Catch the Next is partnering with Enlearn.org, a non-profit organization transitioning groundbreaking technology out of the University of Washington for use in community colleges (and their feeder high schools) to increase learning velocity in math for struggling students. Fifty-nine percent of incoming community college students are placed in DevEd math courses, while only 20% of those students pass entry-level math. The rates are worse for low-economic students and students of color, with up to 75% placed in DevEd math.

The Enlearn platform is only offered to state of Washington community college students and to Catch the Next colleges in Texas.  So far, South Texas College and San Antonio college will be piloting the software the spring of 2021 with more colleges joining in the fall term.  CTN colleges have access to the platform free of charge until the summer of 2022.

Enlearn was founded by Zoran Popović, a Professor of Computer Science and the Director of the Center for Game Science at the University of Washington.  Zoran is known for conducting large-scale educational campaigns including Algebra Challenges conducted in Washington, Minnesota, and Norway with almost 100,000 students.  Enlearn’s goal has been to increase retention and completion rates with a focus on Black, Hispanic, and low-income students.

Enlearn’s breakthrough technology tracks and understands student thinking and mindsets as they are occurring, provides ongoing, real-time transparency into individual knowledge gaps and misconceptions, as well as immediate insights on mindset, confidence, and engagement. Enlearn is able to “get inside” the student thinking process and see what is getting in the way as it is occurring, providing a continuous window into student thinking and obstacles to learning. Using machine learning, Enlearn then auto-curates recommendations for next steps that are most likely to help each student overcome their specific struggles at that moment. Enlearn knows not just what a student is getting wrong but why — as it is happening — and then helps students, instructors and tutors continuously improve and accelerate learning for each student. In one test, faculty using Enlearn increased the amount of 1:1 support they provided for struggling students by 17x simply because they could see what was getting in the students’ way, and those students increased their engagement levels by 4.5x. for Enlearn. 

Scott Adams is Enlearn’s CEO. Pittsburgh born and raised, Scott started his career planning to change the world through a life in public service. He attended the George Washington University where he earned several degrees relating to this goal. After working in the DC political machinery for many years including a stint at the White House, Scott decided to redirect his energy into revolutionizing STEM education in the United States. Prior to joining Enlearn, he has been a leader at several strong contributors in this space, including Carnegie Learning and Think Through Math.