Online college-style seminars and workshops with immediate transfer-to-action application of important topics like climate change, racism, and mental health led by students and recent graduates of top universities like Yale and Duke. Our classes leverage college-level concepts from cognitive psychology, social psychology, anthropology, economics, political science, and more.
Kaleidoscope's live virtual seminars and workshops are designed to help future leaders find their paths to impact and master the skills needed to address the real-world problems they care about. Our two-week, college-style courses provide the opportunity to pursue a passion while equipping you with transferable skills and applicable knowledge critical to thriving in college environments and in our ever-evolving world.
The Kaleidoscope student experience is, to quote alum Aryan, “just so radically different from other online classes.” Our global classrooms are centered on community, conversation, and collaboration: they are as big as the world but feel as small as your circle of friends. Our students grapple with powerful ideas and valuable skills: in summer 2022, 97% of our students said they were excited to keep learning more about their class topic, and 100% said they learned ideas and skills that mattered to their lives. Finally, we hire students and graduates of America’s top universities (Princeton, Yale, Duke) to bring our classes to life. Our teachers are passionate about their craft, experts in their content areas, and trained to be fluent in the art of facilitating stimulating and collaborative academic conversations online.
SUMMER 2023 CLASS OFFERINGS:
Workshops: Our two-week workshops meet Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays as a full group, and Tuesdays & Thursdays in peer cohorts. The emphasis is on learning practical skills you can put to use—immediately and for the rest of your life! This summer, we’re offering Persuasive Writing, where you’ll learn to move an audience with clarity and style, and Peak Performance, where you’ll learn the habits of high performers based on the latest cognitive science research.
Practical Psychology Discussion Seminars: Our two-week, small-group discussion seminars meet daily as a full group. The emphasis is on making meaning of psychological research to better understand yourself and others. Classes include:
- Positive Psychology: Wellbeing: Build everyday mental health and resilience for life’s setbacks by learning about the factors that impact our wellbeing and how to take control of them.
- Psychology of Identity & Prejudice: Explore identity formation through both psychological research and personal reflection; learn how prejudice arises and how to effectively address it—in yourself and others.
- The Science of Social Connection: Unlock the secret to human success—our ability to connect with others—and learn insights from social, evolutionary, and clinical psychology that will help you connect more effectively.
- Decision-Making: Learn how emotions, biases, and environment shape our decisions, enabling you to make better decisions with more confidence.
Social Science Discussion Seminars: Our two-week, small-group discussion seminars meet daily as a full group. The emphasis is on making meaning of social scientific ideas to better understand major issues in our world. Classes include:
- Social Sciences for Social Problems: Gain an introduction to each of the six major social sciences, then apply them to “go beyond the headlines” on pressing social issues like systemic racism, climate change, and economic inequality.
- Economics & Inequality: Gain an introduction to economics, using it to examine inequality and mobility in the U.S. and abroad.
- Politics of Climate Change: Gain an introduction to political science, using it to understand climate change as a collective action problem and how to most effectively address it.
- Anthropology & Ethnography: Gain an introduction to anthropology, using it to closely examine cultures—both others’ and your own.
HOW OUR CLASSES WORK:
Workshops: On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, we’ll meet as a full group (capped at 50) to learn techniques and workshop examples; on Tuesdays and Thursdays at class time, you’ll meet with peer cohorts (3-5 students) to share feedback and dive deeper into class concepts (and get to know each other!). Each day, you’ll submit some piece of work—whether it be an essay draft, an action plan, or a group memo. You’ll receive feedback from your teacher and your peer cohort to help you implement what you’re learning in your own life.
Seminars: Each day Monday through Friday, we’ll have a two-hour Zoom session where we discuss rich, carefully chosen materials; learn from each other in a collaborative, challenging environment; and reflect on the implications for our lives and the world. You’ll be assigned reading, videos, and podcasts outside of class to deepen your understanding of the issues & prepare you for an active class session.
In any class you choose, you’ll complete a student-directed project, which gives you the opportunity to apply what you’ve learned and show colleges what matters to you. (Our alumni often tell us they write or talk about their projects as part of college admissions!)
WHAT OUR ALUMNI SAY:
“This class was extremely insightful and strategically structured. I learned so much and genuinely feel like I’ve grown as both an intellectual and an individual.”
-Jadyn, East High School (Denver, CO), Social Sciences for Social Problems alum
"All rising seniors should take a class like this. For college applications, you have to write about yourself, and this helps you with the introspection needed for that."
-Colin, Onslow Early College High School graduate, current Columbia University student, and Identity & Prejudice alum
"If you feel that you've ever struggled making connections or understanding your relationships and connections, this class covers all those bases and you come out with this whole new world of knowledge."
-Keara, ACS Cobham International School, Connections & Relationships alum
"The things you learn in this class you will use for the rest of your life."
-Ginna, Deep Run High School, The Science of Wellbeing alum
"This course opened my eyes to all the things you can pursue with an understanding of political science."
-Kareen, National Cathedral School, Politics of Climate Change Alum
"If I hadn't taken this class over the summer, I don't know how I would have gotten through my senior year."
-Ashley, Worcester Academy, Peak Performance Alum
