This word has appeared in 43 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year. Can you use it in a sentence?
Cognitive Networks: Exposure Matters
Cover photo by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
By Megan Sumeracki
In my last blog, I wrote about cognitive networks and implicit bias. The gist of the post was that our systems allow us to categorize and generalize, flexibly and automatically, and that this generally helps us. For example, we have some general rules about what a chair is, and a prototype for chairs. We can walk into a room we have never been in before and identify chairs we have never seen before, and we can do this very quickly. The problem, of course, is that we don’t just do this with chairs or other inanimate objects. We also do this with people.
Our experiences of what we see and hear ourselves out in the world, what we read, what we watch on screen, and what we are told are all integrated into our cognitive networks. We develop implicit bias, and this is true even if we consciously reject the stereotype, and whether we like it or not. For this reason, exposure to diversity matters.
In today’s post, I cover a research article that was published in Psychological Science, a prestigious peer-reviewed journal, by Yair Bar-Haim, Talee Ziv, Dominique Lamy, and Richard Hodes (1). The authors note previous research demonstrates that children as young as 4 years old already display racial stereotyping, and these kids also show a recognition advantage for faces that match their own race.
The study published by Bar-Haim and colleagues demonstrates that exposure to diversity in very young babies matters. They recruited 3-month-old infants that came from three distinct populations, and these populations varied in terms of how much exposure they had to different races.
One group of babies were recruited from Israel. They were white, and their caretakers were largely white.
Another group of babies were recruited from Ethiopia and were awaiting immigration to Israel. They were black, and their caretakers were primarily black.
A third group of babies were recruited from absorption centers in Israel. These babies were from Ethiopia, but had very recently immigrated to Israel. According to the authors, many new immigrants live in absorption centers when they first move to Israel. These babies were black and would have experienced a lot of cross-race exposure. For example, they receive a lot of social support in these centers, and these service providers are largely white. Further, there are a lot of other white immigrant families in these absorption centers.
Therefore, across the three groups, we have two groups where the race of the baby matches the race of the environment, and one group where there are many people, and even caretakers, in the environment that are diverse, and do not always match the race of the baby.
(An interesting related but slightly tangential nugget of information: In writing this piece, I consulted with a friend who is expert in identity theories. The authors in the referenced study used the term “Caucasian.” I remembered that the term was problematic, but would not have been able to explain to someone else exactly why. Further, if I was going to replace the term, I wanted to ensure I did so accurately and appropriately. When I asked my friend about it, they gave me a fascinating lesson on the term and labels that various groups have endorsed in different regions and throughout history. I learned that the term “Caucasian” comes from an 18th century anthropologist, Johann Blumenbach. He used the term to describe a skull that was found in the Caucasus Mountains region, calling the skull the most beautiful human skull. It was larger than others he studied, and this was assumed to signify that these people were superior because they must have had larger brains than others. He labeled these people Caucasians and identified them as representing the ideal human form, the top of a racial hierarchy. Caucasian is now used synonymously with “white European,” and implies that white Europeans are the ideal human form. I don’t begrudge the authors of the study cited here (1) for using the term; their article is from 2006, and it is a term that is still pervasive in some disciplines (see this editorial by Luwi Shamambo and Tracey Henry from 2022, 2). Still, I wanted to avoid using the term and thought other educators might be as interested as I was to learn the historical roots.)
36 Years of Experience, and Still Learning with Illinois Tech’s Online M.B.A.
After 36 years in the workforce, Belgium-based Laurence De Raet had already built a dynamic double career, as an employee in a university and working freelance as a psychologist, consultant, and organizational specialist. She had earned a Master’s degree in psychology, had completed specialized certification in Business Leadership, Emotional Intelligence, and HR analytics & HR assessments, and had worked extensively with career development, motivation, and testing tools.
But for Laurence, learning is a lifelong pursuit.
