A New Idea in Preventing E-Learning Dropouts
We’ve all been there at some point- trying to painfully complete some online course that is really, just plain awful. I can’t tell you how many times I had to just leave an e-learning course on Sarbanes -Oxley. Alas, I managed to read just enough to answer the knowledge checks and get on with life - sound familiar? I gleefully skipped by as many screens as possible. Had it not been a required course, I would have dropped out around screen 3. Surely, our learners don’t do this in the courses we create.
Well, despite our best efforts to make our e-learning engaging there are additional things we can do to minimize the dropout rate. In the past, I wrote that it’s important for e-learners to set the time aside and treat their e-learning time with the same level of importance as any other work project or at least provide the same level of attentiveness as a live session(Give them Permission to Learn).
This month’s T&D Magazine recommends another method to keep learners engaged, by embedding self regulating questions in the course. For example at the end of each module you might instruct the learner to ask themselves, “Am I concentrating on the material?” or “Do I understand the key points necessary for performance on my job?” The article’s author, Tracy Sitzmann, shares the results of a study she conducted that demonstrated a “17% reduction in course attrition rate when learners are prompted to self-regulate.”[i] I really like the idea and can see how this would be an effective way to keep learners engaged in the process. Additionally, I think it can improve learning transfer, especially if the questions speak to how they’ll use the information on the job.
Have you used this method or similar ways to help learners self-regulate? What was the result?
[i] Traci Sitzman, Self-Regulating Online Course Engagement, T&D Magazine (March 2010)