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Cohorts
In the broadest sense, a cohort is a group of individuals who share an experience. In the context of educational administration, a cohort is a group of students who experience an educational program together over a period of time. Cohorts are often created as an administrative convenience that allows educational programs and the resources that support them to be managed in predictable and more efficient ways. In higher education, for example, where it can be difficult to project the number of students who will be enrolled in courses over several semesters, creating a cohort of students who will begin the program together, progress through a series of courses in a prescribed order, and complete the program at the same time allows program administrators to accurately project course enrollments throughout the life of the program.
The preparation of school leaders has attracted cyclical scrutiny over the years, and the reforms of the 1990s brought new standards for school leaders, new and restructured programs, shifts in instructional strategies, and new licensure exams. At the same time, the concept of cohort models was resurrected. The most obvious effect was that managing student enrollment by organizing students into cohort groups made it easier to manage student enrollment, faculty assignments, and other resources. In addition, many viewed cohorts as an instructional opportunity that was an important key to improved program quality and the effectiveness of graduates in the field.
When cohorts are used to build and support relationships among students and faculty, it has been possible to enhance learning and foster professional networking and to develop the skills needed to create and support learning communities in their own schools.
Characteristics of Cohorts
Cohorts are familiar structures in professional training. They allow students to support each other through challenging programs and encourage the development of long-term professional networks. When certain prerequisites and program components are in place, the use of cohorts in preparation programs for school leaders is expected to achieve both professional and personal outcomes for students.
Prerequisites for the Cohort Experience
When students made a conscious choice to enroll in a cohort program, as opposed to a program that would allow individual choices of courses and schedule, they are more likely to look forward to the cohort experience and less likely to be surprised by the constraints. In addition, when students demonstrate a readiness for the cohort experience, they tend to be more willing to engage in collaborative learning activities and accept responsibility for their contributions. Not only is student readiness for the cohort experience helpful, but faculty must be ready as well. Once the administrative structures for managing student enrollment and course sequence are in place, the program design must include relevant content, collaborative instructional strategies that build relationships in addition to knowledge and skills, and faculty commitment to identify and respond to student needs.
Qualities of the Cohort Experience
To achieve more than administrative efficiency, the cohort experience must include relevant assignments, group interaction and collaborative assignments, an emphasis on relationships and team building, reflective practice, and opportunities to apply new learning in the field. Researchers have noted that cohort models supported the needs of adult learners. Others have highlighted the importance of the shared history that developed among cohort members.
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