Bootcamps for everything
I did a coding bootcamp three years ago and to this day regard it as the best educational experience I’ve ever had.
It was better than my entire in-class experience at Duke (Professor Munger the main exception).
The reason is simple: rate of learning. I was learning something new and important every hour. Plus, there was built-in time for practice, giving us space to transform the theoretical concepts into concrete, active skills. I wonder what it would look like if more disciplines adopted the bootcamp model: 6 months of intense, focused, nonstop learning + application.
We already do this for: coding (Lambda, Hack Reactor) and building a startup (YC, Thiel Fellowship, Z Fellows)
We should do this for other "hard" skills too: AI/ML, hardware and robotics, biology, energy (oil & gas, nuclear, solar), finance
We should do this for the arts: writing, architecture, sculpture, painting, movie-making, oratory
If I were to start a university, it would almost certainly use the bootcamp model. Students would take one course at a time. The course would last 6 months, then they’d move onto the next one. Mornings would consist mostly of learning and theory. Think: compelling lectures, discussions about homework, opportunities to ask questions. In the afternoons: application and practice. The students would have dedicated time to put into use all that they’d learned. Roundtable discussions and debates, problem sets, coding challenges, building. In the evenings: new material followed by problem sets. Then, the next morning they would hammer home these new concepts with lectures and questions.
Given how effective this model is for learning to code, I suspect it would work well for other disciplines too. We should try it out.