Some trainers think that when the classroom session or the on-line course is finished that the job is done. That’s a bit like showing a person a picture of swimming techniques and explaining swimming styles and then throwing them in the water and walking away.
People remain motivated when they are aware of their accomplishments. You should find ways for the learner to receive feedback during the course (quizzes and scenarios), but also work on encouraging the learning after the course completion. Provide an assignment followed by a completion certificate.
- Provide takeaways and give them access to performance support systems
The goal is transfer of learning and this is more effective if you provide ongoing instructional support after the training content is over. For instance, providing job aids gives learners just-in-time access to information wherever they may be.
Give learners something to take back to their jobs with them, such as a job aid. These can be easily downloaded and printed in the Modlettes document section.
Without any sort of reinforcement, learners may forget up to 90% of the course within a matter of days.
- Here are some ideas of how you can include post-training reflections in e-learning design
- Send follow-up mails to trainees after about a month to reinforce key learning points
- Send out scenarios with problems, involving the learning for them to solve.
- And finally, beat the motivation challenge by building anticipation before the course, engaging the learners consistently throughout and keeping them thinking long after the course ends. The learners should always be forefront in your mind as you design because their success leads to intrinsic motivation, which leads to the ultimate goal of learning.
That’s the end of our articles on motivating the online learner. We hope you got something out of the articles. If you missed some you will find them in the resources section on the website, www.modlettes.com