OUR
PROGRAM
Teens should be in charge of their own learning. Like anyone else, teens deserve to build projects and solve problems that they actually care about. Unsurprisingly, this approach also leads to better learning outcomes. When at TUMO, students pick their focus areas from the eight offered skills and can always try new content or switch focus areas. Every student goes through an orientation phase when they join TUMO which allows them to sample all of our skill areas and pick their favorites. On average students remain at TUMO for two years but you can stay as long as you wish.
To learn more about the skill areas offered at TUMO click the icons below.
types of learning
Personalized learning means that students get the right content at the right time, challenging enough to stretch their skills while still being accessible. It also means that students only move on to new content when they’ve demonstrated true mastery of a concept. TUMO’s three types of learning are designed to protect independent work and individual growth while still developing the essential skills of collaboration and teamwork.
At TUMO students engage in three types of learning, each designed to build on the other. Students work independently in the self-learning phase to complete activities with the support of an in-person learning coach who is a long-term mentor. After successfully passing enough self-learning activities, students unlock workshops which are month-long courses lead by our staff of industry professionals.
Self-learning phase
two hours
Self-learning activities are short, interactive exercises designed to inspire learners and develop a specific skill through a small project. Each student has a long-term mentor, called a learning coach who tracks their progress and assists them during self-learning. Each activity is submitted for review by a TUMO workshop leader who is an expert in the given field. After successfully completing enough prerequisite activities students “unlock” workshops.
Workshops
Month long
Workshops are month-long intensive courses where teens combine their skills to create a larger project. Workshop leaders are industry professionals with years of experience that they share with our students. Each skill area has three workshops progressing from beginner to advanced and preparatory activities between each level means that students come prepared for new challenges. Students can save their workshop results in their personal, online portfolio
Learning Labs
two weeks
Learning labs are like workshops except that they are led by leading experts from industry who volunteer to lead two week intensive “master classes.” Often reserved for the more advanced students, learning labs typically incorporate students from multiple skill areas to complete a group project. Alumni often cite interactions with learning lab leaders as pivotal in choosing their own careers.
the TUMO path
To provide personalized learning at a large scale, TUMO created a learning management platform called “TUMO Path” that charts a unique learning experience for each student and helps them prioritize activities when navigating through TUMO’s library of content. The Path takes into account factors like each student’s interests, rate of progress and available workshops and learning labs to create an optimized two year plan for each teen. This plan dynamically evolves as each student’s interests change or additional resources become available. The path is also a way for students to visualize their progress as they “level up” through new workshops.
