Episode Details

In this episode of EdTechnical, Libby and Owen look at Alpha School, a model that started as a micro-school in Austin, Texas, and is now expanding. At its core, Alpha condenses academic learning into a morning block where students work largely independently using software, supported by guides rather than traditional teachers. Afternoons are reserved for enrichment and life skills.

Libby and Owen discuss the appeal of this approach , the evidence behind mastery-based learning, and the big questions about scalability and cost. Is this a breakthrough for education or just a well-designed version of ideas we’ve seen before? Join them for a brief dive into Alpha School’s model and what it could signal for future learning models.

Links:

• Alpha School’s white paper 
• A parent review of Alpha School 
• A Wired article about Alpha School
• EdTechnical’s forecasting competition

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• BOLD (@BOLD_insights), Libby Hills (@Libbylhhills) and Owen Henkel (@owen_henkel)
• Listen to all episodes of EdTechnical here: https://boldscience.org/podcasts/edtechnical/
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Credits: Sarah Myles for production support; Josie Hills for graphic design; Pia Schmoeckel for content production.