Pieter Van Eenoge

The cohort that my research at Yale examines possess the imagination and creativity to conceive of a way to design their learning beyond a self-contained major. The traditional academic major is filled with prerequisites that prescribe the sequence that classes are taken in. There is never a pause in the process to ask what is the nature of the learning that is occurring? Or how is a student advancing intellectually? Once a prerequisite is fulfilled, a box is checked, metaphorically, and the student moves on. Period. 

As the final phase of data gathering for my research is unfolding, I have taken a step back from the process of ethnography to reaffirm my hypothesis:

An institutional shift in support of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (“STEM”) has transformed how students at Yale, a traditionally liberal arts college, prepare themselves as 21^st century knowledge workers. Student-oriented resources associated with this strategic shift empower a cohort to engage in self-directed learning in the realms of innovation, design, and entrepreneurship.

In reaffirming my hypothesis, I also reaffirm the “why” behind this investigation. Through the development of the wide toolbox framework my goal is to shed some light on how a cohort of purposeful learners have gone about the business of thinking critically about what is important for them to learn and master, and why they believe this approach will empower them to realize their full intellectual potential and optimize their time at an elite educational institution. The main points of my research thus far are:

• The traditional academic major is laden with prerequisites that often stifle the ambition of purposeful learners.
• Before choosing those areas to learn, self-directed learners look inward, figuring out what they are curious about, where there are university resources that they can use and how to create a hybrid educational experience.
• A “creative and intellectually courageous minority” has come up with a nontraditional learning methodology that involves choosing the areas they want to master and seeking out professors, and others who can assist them in learning in their selected areas.

An email I received regarding last week’s post makes the point that selecting classes or other activities purposefully involves a bit of work. This recent graduate of the School of Management wrote: I tend to agree that education in elite institutions tends to push students towards what is “best” as defined by general consensus, rather than what is “best for them,” which takes a bit more thinking and risk taking. He continues:

One thing I would add to what I said before is that an additional reason online learning and resources are nice is that unlike regimented class, you can actually do things during the day time. Meaning that you can try to start a business during the day time, and you can fill in the gaps in your learning when people have stopped working, at night. While it doesn’t leave time for breaks, it does allow you to quickly learn what one needs to in new areas.

Also, in doing our interview and reading your post, it was fun for me to think through the broader societal context of the way I approach learning, and how the Internet is allowing people like me to do more side learning.

This recent graduate exercised the courage to execute his strong belief that he had to sift, sort, and curate the classes and activities he was exposed to in order to build an individualized learning template that provided him the best and most relevant overall experience at Yale. As a result of pursuing his nontraditional learning path he acquired knowledge in areas such as business, medicine, the life sciences, molecular biology, biotechnology, and science lab protocol. Today he is the CEO of a startup in the life sciences space that recently closed on a $1.25 million Series A round with several venture capital firms.