“I have a growth mindset. I need to keep learning. I think it is important to build expertise when you are passionate. I was really interested in leadership and motivation in the work environment, because often people quit a manager, not the organization! Building leadership competencies in management is a challenge; that is the real problem. That’s my passion.”
When she decided to pursue an M.B.A., she had three key traits she knew she needed: online, affordable, and AACSB-accredited. And that’s how she found the Illinois Tech M.B.A.
Choosing Illinois Tech: Flexibility Meets Quality
For Laurence, finding the right M.B.A. program was about more than just the curriculum; it was about practicality.
“My research included “M.B.A.”, “online”, and “accredited by AACSB.” And, of course, the price. The good thing about Illinois Tech is the pathway, which allows you to take three courses to enter. For someone coming from Europe, that’s so valuable, because getting foreign diplomas recognized can be complicated.”
She began her M.B.A. in January 2024 after completing two of the pathway courses in advance on Coursera.
Challenges Along the Way
Laurence admits she wasn’t confident about every subject area, and notes she was particularly worried about her finance courses.
“I’m not good with numbers. It’s not my domain. When I saw courses like forecasting and financial analysis, I said, ‘OMG, how will I do that, coming from Psychological sciences?!’”
But her determination paid off. Spending some of her evenings studying, working with professors and TAs during office hours, and understanding the benefits of showing her thought process in exams, Laurence excelled in even the toughest courses.
“I assumed I’d get a 70% in the last financial analysis assessment. It was the biggest challenge of my life. But I worked hard and put in the effort and got a 92%. I took every piece of advice from the TA to be the most prepared.”
Live Engagement and Real Flexibility
Laurence points to Illinois Tech’s flexible course design and active faculty engagement as key reasons she has succeeded.
“I loved the live events. Every course has them, and they helped us link to our real experiences. I remember many conversations, one-on-one, two or three of us, we could exchange ideas very well.”
She also values how the program lets her set her own pace.
“It’s amazing because you can work ahead during breaks at the pace that works for you. In M.B.A. programs, the majority of us have jobs and families, and you can divide your time as you want. You can also be strategic and take non-credit courses on Coursera, and let that material challenge you even more.”
And she’s especially excited about Illinois Tech’s adoption of new tools.
“The new ‘Coach’ on Coursera is amazing. Of course, we have ChatGPT for deep explanations, but Coach is linked to the videos. You can ask direct questions, review things in other words, summarize, and take exercises. It’s incredible.”
Advice for Future Students
Laurence will graduate at the end of 2025 with her Illinois Tech M.B.A., adding another degree to her already impressive academic background. But for her, the biggest achievement has been proving to herself and others that learning never stops.
Her advice to prospective students centers on her commitment to persistence, grit, and the value she sees in furthering your education:
“If you have motivation and do what the professors say, it doesn’t matter if it’s complicated. The more effort you put in, the more you’ll get out of it. Grit matters.”
And to anyone who may doubt themselves or be hesitant about taking the leap into higher education later on in life:
“It will be hard, but you can do it. Even if you’ve never worked in that domain before, you can do it. You never know how much potential you have until you try. And no matter the age. At Illinois Tech, everybody has the opportunity to find motivation in themselves, to be elevated and supported by wonderful professors, and receive the best quality, and I’m so grateful.”
Online Learning Statistics: Alison EEA Users Report
Online learning continues to reshape how individuals across Europe access education, upskill, and prepare for the future of work. Alison, as a global leader in free online learning, is committed to both accessibility and transparency.
This article shares the latest European Economic Area (EEA) online learning statistics, highlighting Alison’s average monthly users while ensuring compliance with the EU Digital Services Act.
Alison’s Commitment to the European Union’s Digital Services Act Compliance
Under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), online platforms are required to publish information about their average monthly users within the EEA. This ensures accountability, transparency, and user protection.
Alison: An Irish leader in free online learning is committed to meeting these requirements, keeping our Learners, partners, and regulators informed. In fact, this is not the first time we’ve made this information public. Our May update was an important step in establishing a regular reporting practice.
