorts are used in education, workplace training, online learning platforms, research studies, and marketing to group individuals with shared experiences or timelines.