Education Protocols

Standardized workflows that sequence principles into repeatable methods.

Protocol Categories

Category	What It Covers	Key Protocols
Learning	Knowledge → skill → identity	Heroes Journey, Feedback Loops
Shipping	Idea → project → portfolio	Ship Protocol, Iteration Cycles
Coaching	Belief → action → transformation	Coach Loop, Mastermind Protocol
Network	Individual → crew → ecosystem	Collaboration Protocol, Mastermind

Heroes Journey as Curriculum

Education as transformation, not accumulation. Every skill acquisition follows the same arc.

1. CALL (Awareness of Gap)
   └─► Recognize what you don't know
   └─► Feel the pain of limitation
   └─► Accept invitation to change

2. THRESHOLD (Commitment)
   └─► Leave comfort zone
   └─► Enter unfamiliar territory
   └─► Begin with vulnerability

3. TRIALS (Practice)
   └─► Encounter challenges
   └─► Find allies and mentors
   └─► Develop through friction

4. ABYSS (Breakdown)
   └─► Hit the wall
   └─► Face deepest fear
   └─► Identity must shift

5. TRANSFORMATION (Breakthrough)
   └─► Old pattern dies
   └─► New capability emerges
   └─► See differently

6. RETURN (Integration)
   └─► Bring learning back
   └─► Apply in context
   └─► Demonstrate mastery

7. MASTERY (Teaching)
   └─► Help others on path
   └─► Deepen through explanation
   └─► Cycle completes

The Coaching Positions

Two positions where the coach has maximum leverage:

Position	Journey Stage	The Work
Bridge Trust	Threshold → Trials	Help them cross. Unknown feels less terrifying with company.
High Agency	Transformation → Return	Help them integrate. What they learned becomes who they are.

Why Heroes, not Hero's: You can't escape the cave alone. Someone who's seen the light shows you the shadows aren't real. Once you've seen, you go back for others.

The Role Flips

Teacher/student isn't an identity. It's a contextual relationship based on who's ahead in THIS specific zone.

Context	Who Coaches	Who Learns
Fortnite	Child	Parent
Life decisions	Parent	Child
New technology	Often younger	Often older
Domain expertise	Whoever has it	Whoever needs it

The insight: Everyone is simultaneously teacher AND student—just in different domains. A father learns to read the game from his son in Fortnite. The son learns to read life from his father. The relationship flips based on context, not status.

This breaks traditional education's assumption that "teacher" is a role. In reality, it's a relationship that flows wherever the ZPD exists. The More Knowledgeable Other is whoever is just ahead of you on THIS path—regardless of age, credentials, or position.

Ship Protocol

Shipping is the fundamental act. Ideas without ships are noise.

1. CAPTURE
   └─► Write down the idea
   └─► Define minimum viable version
   └─► Set ship deadline (days, not months)

2. BUILD
   └─► Start with the hard part
   └─► Use AI for scaffolding
   └─► Resist scope creep

3. SHARE
   └─► Ship ugly first version
   └─► Gather feedback from real users
   └─► Document what you learned

4. ITERATE
   └─► Improve based on feedback
   └─► Ship version 2 quickly
   └─► Repeat until diminishing returns

5. PORTFOLIO
   └─► Add to permanent record
   └─► Connect to other work
   └─► Reflect on pattern learned

Ship Frequency

Stage	Ship Rate	Example
Beginner	Weekly	Small experiments, learning projects
Developing	Bi-weekly	More substantial work
Advanced	Monthly	Complex projects with impact

The rule: If it's been more than two weeks without shipping something, you're accumulating, not learning.

Coaching Protocol

How great coaches transfer belief.

1. OBSERVE
   └─► Watch without judgment
   └─► Notice patterns they can't see
   └─► Identify the gap between current and potential

2. RELATE
   └─► Meet them where they are
   └─► Understand their story
   └─► Build trust before challenge

3. NAME
   └─► Articulate the pattern you see
   └─► Connect to their goals
   └─► Offer new frame

4. CHALLENGE
   └─► Set stretch goal
   └─► Hold accountable
   └─► Provide support structure

5. CELEBRATE
   └─► Acknowledge progress
   └─► Reinforce new identity
   └─► Point to next challenge

The Belief Transfer Sequence

Step	Coach Action	Student Experience
See potential	Recognize what they could become	Feel seen
Name it	Articulate the possibility	Glimpse new self
Believe first	Express confidence	Borrow belief
Challenge appropriately	Stretch but don't break	Build evidence
Celebrate wins	Acknowledge growth	Internalize new identity

Mastermind Protocol

Peer learning with structure. More valuable than lecture.