For Alison, compliance with the DSA is not simply a legal obligation. It’s a reflection of our values. We believe in openness, fairness, and empowering learners by ensuring they understand the platform’s widespread use. Our first official disclosure of EEA user statistics was made in May, and since then, we have committed to publishing updates regularly. By doing so, we provide a clear and reliable picture of how online learning trends are evolving across Europe.
As an Irish company, Alison is proud to be one of the pioneers in embracing these standards. Transparency is a cornerstone of our mission, and making this information public helps strengthen the trust we’ve built with our learners, educators, and regulators across the continent.
Alison’s Average Monthly Users from the EEA
For the past three months, from May to July, Alison recorded an average of 236,000 monthly users in the EEA.
This figure reflects the strong and consistent engagement from Learners across Europe, who rely on Alison to access free, high-quality online education. It demonstrates a strong and consistent level of engagement across the region, reinforcing the fact that demand for accessible online education remains steady and continues to grow. The statistics confirm both a steady demand for digital learning and the growing role of online platforms in making education more accessible across diverse regions.
The trend also highlights how Alison Learners from different countries within the EEA increasingly turn to our platform to improve their professional skills, pursue certifications, and access multilingual resources.
- Steady demand for online learning: Learners across the EEA are increasingly choosing flexible, online options over traditional classroom formats.
- Diverse regional engagement: Our users represent countries across Europe, from large urban centres to smaller communities where access to traditional educational infrastructure may be limited.
- Focus on employability: The majority of our Learners are seeking to enhance professional skills, earn certifications, and prepare for career transitions.
The publication of this EEA report is one milestone in Alison’s broader mission. Our focus remains on expanding access, embracing inclusivity, and leveraging technology to empower millions of learners.
A Leading Free Online Learning Platform
As one of the world’s largest free online learning platforms, Alison offers 5,500+ free courses across in-demand subjects such as business, technology, language learning, healthcare, and personal development.
We’re seeing consistent demand for courses that support career growth through upskilling and reskilling. Among the top choices on Alison are:
- Diploma in Human Resources
- CPR, AED and First Aid
- Diploma in Human Resources
- Diploma in Business Administration
- HIPAA Compliance: A Complete Guide
- Basic Life Support
- Diploma in Project Management
- Food Safety and Hygiene
- Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points)
- ISO 9001:2015 – Quality Management System
- Diploma in Operations Management
Alison is actively working to make learning more accessible across the EEA, with Spanish and French translations currently in the pipeline. By offering multilingual courses, we can help reduce language barriers and open our virtual doors to millions more across the continent and further afield.
Free Career Development Tools for Learners
Beyond learning, we also offer a comprehensive suite of free career-development tools to empower early-career professionals, those seeking a promotion, and those ready for a career change. Anyone registered on our platform can use and benefit from these tools:
- Resumé Builder: Helping learners present their skills and qualifications clearly.
- Aptitude Tests: Offering insights into strengths, weaknesses, and career suitability.
- Workplace Personality Assessment: Supporting better self-awareness and career alignment.
- Mental Health Assessment: Promoting personal wellbeing as part of career readiness.
- Career Ready Plan: Giving learners a structured pathway to prepare for their next steps.
In addition to supporting individual Learners, we also enable businesses of all sizes to provide free training and development opportunities to their teams. Our Free LMS (Learning Management System) enables organisations to upskill employees at scale and foster a culture of continuous learning without the cost barriers of a traditional LMS.
Why Transparency Matters in Online Education
While publishing user statistics is a legal requirement under the DSA, Alison sees it as more than just compliance. Transparency builds trust with learners by showing the scale and reliability of our platform before they invest their time.
It also reassures regulators of our commitment to accountability and responsible operations, while demonstrating to potential partners that Alison is a credible and trusted force in the edTech industry.
