Aligning CapSource’s Experiential Learning Model with Minerva’s Durable and Disciplinary Skills Framework
The Minerva Project, founded in 2011 by Ben Nelson, is an innovative educational organization focused on reinventing higher education through a global, interdisciplinary, and skills-based curriculum. It emphasizes active learning, real-world application, and the development of durable skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration. Minerva’s curriculum is designed to maximize student engagement and adaptability in a rapidly evolving world.
CapSource’s Experiential Learning Model, established in 2017, focuses on preparing students for the workforce by equipping them with universal, transferable skills like critical thinking, leadership, teamwork, and communication. This aligns closely with Minerva’s education model, which emphasizes both durable and disciplinary skills.
Durable Skills—such as creativity, problem-solving, and adaptability—are applicable across multiple domains and remain relevant as industries evolve. Meanwhile, Disciplinary Skills provide the technical knowledge required for specific fields, similar to how CapSource tailors industry projects for students to build expertise.
CapSource’s Experiential Learning Model
CapSource emphasizes hands-on, real-world projects that enable students to apply classroom knowledge in professional contexts. It focuses on career readiness through projects that foster critical skills such as problem-solving, teamwork, communication, and leadership. The goal is to provide students with a “reference-worthy experience” where they use these skills in meaningful ways for industry stakeholders.
Minerva’s Durable and Disciplinary Skills
Minerva’s curriculum is designed to build durable skills—broad habits of mind like critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration—that are applicable across industries and disciplinary skills, which are more specialized and field-specific. These two skill sets are intertwined to create a holistic education, emphasizing lifelong learning and adaptability.
Aligning Industry-Integrated Experiential Learning with Durable AND Disciplinary Skills
- Universal Skills Focus: Both models value skills like critical thinking, communication, and leadership as foundational for student success in any career. CapSource’s industry-integrated learning directly addresses the same durable skills that Minerva emphasizes.
- Real-World Application: Minerva integrates disciplinary skills with durable competencies in real-world problem-solving, similar to CapSource’s approach of giving students hands-on, project-based experiences with real businesses.
- Career Preparation: Both systems aim to create adaptable professionals. CapSource does this by facilitating collaborations between students and industry stakeholders, while Minerva’s curriculum prepares students with competencies that remain relevant despite changes in the workforce.
CapSource’s experiential learning model is a perfect complement to Minerva’s education philosophy. By working with CapSource, institutions can transition toward a more career- and industry-focused curriculum that prepares students not only for current roles but for the future of work as it evolves.
Please join the conversation: We would love your input! What are your experiences, challenges, and goals? Join us over the next few weeks in this blog as we explore these points and share experiences and perspectives from participants or register today and begin exploring CapSource’s free version to get started.