Weekly Structure (90 minutes):

1. CHECK-IN (15 min)
   └─► Each person: Win, challenge, request
   └─► Round-robin, no discussion

2. HOT SEAT (45 min)
   └─► One member presents challenge
   └─► Group asks clarifying questions (10 min)
   └─► Silent brainstorm (3 min)
   └─► Solutions round-robin (15 min)
   └─► Hot seat commits to action (5 min)

3. ACCOUNTABILITY (20 min)
   └─► Review last week's commitments
   └─► Score: Did/Didn't
   └─► Brief discussion on blockers

4. CLOSE (10 min)
   └─► Key takeaway from each
   └─► Next week's hot seat
   └─► End on time

Mastermind Selection

Criteria	Why It Matters
Similar stage	Can relate to challenges
Different domains	Cross-pollination of patterns
Commitment match	Accountability requires equality
Growth orientation	Stagnant members drag down
Trust	Vulnerability requires safety

Pattern Training Protocol

Games as serious pedagogy for prediction skill.

Recognition Training

Game Type	Pattern Trained	Feedback Loop
Sports (playing)	Reading play, anticipation	Immediate—ball goes where predicted or doesn't
Strategy games	Multi-move anticipation	Turn-based verification
Prediction markets	Probability calibration	Outcome + Brier score
Simulation games	System dynamics	Long-term consequence visibility

The Sport Protocol (Reading Play)

Sports teach prediction under pressure. The player who reads the game beats the athlete who doesn't.

1. OBSERVE
   └─► Watch film/games with analysis intent
   └─► Pause before action, predict what happens
   └─► Verify prediction

2. PLAY
   └─► Practice prediction in live play
   └─► Note when you saw it vs when you didn't
   └─► Debrief after game

3. PATTERN
   └─► Name recurring patterns
   └─► Classify by reliability
   └─► Transfer to other domains

The insight: The rugby player reading space, the basketball guard seeing the court, the chess player anticipating moves—these are the same skill as reading a market, reading a customer, reading a codebase.

Prediction Journaling Protocol

Track predictions to improve calibration:

1. PREDICT
   └─► State prediction clearly
   └─► Assign probability (0-100%)
   └─► Note reasoning

2. WAIT
   └─► Set resolution date
   └─► Don't update unless new information

3. RESOLVE
   └─► Did it happen?
   └─► Score against prediction

4. REVIEW
   └─► Monthly review of predictions
   └─► Where were you overconfident?
   └─► Where were you underconfident?

5. IMPROVE
   └─► Adjust probability assignment
   └─► Identify pattern in errors

See Prediction Process for detailed methodology.

Agency Curriculum Framework

What agency accelerators teach explicitly:

Capability	What It Means	How You Build It
Initiative	Starting without permission	Ship something before anyone asks
Resilience	Recovering from failure	Fail publicly, iterate openly
AI Fluency	Working with AI, not against it	Use AI to extend capability, not replace judgment
Building	Shipping real things	Four years of projects > four years of classes
Prediction	Reading what's coming	Games, markets, sports, tracking

The Agency Loop

INTENTION (What do I want to create?)
    ↓
AWARENESS (What patterns do I see?)
    ↓
ACTION (What can I ship?)
    ↓
MEASURE (What happened?)
    ↓
REFLECT (What did I learn?)
    ↓
[Loop back to INTENTION with upgraded capability]

Activity-to-Player Matrix

Activity	Learner	Coach	Platform	Mastermind	Institution
Content consumption	●		○		○
Skill practice	●	○	●
Project shipping	●	○	○
Feedback integration	●	●		○
Network building	●			●
Belief transfer		●		○
Credential issuing			○		●
Pattern training	●	○	●

● = Primary responsibility | ○ = Supporting role

Learn-to-Earn Protocol (Emerging)

Token-aligned education economics.

                    ┌──────────────┐
                    │  Token Pool  │
                    └──────┬───────┘
                           │
           ┌───────────────┼───────────────┐
           ▼               ▼               ▼
    ┌──────────┐    ┌──────────┐    ┌──────────┐
    │ Learner  │    │  Coach   │    │ Verifier │
    │ Rewards  │    │  Rewards │    │ Rewards  │
    └──────────┘    └──────────┘    └──────────┘
           │
           ▼
    ┌──────────────┐
    │ Shipped Work │ ◄── Verification triggers rewards
    │  Verified    │
    └──────────────┘

Token Flow

Action	Token Flow	Incentive Alignment
Ship project	Learner earns	Output rewarded
Verify project	Verifier earns	Quality maintained
Coach success	Coach earns	Outcome-aligned
Hold tokens	Governance rights	Long-term alignment

Context

Performance — How to measure protocol effectiveness
Players — Who executes these protocols
Play — The heroes journey framework
Games — Pattern training ground
Prediction Database — Track predictions

Protocol Categories​

Heroes Journey as Curriculum​

The Coaching Positions​

The Role Flips​

Ship Protocol​

Ship Frequency​

Coaching Protocol​

The Belief Transfer Sequence​

Mastermind Protocol​

Mastermind Selection​

Pattern Training Protocol​

Recognition Training​

The Sport Protocol (Reading Play)​

Prediction Journaling Protocol​

Agency Curriculum Framework​

The Agency Loop​

Activity-to-Player Matrix​

Learn-to-Earn Protocol (Emerging)​

Token Flow​

Context​