Conclusion
This EEA online learning statistics report confirms that Alison averaged 236k monthly users across the region from May to July. By publishing this data, Alison continues to meet its obligations under the EU’s Digital Services Act while reinforcing its role as a global leader in free online learning.
As we look to the future, Alison remains committed to transparency, accessibility, and inclusivity. By expanding our multilingual reach, enhancing our career development tools, and empowering both individuals and organisations, we continue to put learners at the heart of everything we do.
Word of the Day: renowned
This word has appeared in 892 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year. Can you use it in a sentence?
Mentoring Platforms – Industry Insight
In a recent post covering the latest around AI and its impact on tomorrow’s workforce (event today), the one constant that kept appearing in my research was the importance of mentoring.
Not just once mentioned but repeatedly.
There wasn’t anything besides the re-skilling and new skills, such as transitioning from current coding to AI programming, that showed up a bit.
But mentoring surpassed them all.
Yet, one of the major surprises is that, as a whole, the mentoring standalone systems are what I call overall stagnation.
This is one factor why the growth spurt and I forecast continued spurt will be driven not only by standalone, but rather by other learning systems (mentoring is under a learning system), such as an LMS, learning platform, talent development platform, workforce dev platform, and similar ilk.
Vendors on the non-mentoring initial standalone side are already fully recognized.
It is why, out of systems as a whole, sans AI, the #1 new feature being added is.
Vendors, though, seem to assume coaching and mentoring are the same.
One would think, “Okay, this is the minus, because those mentoring standalone platforms do know the difference, and never pitch the same.”
How wrong you are.
I encountered standalone mentoring platforms from companies whose sole objective, besides landing new clients and making money, is mentoring. Yet, they used the term coaching either in their marketing copy or during our discussions.
I found this odd.
It is one thing for the client to ask, “Can this be used for coaching, or do we want to do coaching?” and for the vendor to respond, “Sure, it can be used for coaching.”
Not ideal, but then again, any learning system targeting one specific thing or another can be used by the client in a completely different way.
Mentoring, therefore, is open to interpretation by the client – it should never be by the vendor directly.
Three years ago, I interviewed with Dr. Ravishankar Gundlapalli, who has written a book about mentoring. He covered a variety of topics in the blog post, including how mentoring is different from coaching.
It’s worth a read (the post that is).
The Basics
Let’s say you are looking at getting a mentoring platform, whether it is a standalone or already in another type of learning system, for purposes of the post, I will list the big two – LMS and a Talent Development Platform (which honestly, is an LMS with enhanced some serious performance aspects to it – I see the latter as the revamping of the old talent management systems and performance management systems which were quite lame by today’s standards, although a few are still around and still have the same lame mantra – seriously, it is 2025 folks!).
In your search, you are likely to find some commonalities across the board, regardless of the specific vendor.
The typical standard fare includes (I will add, how good the job they do is another matter)
- Pick a Mentor or mentors – Some vendors refer to them as experts. I question that assertion.
- Mentor selection can be based on a variety of criteria, including skill level, level of experience, job role, areas to improve, and location (more on that in a bit). I found it odd that a few lacked a preferred language, which, to me, is highly relevant. I know it is hard to believe, but not everyone wants to speak English.
- Mentor Profile – I should have listed this above the mentor selection. An avatar – i.e., a picture of the person is standard. I never saw like an animal for the “avatar” or some funny face thing – although that might be cool depending on your audience. Anyway, universally, it was the human themselves. In theory, it could be AI.
- A series of topics or interests that the mentee chooses ahead of time, before the match or matches. Most often, it was skill(s), but a few had additional options. I prefer a balance between professional and personal skills, rather than focusing solely on workplace skills. A mentor is well-rounded. A coach is only tied to that skill. Always remember that.
- Mentoree Scheduling – This is where the mentoree can schedule a session or sessions through a calendar of said mentor(s). The “on-site and online” were the two options. The former seemed odd to me in today’s workforce landscape; however, if you wanted to meet up with your mentor at Bob’s Greasy Food Joint since they live close by, then go for it. Just make sure they pick up the tab.
