This cyber security firm noticed a sharp decline in critical thinking skills on it’s the front line of defense. This skill gap plagues not just the company, but the entire cybersecurity industry. For nearly a decade, cybersecurity programs at prestigious universities churn out highly technical and otherwise capable information technology professionals. Therefore the company turned to Kawolyx to help them build this integral skill into it’s workforce.

The front line, security operation center (SOC) analysts monitor and investigate potential security incidents, are geographically dispersed and critical to the business. Time, budget, and access to tools presented additional challenges. These requirements and limitations meant the solution would need to be self-paced or virtually delivered and it would require a high degree of creativity.

We designed and developed a blended learning experience that comprises a virtual adaptation of a popular board game (Clue), self-paced logic puzzles, a mystery podcast, and facilitated discussions that take place over the course of a week. We designed the experience to fit neatly into the week-long new hire program.

The course takes place during the first week of the new hire’s time with the company. The course commences with a virtually-facilitated adaptation of Clue.

1. The game originally took place on a Teams meeting, but was later adapted to use Miro.
2. A facilitated debrief follows the game. During the discussion learners review how they approached solving the mystery, compare deductive and inductive reasoning, and outline a methodology (the company’s preferred approach) for problem solving.
3. Self-paced logic puzzles follow the game debrief. Learners focus more deeply on how they apply deductive reasoning and the problem solving approach to solve multi-faceted challenges.
4. Another debrief follows the logic puzzles. During the debrief, learners analyze how they applied critical thinking methodology as well as deductive reasoning to solve the puzzles.
5. A mystery podcast follows the final debrief. Learners encounter a mystery wherein they are asked to investigate a suspicious death. Along the way they are prompted with questions and activities that enable further thought on inductive reasoning.