Keys to Engaging the Learner

It can be hard to get a class’s attention and even harder to holdit. As an instructor, I’ve always found it extremely frustrating to plan a classbut come away unsure of if the lesson resonated with my students or if theyfelt bored or frustrated.

Unfortunately, many students aren’t very forthcoming when it comes tofeedback. So how can we capture our students’ interest and be sure we’re accomplishing our objectives? I’ve found some simple guidelines thatwork surprisingly well whether a class is face-to-face or virtual.

First, capture the learners’ interest early with an involving activity.A focused activity truly sets the stage for an engaging session. Though I maynot always include such an activity at the beginning of each class or lesson, Ifind the flow of the event seems more seamless and connected when I do.

Maintaining interest, once captured,can be a challenge. Here you should let students’ natural inclinations guide you:students like to play … so let them. Tap into their playful and competitivenatures. The creative and innovative ways learners approach a challenge willsurprise you, especially when you initially fear some sort of resistance (e.g.,they might see the activity as too juvenile).

Since students can easily becomebored, try forming groups to accomplish various portions of an overall task.This helps cut down on possible student frustration from performing repetitiveactivities to reach the same comprehensive goal. A group’s combined responses pull all of thepieces of the puzzle together and, in turn, students learn from their peers.

However, if you don’t emphasize the tie betweenactivities and learning objectives, they might lose the point of the lesson. Aninteresting assessment strategy that I stumbled upon, mostly based on my owninitial failure, was to write out learning objectives in terms of theactivities in which students engaged during the session period. It occurred tome that simply listing out the activities wasn’t truly getting at learningobjectives. At the end of class, I provided students with the originalobjectives, adding “in order to…” at the end of each bulleted point. Students filled in theblanks to let me know what they learned by engaging in the activity. (I was onthe right track all along!)

At the end of class, set aside a fewminutes for a reflection activity; with the lesson fresh in the students’ minds, it’s time to find out what works andwhat doesn’t. The insight that students provide can lessen anydisappointment the teacher may have felt with the lesson, or provide helpfulsuggestions for improvement.

And keep in mind that anonymity willresult in more honest feedback. Utilize technology that allows students tocomment or ask questions anonymously. There is no better way to get inside theheads of our learners than to let them reflect and anonymously write out theirthoughts.

Formore tips on effective, creative instructional design and technique, check outThe eLearning Guild’slatest eBook, 58Tips for Breakthrough eLearning Instructional Design.This free eBook showcases the advice of the presenters of The eLearning Guild’s May 17& 18 Online Forum, “eLearning Instructional Design: Advanced and Breakthrough Techniques.”