For the online – that truly is the route to go for a couple of reasons.
a. It is a recorded session – you and them. You can go back at any time to review, and if they ask for some deep dive/probing questions for you to think about and retort in a follow-up, there is now a way to recall.
b. You may choose to have it in your library of content – most systems offer a library of content, so the recording is a logical place for it.
c. Once the system offers an AI summary and transcript and other capabilities like this one – Grain (I use them, but there are others out there), then the whole recorded session takes on a whole new meaning and value.
- Goal setting – Pretty standard – but the level and quality of what you can do, etc, varied all over the map.
- Role-Based Permissions (if your mentoring platform or mentoring piece in another type of learning system lacks this – run..run and keep running)
- Video Conferencing integration – Extremely standard. I should give kudos to Chronus, which offers its own VC option too. I’m not sure if they charge extra for it, so it’s best to ask. I think they do, but it’s worth checking.
- Custom Program Creation – Parameters of what should be included in the program. The level and types of parameters vary as a whole, but duration is common. Milestones aren’t, but they should be, and objectives were a mix.
For me, the objectives are intriguing. If the goal of the mentoring is long-term, meaning you can tap into them from time to time, are the objectives relevant?
This is subjective; nevertheless, vendors recognize that many clients want this, and the whole set of these objectives must be met.
For me, it depends on what you need the mentor’s assistance or guidance with, and how you define the goals and milestones. The admin or whoever oversees the program will see it the same way.
- Admin functionality overall, I found similar; there were a couple of items that stood out, but that was definitely due to the system itself, rather than the industry as a whole—a shame.
- AI – Overall, it existed in more platforms than it lacked. Nevertheless, some vendors lack it; some are offering machine learning only (a form of AI), and a couple are doing a combo Gen AI and machine learning. As with any learning system, the AI is at a very, very early stage.
- AI Tutor or similar. This is where the whole “coach” side of this can co-exist or exist alone. You can tap into an AI tutor (think AI answer engine with “tutor” and some data points you can see – depending on the platform), and then have a human enter the picture after that. I strongly recommend a human element here. I mean, it’s mentoring. Not asking whether or not you can wear sunglasses at night – Cory Hart says you can. I trust him!
I will add a FWIW – that they (researchers) are finding that mental well-being is becoming a crucial need with AI. Too many people are taking AI’s advice to heart, both mentally and behaviorally, which is leading to some fatal consequences.
And I won’t go into the whole AI partner relationship, which is becoming an issue too – again, with some fatal results.
Trust me when I say this: you must include a mental well-being program in your learning strategy and talent strategy if you have or plan to use AI.
I think you should do it regardless, since your employees are already using AI at home or online.
Yeah, I know I got off the subject a bit, but it isn’t something to gloss over or ignore.
UI/UX in general is pretty standard.
Yes there are standouts, but overall, I went into it with “let me see different,” and walked away thinking, “This is it?” – It’s like everybody got into a room at Disneyland (like they need the business) and said, “Hey, let us all do this or that, what do you all think? And everyone was “Yeah, that’s great. Why do they charge so much for a park map?”
Guided Mentoring
This is one area that I found of most interest. And while one vendor noted that they didn’t or weren’t aware of any other system doing this, I found another one that did.
Each of them, Chronus and Mentor+ from NovoEd, approaches it differently, as they should, but it is guided mentoring.
This is without a doubt a huge plus, IMO.
Intriguing Potential
There is a lot to cover in mentoring platforms, and time is limited – I mean nobody wants to read a 10,000-word scribe from me on this happy week (isn’t every week a happy one – Bobby McFerrin thinks so – although a factoid – he hates signing the song. Guess, he isn’t happy).
Pre-Assessment
Chronus does this, and I loved it.
As with any analysis, it only works if you are 100% true about yourself and not answering the way you think you should reply.
Their system relies heavily on the analysis, so being honest is the crux here.
