Benefits of Cohort Learning in Online Courses

If you are an online course creator, you need to know about cohort-based courses!

They are engaging learning programs where a group of learners progress through a course together.

In this learning model, students start the online course at the same time and follow a structured schedule, moving through the material together as a cohort.

This differs from the classic online courses and self-paced learning programs, where students can enroll at any time and progress through pre-recorded lessons as they wish.

Keep reading below to learn more about cohort-based courses, also known as challenges, and the benefits of this online learning approach - for both students and creators!

What are Cohort Based Courses?

Cohort-based learning is a trending approach to online education that's recently gaining popularity among course creators.

Unlike traditional self-paced courses, cohort-based courses unite a group of learners who start and complete the course together.

The nature of these courses fosters a sense of community and accountability among students, enhancing the overall learning experience.

Key features of cohort-based courses include a fixed start and end date, group interaction and community building, and in some cases, time-bound progression, where students have deadlines and expiration dates for lessons or assignments.

Generally, the curriculum of cohort-based courses is composed of pre-planned and pre-recorded lessons - as in the case of the more traditional self-paced online courses - ensuring all students cover the same material at the same time.

More articles about cohort-based learning:

• The Best Way to Turn an Evergreen Online Course into a Cohort-Based Course
• Build a Community in Your Online Course Running Challenges
• Why Running Online Challenges on Facebook is Hurting Your Business

Benefits of Cohort-Based Courses and Online Challenges

These kinds of engaging, fast-paced courses offer many benefits, both for students and creators who sell them alike.

Let's see the main benefits of online challenges and cohort-based learning here:

1. High Student Engagement and Great Learning Experience: Cohort-based courses offer a more structured and engaging learning environment compared to self-paced courses. Students progress together, creating a shared experience that fosters a deeper understanding of the material.
2. Build a Sense of Community: Cohorts unite learners with similar interests and goals, fostering a strong sense of community. Interaction and collaboration among participants create a supportive network that encourages active participation and knowledge sharing.
3. Accountability and Motivation for Students: With fixed start and end dates, cohort-based courses promote accountability. Students feel motivated to stay on track with their studies to keep pace with the group and meet deadlines, resulting in higher completion rates.
4. Easy to Create and Deliver for the Creator: Pre-recorded lessons in cohort-based courses allow creators to plan and deliver content efficiently. Plus, if you are using Heights Platform's challenge feature, you can re-run the same challenge super easily to a new audience!
5. The Right Balance of Freedom and Accountability: Cohort-based courses strike a balance between structure and flexibility. While the curriculum follows a predetermined schedule, learners can still access the content at their convenience and interact with peers within the course duration.
6. Goal-Oriented Learning Attracts Students: Cohort-based courses often have clear objectives, making it easier for learners to set goals and track their progress. This goal-oriented approach enhances the sense of achievement as students work together to accomplish shared milestones.

Cohort-based courses offer a host of benefits that enrich the learning experience for students.

From building a sense of community and accountability to providing timely feedback and networking opportunities, these courses empower both creators and learners to achieve their goals effectively.

But how exactly can you create this type of online course in your business? Let's see how to do it below, thanks to one of Heights Platform's features known as "challenges".

Creating a Cohort-Based Course with Heights Platform

Heights Platform offers a unique feature called "Challenges" that simplifies the process of running cohort-based courses.

Challenges are online courses with specific start and end dates, and lessons are released according to your preferred schedule.

You can presell your challenge before its launch date, when everyone who purchased will get access.

Once a challenge is completed, you can easily restart it with just one click, choosing the next launch date and letting the system set lesson release dates and release emails automatically.

Learn more about online challenges:

• How to Launch an Online Challenge in 5 Easy Steps
• Introducing Challenges in Heights Platform: (How to Increase Engagement and Boost Online Course Sales)

These kinds of challenges can be used as introductory mini-courses to attract potential customers to your brand and products, as complementary add-ons, or even as your main flagship course inside your program!

In the past, setting up Challenges and cohort course schedules required manual work and lacked useful analytics and messaging tools.

However, Heights Platform's Challenge feature automates the entire process, allowing you to run multiple Challenges smoothly.

Whether you're looking to enhance learner engagement, build a strong community, or attract new customers, cohort-based learning with Heights Platform can empower your online courses and take them to the next level.

Embrace the power of cohort-based learning today and create a dynamic and engaging educational experience for your audience. Create your online challenge today inside Heights!