VCoL in Practice

ViP is a course for anyone who wants to optimize learning from everyday experience. It equips participants with a set of powerful skills that support optimal learning & development.

In ViP you'll build skills for learning the way human brains are designed to learn with a method called micro-VCoLing. This way of learning is the most efficient way to build the skills and habits we all need to thrive in a complex and rapidly changing world.

Why learn to micro-VCoL?

People who habitually micro-VCoL...

think better (because they develop more integrated and complex knowledge networks than those who don't),
develop better, faster, and further than those who don't,
are more likely to enjoy learning than those who don't,
spend more time in flow than those who don't, and
develop more agile, adaptive minds than those who don't.

Why are these things important?

They bring satisfaction—even happiness.
They build competence.
They make it easier to achieve our dreams and goals.
They turn us into better decision-makers.
They help us adapt to change and recover faster from setbacks.

Life-long learners

MicroVCoLing helps people learn the way the brain is designed to learn—through embedded practice in real-life contexts. It also leverages the brain's built-in motivational system. In other words, it makes learning fun. Learning to micro-VCoL takes practice, which can seem arduous at times, but the reward is an engaged and constantly developing mind.

Parents

Most of the world's children attend schools that don't support optimal learning. Children learn "stuff" instead of building the fundamental skills they'll need to thrive in an uncertain future. Parents who learn how to micro-VCoL can help their children build micro-VCoLing skills at home.

Educators

Conventional educational approaches aren't adequately preparing students for effective participation in our rapidly changing and uncertain world. We need to focus less on helping students learn more correct answers and more on supporting optimal mental development. Micro-VCoLing skills are designed to support optimal development. Educators need these skills if they want to help students learn optimally.

Coaches

Effective coaching often involves helping clients develop basic life skills like recognizing and regulating emotions, relating to others, problem-solving, or making more effective decisions. Most of these skills are best learned through Micro-VCoLing in real-world contexts—and coaches with micro-VCoLing skills are better equipped to support their development.

ViP graduates are saying...

"Before ViP, I thought learning was a tedious necessity. Now I see it as a kind of pleasurable reflective awareness."

"I love the focus on everyday real-world experiences. It's so practical."

"I am in bliss with a new way to look at learning, and how to think differently. I swear I feel my mind reshaping itself."

"Once my VCoLing skills began to kick in, I found myself feeling more like someone who could happen to the world, rather than someone the world was happening to."

"Once you learn to micro-VCoL, learning becomes a kind of continuous pleasure. I wouldn't say it's euphoric, more of a feeling of satisfaction mixed with curiosity."

"MicroVCoLing is like a gateway drug. Once you get the hang of it, you just want more and more."

Micro-VCoLing Skills

The skill map below portrays the skills required for masterful micro-VCoLing.

ViP syllabus

ViP is a minimally disruptive 6-week course that helps participants build a set of skills for micro-VCoLing. MicroVCoLing is a practice that makes it possible to learn optimally as you engage in everyday activities. In ViP, you will build basic Micro-VCoLing skills by engaging in a series of increasingly sophisticated in-the-moment" learning activities. You can learn more about micro-VCoLing by reading the article, VCoL in action: The many benefits of micro-VCoLing.

Learning goals

ViP participants will...

Learn about the VCoL model, the science behind it, and how micro-VCoLing works.
Build basic micro-VCoLing skills (described below).
Begin the process of habituating micro-VCoLing—to the point where it requires less and less conscious mental energy.
Learn a technique called skill-mapping that breaks skills down into manageable bits.

Classroom activities

Meeting 1: Introduction to micro-VCoLing

In week 1, you'll learn about the Virtuous Cycle of Learning, where it comes from, and how to put micro-VCoLs to work in daily practice.

Meetings 2–5

During weeks 2–5, you will spend the time between meetings practicing specific micro-VCoLing skills. During meetings, ViP facilitators will host guided discussions focused on core VCoLing skills, including:

In-the-moment awareness
Working with an active observer
Skill awareness
Gap awareness
Goldilocks-Zone awareness
Emulation
Iterative goal setting
Skill mapping

You'll learn the most basic micro-VCoLing skills by working with a set of specially designed Micro-VCoL Makers.

Meeting 6: Skill-mapping

In the final meeting, participants will share—and get feedback on—their first attempts at skill mapping and celebrate their new VCoLing skills.

More about VCoLs and VCoLing

Registration

Rates

$799 per person ($749 early bird rate)

(Contact us to inquire about scholarships for K-12 educators.)

Refund & transfer policies

We will refund 85% of your payment on request before the registration deadline.

After the registration deadline, no refunds are available, but you will be given 2 years to complete your course by transferring to a later offering. When you transfer, you will be required to pay a processing fee equal to 15% of the course fee being charged at that time.

Participation requirements

This is a practice-based course. It only works when every registrant participates fully. Before deciding to participate in ViP, ensure you have the time to do the work and are committed to full participation. This means attending every meeting and completing all pre-work, including daily micro-VCoLing practice. If you miss more than one meeting or appear to be neglecting your pre-work, we will ask you to take the course at another time.

Dates & times

We are planning two sessions of ViP for January 2025.

The Monday session begins on Monday, January 13, 2025, and ends on Monday, January 17, 2025.
The Wednesday session begins on Wednesday, January 15, 2025, and ends on Wednesday, January 19, 2025.

Meetings will be held weekly at 10:00 AM on Mondays and 5:00 PM on Wednesdays. (All dates are New York time.)