I still have my assessment – and yeah, overall, I concur.
It was fun to take, and made me think – a plus!
Many moons ago, CrossKnowledge conducted a pre-assessment from a non-mentoring angle. Although it had potential and some interesting aspects, it never reached its long-term goals—a bummer.
Regardless, CK wasn’t into mentoring then, and Chronus is – that’s their whole stake here, so kudos to them.
Role, Segment, Audience, et al..
First and foremost, it should be noted that based on a wide swath of conversations from mentoring platform standalone, and those with another type of learning system plus mentor, there are some commonalities on who is buying a mentoring platform (today)
Large Enterprise by far. We are talking more than 25,000 learners here. And in many cases exceeding 100,000.
Enterprise is next up – and as I always note, it depends on what a vendor defines as Enterprise. What I heard is the 5,000 and up side, which, to my delight, is how I define Enterprise (5,000+).
FWIW – Large Enterprise to me is 20,000 plus. The industry as a whole ranges from 10,000 to 50,000, with Large Enterprise being an additional tier, which doesn’t matter – say 10,001 and above, to cover large enterprise.
Anyway…
The target buyer by job role?
CLO – yes, the CLO. And where do you find that fine title??
Overall, they are on the Large Enterprise side.
Before you spam me that your company has 2,000 people and your title is CLO, I get it. The above is based on feedback from vendors.
Retail and Hospitality – you would think it is the driver vertical here, but it isn’t. There wasn’t one specific vertical that stood out as far and beyond the dominator, although technology and manufacturing are popular.
It’s easier to identify the weak side (i.e., not a huge amount).
Financial Services by far. You would think, sure, FS sides, such as insurance and banking, would be ideal for mentoring.
I also found healthcare to be on the low end.
If you have 250 or more employees, implementing a mentoring platform can be both feasible and highly valuable. As a small business (defined by the industry as 50 to 999 employees), you can still benefit from mentoring.
And any industry where churn (here one day, gone tomorrow) (hello – retail and hospitality) is high, a mentor is relevant and beneficial.
It was interesting to see how many mentoring platforms seemed to fail at recognizing the idea that someone in an industry – a solo practitioner – could be a mentor or offer a mentoring program to those new to the industry they are in, let alone a mentor program between a university (current, or recent grads) and an alumni (I see this all the time with my undergrad – right after they find me seeking funds – how is it possible that every other place can’t locate you after you move, but your college/uni can see you – uh, seeking money).
Anyway, the above use case(s) do exist – nevertheless, across the board, the majority of vendors seemed incapable of wrapping their head around the use cases, especially a solo or a couple of folks in an industry offering mentoring to others entering the industry (example: a few real estate execs – owners of RE firms – offering mentoring to those entering the real estate market).
Current Leaders in the Standalone Mentoring Platform Market
Based on my research, including conversations with a lot of mentoring platforms, standalone or otherwise, these vendors were listed as the leaders (in no particular order)
The mentoring platforms as a whole never brought up any providers who were not learning focused with mentoring per se – I found many who were unaware that Together had been acquired by Absorb, which thus changes the dynamic, and therefore the retort – of none to okay, actually one of these folks because they bought Together.
The Mentor Template Percentage Success
Using my mentoring section with my Learning System Template, only three vendors achieved a score of more than 90% on the 36 items listed.
Those vendors are
- Mentor+ by NovoEd (they scored the highest) – Brand new to the industry. Can be a standalone, or you can add it to Learn+ (their LMS)
- Chronus is a terrific mentoring platform – far better than Qooper or MentorCliq (how are these folks the top leaders in the mentoring side?)
- Together by Absorb – Together was a standalone entity before Absorb acquired them. You get the Together platform when you buy the Absorb Learning Suite – it is already fully integrated. If you prefer only Together, you can purchase it.
Bottom Line
Mentoring.
It’s a novel idea for many companies across various segments, markets, sizes, and company culture focuses.
