Ways to Make Learning More Relevant to Students

💡 The college semester isn’t dying; It’s being disrupted. And business education should be leading the reinvention. 💡 Undergraduate and graduate students alike are looking for something more relevant, more flexible, and more future-proof than the traditional calendar can offer. The old rhythm of fall-spring-summer no longer fits the cadence of a world shaped by AI acceleration, venture capital urgency, and evolving learner expectations. This is not a crisis; it’s an opportunity. Business schools must answer the call. As a business school dean, startup founder, and VC investor, I see the disconnect every day between how most B schools educate and how the real world works. The solution isn’t to abandon structure. It’s to rebuild it with purpose. From day one, business higher education should feel like joining a high-performing startup: fast-moving, applied, and obsessed with outcomes. Whether it’s a first-year undergrad or a mid-career #MBA candidate, learners deserve a business education built for their reality which looks like this: ✅ Sprints. Six- or eight-week learning cycles tied to deliverables, not dates. From product strategy to data storytelling, learners should exit each sprint with a marketable skill and tangible portfolio piece. ✅ Stackable pathways. Business education should offer multiple on-ramps and off-ramps. Start with a certificate, add a credential, then build to a degree. Let life happen, and let learning flex with it. ✅ Built-in experience. Replace theory-only lectures with consulting engagements, startup incubators, and embedded internships. Every term should double as a résumé upgrade. ✅ Rigor through relevance. Make coursework align with current business challenges: real clients, real data, real stakes. Academic excellence comes from application, not abstraction. ✅ Metrics that matter. Attendance is not a measure of learning. Let’s track capability, confidence, and career acceleration instead. This shift is not about cutting corners. It’s about sharpening focus. It is about preparing students to move at the speed of the economy they are about to enter or are already leading. Ohio can become a national proving ground for this approach. We can create the blueprint for business higher education that is modular, interdisciplinary, student-powered, and employer-validated. The future of business isn’t stuck in a semester. It’s moving in cycles, in sprints, in moments that matter. Our responsibility is to build a system that moves with it and helps students lead it. #BusinessEducation #HigherEdInnovation #MBA #UndergraduateBusiness #StartupMindset #AIReady #FutureOfWork #ThePowerToDo #StudentSuccess #WorkIntegratedLearning #LeadershipDevelopment

GAMIFICATION UNLEASHED: When most people think of gamification in eLearning, they picture points, badges, and leaderboards. But the true power of gamification lies in meaningful choices and real consequences? Instead of just adding a game-like layer to an eLearning course, we should think about how we can use gamification to create immersive, decision-driven experiences. Branching scenarios are a prime example. They allow learners to make choices that affect the actual outcome of the scenario—providing a more engaging and personalized learning journey. It’s not just about making learning fun—it’s about creating a realistic simulation where every choice matters. This approach helps learners experience the impact of their decisions in a safe environment, which translates to better understanding and retention. In a recent project, I designed a branching scenario where learners navigated complex decision paths in a simulated environment. Each decision led to different consequences, mirroring real-life outcomes. This not only made the learning process more engaging but also deepened learners' understanding of the material. By focusing on the real-world application of decisions, gamification became a powerful tool for meaningful learning rather than just a decorative element. #Gamification #eLearning #BranchingScenarios

This headline has been all over my feed: “...AI tutor rockets student test scores..." Everyone take a deep breath. We’ve seen this before, and it’s not the educational breakthrough we crave. We’ve been on this ride for 15 years—it’s just “adaptive practice”. But, to be clear, adaptive practice IS great. Putting students in front of personalized learning tools like Khan Academy would be better than a traditional lecture-based approach. And, I think those tools have a significant place in the future of school. But, we've seen this hype before: adaptive learning tools promise miracles, yet most students won't care. Their motivation remains untouched. The core issue is simple: teenagers aren't robots. Adaptive practice, even AI-enhanced, often feels like more efficiently delivered broccoli—still bland, still something adults make them eat. Even reducing schoolwork to three streamlined hours doesn't address the deeper issue: it remains disconnected from students' personal interests, dreams, and sense of purpose. Without meaningful context, shorter periods of adaptive practice simply reduce boredom—they don't eliminate it. That bargain will win over some students, but most won’t budge. Teenagers want meaning, community, and relevance. They engage deeply when learning connects with their interests and real-world goals. Picture this: instead of isolated science homework, students explore "Colonizing Mars," learning chemistry by balancing equations essential for rocket propulsion and sustaining life. Suddenly, chemistry matters because it connects directly to their interests. They deeply feel WHY the learning matters. Contents should be repackaged to fit into interesting, real-world problems. Those problems then animate all the thinking and hard work behind enduring learning. This isn't hypothetical—it’s called "interdisciplinary, inquiry-based learning," the approach we've embraced at Sora Schools. Adaptive tools become powerful when integrated into meaningful, real-world contexts, transforming chores into meaningful experiences. True educational innovation won't come from yet another adaptive learning iteration. It demands a fundamental shift—connecting knowledge to contexts students genuinely care about. Until then, we'll keep spinning on this edtech merry-go-round.

