Construct Education is becoming OES. New name, same team, and same commitment to online learning excellence.
Construct Education is becoming OES. New name, same team, and same commitment to online learning excellence.
Do you know that 75% of employees say they’re more likely to stay with employers who offer upskilling opportunities? Or that 66% of college students find personalized learning extremely helpful for engagement and retention?
Students and professionals worldwide are constantly seeking ways to develop their knowledge and skills, whether by building on what they already know or learning something entirely new. This helps them launch careers, secure promotions, or forge new professional paths.
But what truly drives learning success? This article explores the relationship between instructional design and two of the most critical aspects of teaching and learning: Learner engagement and retention.
Learner retention refers to the ability of students to absorb, recall, and apply knowledge over time. Engagement is the level of interest, motivation, and active participation a student has in the learning process.
An important question to ask is: Which drives which? Science suggests that increased learner retention leads to increased engagement. But could it be the other way around? Or do learner engagement and retention form a cycle, where one leads to the other?
Benjamin Franklin once said, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”
Connection is the first key to learner retention in course design.
Several factors influence a learner’s decision to enroll in a course: Personal interest, skill advancement, career progression, affordability, and long-term benefits such as adaptability in a changing world. Once a student signs up, the challenge becomes maintaining their engagement (and fostering retention) throughout the course.
If a course feels disconnected from the learner’s experiences, interests, or goals, they won’t engage with it for long. So, how do we create that connection?
Once a strong connection is established, the next step is keeping learners engaged. Engagement is driven by several factors, including motivation. Are students upskilling for personal growth, or have they been compelled to do so for economic or workplace reasons?
While it is often more challenging to foster engagement with the latter, by implementing the best practice outlined above, it is certainly not impossible!
Regardless of their motivation, learners who receive a structured and supportive learning experience remain engaged. This is where instructional design plays a crucial role.
Instructional design involves using structured methodologies to create engaging and effective learning experiences. It ensures that you not only stay engaged but also retain information for long-term application. Here are a few ways instructional designers can strengthen the connection between engagement and retention:
1. Know Your Student
Understanding your students is the foundation of effective course design. Who are they? Why are they taking this course? Profiling learners allows for content that speaks directly to their needs, making engagement more natural.
2. Be Learner-Oriented
When creating content, address students directly. Use second-person language (“you” or “we”) to make them feel included in the learning process. This approach sustains our concentration and keeps engagement and retention levels high.
3. Involve Your Student
Whether a course is delivered in-person or online, learner engagement should be a priority.
This can be especially challenging in fully asynchronous courses with tight deadlines and budget constraints. However, even simple tools like discussion forums can significantly boost engagement and retention. Through discussions, learners can interact with peers, share ideas, and reinforce their understanding of the material.
4. Use the Correct Register
Some types of content may require a more formal tone of voice than others. This can depend on anything from the topics being covered to the culture of the institution or organization offering the course.
5. Set a Viable Course
The course must be achievable within the given timeframe and realistic in its learning objectives. Course and module outcomes should follow the SMART principle: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.
6. Ensure the Content Is Relatable
As outlined above, Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) should integrate real-world applications that students encounter in their daily lives or workplaces.
For example, if designing a course on Java programming, show students how Java applies to the devices they are using to access the content. This shifts their perspective. Not only are they learning or upskilling, but they can also see its real-time application, making the learning process more meaningful.
Engagement and retention thrive when students actively participate in their learning. Integrating case studies, hands-on activities, and problem-solving exercises creates experiences that resonate with learners and enhance long-term retention.
Engagement and retention don’t happen by chance—they are deliberately designed. By fostering a strong connection between the learner and the content, instructional designers can create courses that not only attract students but also keep them engaged and ensure they retain what they learn. The key is to make learning relevant, interactive, and structured in a way that supports long-term success.
References:
Casic, A., Panselina, E., Schaefer, A., Lee, G., (2022). The State of L&D in 2022, TalentLMS
https://www.talentlms.com/research/employee-learning-and-development-stats
Legaki Nannan, N., Xi, N., Hamari, J., Karpuzis, K., Assimakopoulos, V. (2022) The effect of challenge-based gamification on learning: An experiment in the context of statistics education, ScienceDirect
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1071581920300987