It doesn’t have to be limited to the Global 2000 or other very large enterprise entities.
It doesn’t have to be limited to a company that has a CLO or one where L&D is running the show.
It can be for your customers. Your members. Your students. Your alumni (no need to contact me for funds, URI).
Think of your interns. Apprentices and recent graduates entering the workforce, particularly within your company, can benefit from ongoing assistance through mentoring.
Employees who have been at your company for six months or more can all benefit from mentoring.
In the end of it all,
Mentoring only works
If you are willing to be part of the mentor world
Whether it is for yourself
Or someone
Else.
E-Learning 24/7
Ask a Journalist: A Monthly Series for Teenagers
Join us each month this school year to discuss a teen-friendly topic with a New York Times journalist who covers it. Post your thoughts, ask questions or suggest ideas, and the reporters will reply!
Ask a Journalist: How Generative A.I. Is Reshaping Our Lives
Kashmir Hill joins us for the month of September to chat about artificial intelligence and our relationship to it. Post your comments and questions for her by Sept. 15.
Word of the Day: bayou
This word has appeared in 52 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year. Can you use it in a sentence?
How The Motley Fool Built Bridges Between Teams with Python Skills
Every Wednesday at 5:00, a group of employees at The Motley Fool, a financial and investing advice company, comes together to review the latest Python topics they’re learning through Codecademy. They’re a team of non-developers who wanted the ability to better communicate with the developers they collaborate with. They also saw the opportunity to make more informed decisions in their day-to-day work by growing their analytical skills. So far, the team is making great strides. Here’s how they got started and why they saw Codecademy as the best way to learn technical skills.
Why learn a new programming language?
The team at The Motley Fool is currently learning Python, but what motivated them to learn a new skill in the first place — and why Python? Johnnie Weathersby, Senior Business Intelligence (BI) Data Analyst/Architect and the Codecademy for Teams account manager, knows that in a digital world, it’s important to keep up with the fast pace of change. He tells us:
“I have a terrible fear of falling behind and I know that Python is one of those skill sets that everyone is starting to pick up and code with. I saw that it was one of the most sought-after skills in 2020. I also wanted to be conversant so I could talk to our devs and expand my own capabilities for analysis.”
Gary Taylor, Senior BI Analyst, feels that the more you know, the better. He says:
“For me, it was expanding my toolbox. When you look at the toolset that gets used in data science a lot, Python is way up there. Your critical data analysis tools — like Django, NumPy, or pandas — are all derived from Python.”
Robin Coulantes, who works in Finance, simply wanted to learn a new skill. She shares:
“I had no Python, coding, or data background. I wanted to see if I could apply it to my job and see if I like doing Python.”
Although each person had their own motivation for learning Python, everyone shared the desire to learn in an interactive, hands-on way, which led Johnnie to Codecademy for Teams.
Choosing Codecademy
Prior to signing up for Codecademy, the team experimented with learning Python through other platforms, but their experience fell short. Other platforms taught only through presentations — they lacked the interactive, hands-on learning that Codecademy offers. In fact, the ability to code in an interface was the biggest selling point for the team. Hannah Westberg, BI Analyst, shares:
“We could actually read something and then practice it right away and get feedback on it. The other platforms were more theoretical and expected you to go figure out how to do things in your own code editor.”
The team also preferred Codecademy because the course material had the breadth and depth they were looking for, while other platforms had gaps in their curriculum. They also appreciated how the courses were organized to offer step-by-step guidance. Johnnie explains:
“I like the structured approach. I like knowing that you’re working towards an end project and having the modules and syllabus clearly laid out. That organization is really helpful in picking up a coding language.”
The Motley Fool encourages their people to learn and dedicates budget for personal development, so Johnnie proposed Codecademy for Teams to Tom Connor, People Team Manager. He was immediately on board. As the company’s former VP of Software Development, Tom understood exactly why the other learning platforms didn’t quite hit the mark. He shares:
“I know from the past that for learning technical skills, more specific training tends to be the best. I like that Codecademy offers more boutique learning.”