It is the start of the semester, and for many it will be their first time teaching. Teaching can feel like being thrown into the deep end, especially for new professors. Many of us, including myself, received little to no formal training on teaching. We were told, "Here's your classroom, now go teach," and we had to figure it out through trial and error. I learned most of what I know about effective teaching from observing great instructors and by constantly experimenting in my own classroom. The good news is that there are fundamental principles of pedagogy supported by research that can help. Here is some of what I've learned. 1. Activate Prior Knowledge - Students build new knowledge on the foundations of what they already know. Before introducing a new concept, I help them make connections to past experiences or previously learned material. This primes their brains and gives the new information an anchor. A simple question like, "Think back to the first time you heard about atomic orbitals, what were your first thoughts? What were the questions that came to your mind?” can make a huge difference. Putting what you are about to discuss in the context can be motivating for students. For example, “Now we are going to talk about the equation that governs their shapes and what those shapes even mean." 2. Foster a Culture of Psychological Safety - One of the most powerful things we can do as educators is to create a space where students feel safe to be vulnerable. This means celebrating questions and discussion. When a student starts a question with, "This might be a stupid question, but...", it's a critical moment. I make it a point to say, "There are no stupid questions." Being approachable and available outside of class is also key. I make a conscious effort to signal that my door is open and I am here to support them. 3. Connect Learning to the Real World - Students learn best by doing and by seeing how concepts apply to their lives. When designing assignments, I try to move beyond theory. I ask students to solve problems related to everyday experiences. I encourage them to look at the world around them through the lens of the course. This helps them see that science and engineering is everywhere, waiting to be discovered and understood. 4. Equip Students to Learn on Their Own - While we can use diverse teaching methods to cater to different learning styles, the reality is that we can't be everything to every student. This means empowering them to understand how they learn best. We need to educate them on the different learning strategies available and encourage them to experiment and discover what works for them. This shifts the focus from passively receiving information to actively taking ownership of their own education. Ultimately, great teaching is about much more than just conveying information. It's about building a relationship with students and helping them develop the skills to think critically and learn independently.

Recently I listened to Luke Hobson, EdD's podcast on #andragogy, or the science behind #adultlearningtheory. It was incredibly insightful to hear him explain the six major principles in a simple to understand way! I also was very encouraged to notice I've already been using a lot of these in some sort of way (though there's always room for growth and improvement!). Here's a quick recap of my big takeaways: ✴️ "The Why Being the Ask" - Clarifying for the target audience how the learning will help them in their jobs. One great tip I got was to add a statement with each learning objective about its relevance (emphasis on relevance is a HUGE part of my instructional processes!). ✴️ Acknowledging what the audience already knows / past experiences - Each course I start, I always do a survey with my learners about their learning preferences, interests, and goals, as I make every effort to connect and cater the learning experiences to the interests and needs of my learners. While this may seem like a big task, by involving different forms of presenting information and ways to gather responses, I am usually able to meet the expectations and preferences of my learners. This also involves the concept of #universaldesignforlearning or #udl, which promotes the idea of having multiple ways and flexible means of how to accomplish #learninggoals (I've got a great suggestion for a book to help flesh this out; if you're interested, see the comments!). ✴️ Relevance - As mentioned above, going beyond just the theory to make clear the relevance of the learning is paramount! ✴️ Self-concept - Again, implementing UDL practices helps in providing flexibility for how learners want to learn! ✴️ Problem-Centric - Incorporating real-world problems for learners to solve (my favorite way is using #scenariobasedlearning, though case studies are also another great means); incorporating quality interactions and breaks also helps with this. I liked Luke's suggestion of the 70/30 divide - 70% "action," 30% exploring instructional content. ✴️ Last but not least, intrinsic motivation - Inspiring learners to believe in themselves and their abilities and encouraging a #growthmindset. This is always my goal as an instructor. Some great suggestions Luke had for supporting this are regular check-ins and giving learners feedback and praise for responses (again, I strive to do this as often as possible). This podcast also inspired me with some additional ideas that I look forward to implementing in the near future! What are your thoughts? What are your best tips for supporting adult learning? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments! #instructionaldesign #learninganddevelopment #learningexperiencedesign #bettereveryday