Staff Spotlight: Tsvet Ross-Lazarov

Meet Tsvet Ross-Lazarov, one of COMET’s amazing Educational Designers. Tsvet is our resident Artificial Intelligence and educational simulations expert and often leads the way in innovative education and training approaches backed by the latest science. Learn more about him in this fun Q&A!

What excites you most about your role/working at COMET? 

Tsvet: In my role as Instructional Designer, I combine educational psychology research, emerging or established technology, and assessment principles to create meaningful, memorable, and motivational learning experiences. I hope that the learning experiences we make will assist COMET’s learners to excel at what they do and adapt to our changing world.

What has been a turning point or defining moment in your career?

Tsvet: Close to a decade ago, I reviewed the pre-and post-test learner improvement scores for COMET lessons that I had worked on, and I was dissatisfied with the marginal improvements. In my search to improve, I came across the work of Michael Allen, a pioneer and one of the most celebrated Instructional Designers in the world. His frank sharing of knowledge and experience gathered during his fifty years of work in the field aligned well with what I had observed through my own experience. After some study and practice of Allen’s recommendations in my work, I am delighted to see significant improvements in learners’ pre-and post-test scores, which surpass the improvement scores of most traditional educational approaches.

What’s your favorite hobby?

Tsvet: I like all forms of bicycling - road, gravel, and mountain. I am especially happy when bicycling on the steepest mountains around.

Are you a globetrotter? If so, what’s been your favorite place to visit so far? 

Tsvet: My favorite place I have visited so far is Iceland. It is a wonderful place to see how the forces of nature are shaping the Earth in near real-time.