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From Empathy to Empowerment
How Labyrinth founder Brian Favro used his experience as a teacher to create a powerful new breed of learning tools.
Labyrinth founder Brian Favro
Brian Favro, founder of Labyrinth Learning, began his teaching career at the West Contra Costa Adult School, just north of Berkeley, California, in the 1990s.
He was enamored with the latest software from Microsoft, and saw how it could change people’s lives — if they only knew how to use it. With the right skills, his students could expand their opportunities, find better employment and set themselves on a path to personal success. This goal quickly became his passion.
One of the first roadblocks Brian encountered was finding suitable classroom materials. Mainstream textbooks were not only expensive — they did not present material logically. That’s when he realized it was up to him to find a better way.
"When I first started teaching, I found that the mainstream textbooks took relatively straightforward subject matter and made it difficult to learn and nearly impossible to teach. They were also expensive."
Together, Brian and colleague Russel Stolins, (MA Instructional Technology) developed Labyrinth Instructional Design — an innovative approach that ensures easy, effective learning, enabling students to master material quickly and apply knowledge in real-world situations. To keep book costs down, Brian used carefully constructed illustrations and a meticulous editorial process that optimized page space.
Brian’s textbooks quickly became popular with his students and other local instructors, and he realized he could help many more students if he started his own company.
“I see tremendous opportunity for us to apply our passion and knowledge to new solutions that enhance the learning experience. We’re just getting warmed up.”
Today, more than two million students have learned the Labyrinth way in community colleges (including credit programs), corporate training, continuing and community education, career and technical education, high schools and other programs.
Books are just the beginning, however. They form the core of Labyrinth Learning’s solutions — expansive offerings that also include instructor support materials, integrated learning management tools, and eLearning components.
These solutions cover a wide variety of subjects from computers and technology to specific disciplines such as accounting. Every title still meets Brian’s unwavering standards for quality, clarity, and relevance. And as an independent, family-owned business, Labyrinth makes sure our solutions provide exceptional value.
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