In the 21st century, our society is rapidly moving towards the online environment. You might think, What’s wrong with that? Technology is making our lives easier and more comfortable! But we forget that all these technological achievements are achieved by humans, because of our social connections and relationships with each other.

We survived and developed such technology all because of our social instincts. We live together, but humans are barely becoming social. Because of this, people are facing a lot of mental issues in their lives.

According to The Economic Times Report, 6-7 crore people in India suffer from common mental disorders, which are caused by a lack of emotional support and loneliness.

                                                                                              Source: The Economic Times 

In terms of education, COVID-19 brings massive change in the traditional classroom-based education to the Mass Online Open Course (MOOC). This changed the way of education and made the digitally accessible for everyone.

But how can you bring MOOCs into your institution without affecting the social connection among the students? The answer is a cohort-based learning approach, which solves the social disconnection of student's issues by adapting both the collaborative and MOOC systems together. So let's understand what cohort-based learning actually means!

What is Cohort-Based Learning?

Cohort-based learning is one of the unique online educational approaches where learners will study with their fellow peer members in a group who share the same educational goals and have the same challenges.

This will motivate learners to understand the concepts in a better way by collaborating with their fellow group members through Community Engagement and structured Learning with interactive content, eventually building a strong community of people that may continue after their educational journey. 

Implementing cohort learning in your courses will give you a lot of benefits among them there are top 5 benefits are; 

Top 5 Benefits of Cohort-bases Learning

1. Increases the course completion rates:

One of the biggest benefits that you get is that the cohort-based learning will help you to increase the course completion rates. Because one of the biggest challenges in online education is the dropout issue. Students often feel disconnected because of the lack of in-person interaction.

So, a cohort-based approach will provide a social environment for students where they can interact with each other by using tools like community groups, texting, live classes, discussion forums, etc., which makes them motivated and engaged towards the classes.

According to the US Department of Education’s A Mixed Methods Social Network Analysis report, students feel more emotionally connected and also motivated to the course because of the peer interaction.

                                                                                                                          Source: The Tribune

2. Improves soft skills among the students:

Every educator’s primary intention is to bring positive change in their student’s life. Soft skills are the most important skills that every student should have, which not only help them to improve their professional and also their personal life decisions.

The cohort-based learning will improve soft skills in students by providing a perfect environment to collaborate, interactive multimedia content, and most importantly, a feedback loop to students from their educators as well as their fellow peer members, which eventually benefits your organization’s brand image.

According to the New Jersey Institute of Technology’s Study on Cohort Learning: Supporting Transdisciplinary Communication and Problem-Solving Skills in Graduate STEM Researchers study, almost 90% of graduates from such cohort-based programs choose to work in research and development, Engineering, and Medical roles in industry.

3. Builds Your Institution's Brand Image and Credibility:

Implementing cohort-based learning will increase your institution's brand image as it implements innovative teaching methods and innovative institutions. And also improves your institution's credibility, which gives you a competitive edge over your competitors.

If your students are positively motivated and engaged with your curriculum, it eventually improves your overall institutional performance over your competitors. And using the new approach will attract even more online-based students to your institution.

According to UNSCO’s 2023 Global Education Monitoring Report, over 66% of students use the internet for their education. That’s the reason top universities across the world are going online with education.

                                                                                                              Source: The Times of India

4. Structured Learning Experience:

For many adult learners, the volume of content and complexity of balancing education with other personal and professional responsibilities can be difficult to maintain.
Cohort-based learning provides a systematic, structured framework that will simplify the learning process.

The cohort model offers a clear schedule for coursework, assignments, and projects, which can help you to manage student's time effectively. This scheduled structure facilitates the Schedule-focused approach to learning, helping You to plan Your Student's schedule.

According to the Kentwood school report on structured learning environment is the cornerstone of academic success for many students. In addition to minimizing distractions, students are able to thrive by receiving the intensive support they need to master new skills and concepts. 

5. Building a Supportive Community

One of the benefits of cohort-based learning for adult learners is building a supportive community for learners who can share their thoughts with the groups, not only the educational concepts but also the personal connection with their fellow learners.

Supportive fellow group members not only give feedback and motivate them in education but also their professional and personal lives, which will create a comfort zone for the learners. The establishment of a learning community offers a comfortable place where adult learners can share their struggles, celebrate their successes, and motivate each other. This group of learners may become lifetime friends and professional support for each other beyond their classroom.

According to Binghamton University's Community-Engaged Learning Report, Working with diverse communities and individuals develops tolerance, understanding and critical thinking, problem-solving, leadership, communication and teamwork skills.

So What are you waiting for?

Cohort-based learning has many advantages and benefits for adult education. Cohort facilitates a systematic structure of environment where the adult learner will become comfortable learning because the learner will get the connection with the learners who are also facing the same challenge in their life.

This will motivate the adult learners to engage in the learning and also understand the concepts in such a way that the learner will use his learned concepts in real-life situations and learn the management of education and professional life effectively.

The cohort model not only improves the adult learners' educational objectives but also teaches them how to face challenges by working as a team and building relationships with fellow group members outside the classroom.

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