Synthesis Summer: What to Expect
Overview.
When they log on, students will meet their team and be matched with a coach, who will put them into 3-5 game-based scenarios in a deliberately-designed playlist that last about an hour.
HINT: It’s expected that students will be confused at first. That’s part of the process. 😉
Days and times.
Each week has three unique playlists, and we hope that students will be able to attend all three to achieve the most benefit. Most students will join for an hour on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (and we’ve added some extra “flex-time” sessions on Monday, Friday, and Saturday for our international community). On those days, it doesn’t matter which hour students joins. All sessions start at the top of the hour. Students are welcome to repeat a playlist later in the day if they choose — the scenarios will be the same, but the experiences won’t be.
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Conceptual roadmap.
- Week 1 — Find the Shape. How to become comfortable with confusion and take steps to find clarity within chaos. Concepts include iterative mindset, goal setting, and coordinating roles.
- Week 2 — Added Complexity. Reinforcing students’ strategic process by adding an analytical and evaluative layer. Concepts include critical thinking, risk assessment, and innovation.
- Week 3 — In Flux. Decision-making and course-correcting under unpredictable conditions. Concepts include adaptability, course-corrections, and stress responses.
- Week 4 — Synthesis Squared. A synthesis of previous skills in a brand new Synthesis game. Concepts include skill transfer, team cohesion, and reflection.
Feedback for your student.
After each week, we’ll email you with a review of the week’s experience, personalized feedback about your student, and a preview of what’s coming up the next week.
We don’t expect Synthesis Summer to create complete mastery of the skills above in four short weeks. We do expect to show you where your student is showing comfort and confidence, where there is room to improve, and what actionable steps will help get there.
Our coaching philosophy.
Synthesis is not school. We believe in the capacity of our students to learn through experience and analysis in their own way, at their own pace. Therefore, our coaches will encourage, but they will not tell students how to play or how to win; they will guide discussion, but they will not tell students what to think; they will moderate communication, but they will not dictate who speaks and when.
Synthesis students are prepared for life’s problems because they’ve practiced solving them, together.
We’re looking forward to watching your student’s journey unfold.
