Beliefs Compass
This project is described using the STAR methodology: Situation, Task, Action, Result.
Situation
After a year of participating in the “Data Scientist” course, I noticed that the vast majority of students (nearly 97%) struggled with maintaining consistent learning habits and, ultimately, did not complete the program.
Task
I wanted to understand the root cause of these difficulties. The course itself was exceptionally well-designed and had received thousands of positive reviews, so I assumed the issue did not lie in the course content or structure, but rather with the students — or more precisely, at the intersection between the course and the participants.
Was it the way the content was delivered? The way progress was monitored? Perhaps the lack of effective motivation, inappropriate reward systems, inefficient organization of projects and tasks, or even suboptimal interaction between students and mentors? Somewhere in this space lay the answer.
Before proposing any solutions, we needed to understand the problem more deeply — in this case, to better understand the students themselves. Who are they? What truly motivates them? What encourages or discourages them from learning? How should we talk to them? What is the most effective way to teach them?
To answer these questions, I needed to "diagnose" them — ideally through proper psychological assessment tools.
Action
Together with two colleagues, we developed a set of diagnostic tools and launched them on www.kompasprzekonan.pl. There, students can answer a series of questions to discover their personal values, beliefs, and personality traits. By doing so, they gain insight into what truly motivates them — and what may be holding them back.
Result
Students learn a lot about themselves — but that’s not all. Anonymized and aggregated results are also shared with mentors and instructors. This helps educators gain a much deeper understanding of their students: what drives them, what they truly need, and how to best support them.
As a result, instructors can tailor learning strategies more effectively, increasing the likelihood that students will stay on track and successfully complete the course.
Below, you can explore an interactive application that reveals hidden motivations (based on Shalom Schwartz’s theory of basic human values). Answer the questions honestly, and you’ll receive a clear and visually engaging chart of your motivational profile.
In the accompanying Jupyter Notebook, I also explain the reasoning behind selecting this particular psychological framework for the study.
Download the source code from GitHub