Once Johnnie got budget approval for Codecademy for Teams, he decided to take things a step further. Rather than hand out licenses and have people learn on their own, he organized cohorts as a way to boost every learner’s chance of success.
Learning Python as a team
Johnnie started by taking the syllabus for the Codecademy Python course and assigning weekly review meetings for each segment, taking care to allot more time around holidays and for challenging topics. During each meeting, the group goes through the assigned lesson, including some of the sample projects. People share tips and are encouraged to walk others through how they solved a problem.
Johnnie also recruited some of the company’s developers to get involved. They act as mentors to learners and join the weekly meetings to help answer questions and give feedback. The meetings help learners set a pace for working through the material while providing a sense of accountability, which has been the biggest benefit of participating in a cohort for Gary:
“The nice thing about doing it in a group is there’s some accountability. You don’t want to let the group down. You don’t want to show up being the guy that doesn’t know what’s going on or didn’t finish that day. The group was a strong motivator.”
Outside of the weekly meetings, there’s ongoing support through the team’s dedicated “Python Homies” Slack channel of nearly 50 people, which includes a mix of learners and developers. This is where learners can ask questions, access meeting recaps, and — perhaps most importantly — get the encouragement to push through to the finish line.
For Johnnie, the connection and engagement that’s transpired among this larger group has been the most exciting result of the cohort approach. He tells us:
“Our devs know a lot and they love talking about what they do and teaching people. This has given them a great opportunity to share what they know and for them to interact with us. I love seeing the community that has built up around this group of people.”
So what happens when a cohort finishes a course? Some learners move on to a different language in Codecademy, some go through the course again for reinforcement, and others apply the knowledge to independent or work projects. The possibilities are endless.
The benefits of learning Python (& the benefits of simply learning)
Learning with a team and through an interactive platform like Codecademy has been the winning combination for those who struggled to absorb Python before. Hannah tells us:
“I tried to learn Python off and on for a couple of years. This is the first time I feel like I’ve made some breakthroughs.”
Johnnie had a similar experience and is already starting to benefit from making sense of Python:
“This has been the first time I’ve been able to successfully retain Python. I can remember the syntax now, I can remember the functions now. It hammered it into my head better than other times I tried to learn it with videos or books. I’m more confident and I feel more understanding of our devs. I can have better, more contextual conversations with them now.”
While some of the team will apply the concepts they learned right away — Gary and Hannah are tackling pandas, next — others, like Robin, are benefitting just from going through the learning process. She says:
“It was just nice to learn a new skill. I got the basics of it and I’m going to do another round of it because it is so new to me.”
There’s a perceived risk in learning something new — what if I don’t get it right? — but the experience itself has given the team at The Motley Fool permission to fail. The cohort structure provides encouragement and the opportunity to re-join the next round if you fall off. It’s a valuable lesson in resilience. On top of that, the Codecademy platform provides a safe space to experiment, as Johnnie describes:
“It’s OK to go in there and try different things out. Nobody is gonna die, no businesses are gonna lose money. If you mess up, Codecademy lets you go back and try again. There’s no negative reinforcement in Codecademy.”
Codecademy: A match for their mission
The Motley Fool’s purpose is to make the world smarter, happier, and richer by showing people how enjoyable, and financially rewarding, it can be when you invest in the stock market. This also drives how they treat their employees. Tom says:
“At the Fool, we believe people should have the freedom to follow their passion every day in roles they love.”
This isn’t just an idea they pay lip service to. By providing the opportunity to upskill with Codecademy, The Motley Fool shows that they support their employees in growing smarter, happier, and richer, too.
Learn together with Codecademy
Ready to unlock your team’s potential, like The Motley Fool? Give Codecademy for Teams a try. Our online learning platform offers interactive, self-paced training that equips your employees with the latest technical skills. Let your team try it first with our free 14-day trial.
