The Science of Engagement:
Behavioural Approaches to Enhance Learning
By: Jani Prinsloo & Nikki Williamson
Engagement is not just a buzzword but a powerful tool for effective learning in digital education. The practical application of behavioural science can significantly enhance student engagement and, in turn, improve learning outcomes. By understanding and applying principles from behavioural science, educators can create more engaging and effective digital learning experiences. For instance, integrating technology to complement traditional teaching methods has shown promising results in boosting student engagement (Ahmed et al., 2020). In this blog, we will share some practical ideas that you can easily apply to your course designs to ensure optimal engagement, equipping you for the digital education landscape.
Understanding Behavioural Science
Behavioural science is used in multiple disciplines, providing insights into decision-making processes and helping design interventions to modify behaviour. It consists of cognitive theories, which focus on how thinking or cognition affects behaviour, and behavioural theories, which focus on how the environment impacts behaviour.
As educators, we hold a crucial role in shaping the behaviours of our learners. When designing our online courses, we should focus on developing behaviours we know will assist our learners in success. This responsibility gives us a significant influence on the learning outcomes. A behavioural approach can identify areas of low engagement on digital learning platforms and rapidly test the application of behavioural principles to boost engagement and outcomes.
Understanding how prior experience, environment, and motivation can significantly affect our behaviour is crucial. This understanding is not just academic; it’s a key tool that assists us in empathetically nudging learners to develop beneficial behaviours in the learning environment. It helps us connect with our learners on a deeper level, fostering a sense of compassion and understanding their needs and challenges.
Applying Behavioural Science in Digital Education
In some instances, our learners know the importance of engaging with the content and have the skills to engage with their peers and content; however, they still fail to practice this behaviour. We must acknowledge that, for example, engaging with learning content competes against the many other priorities or distractions interrupting our attention span.
Prior experience may influence our behaviours; if previously we have been the only person to answer the questions on a discussion forum without any response, what are the chances we see the benefit in completing the task? Suppose you have previously passed a course by only cramming during the last three weeks of the semester. In that case, you may not see the benefit of the deeper learning you may acquire by engaging with the content throughout the semester.
Guiding your learners to see the ‘value for me’ in a behaviour change in the short term will benefit them in the long term. For example, if students need to complete weekly activities for marks (extrinsic motivation), they do not get any feedback on it until the end of the semester. Why would they do it? What would be the ‘value for me’ other than getting the marks? However, getting weekly feedback on their work allows them to adjust their learning strategy and track their progress. Then, they will complete it, even if they do not get marks. We want to create that intrinsic motivation and behaviour change. In this case, weekly feedback would help them see the value of engaging in the content weekly.
Deci and Ryan’s Self-Determination Theory (Lopez-Garrido,2023) discusses the importance of autonomy, competence, and relatedness to self-motivation. These three elements are critical to consider when designing learning experiences. Intrinsic motivators may be harder to determine and affect. However, we can use extrinsic motivators to adapt behaviour. By using feedback, grades and status as extrinsic motivators, we can nudge learners to create new habits.
Strategies for Enhancing Engagement
Implementing behavioural science strategies in our online course could include strategies for increasing continued learner engagement. We can use behavioural science principles to grab people’s attention, help them identify what is important to them, and help them make informed choices that will benefit them.
Educators can create learning environments that foster deeper connections with the content by applying principles such as motivation, reinforcement, and active participation.
Strategies to Enhance Engagement May Include:
Ease of access and clear instructions: When designing our online courses, we need to ensure that learners can easily access the content required for the learning activity and that instructions are clear. You do not want a student spending more time looking for the activity or determining what is expected of them than the time they spend engaging with the content.
Nudging: In online course design, we can use nudging to gently guide learners toward positive learning habits and share best practices to help them make the right decisions.
Timeous and constructive feedback: Ensure the learner “sees” the benefit of the engagement. To reinforce learning, give learners immediate, actionable feedback on their progress. Moderate discussion forums include commenting on and summarising topics and weaving elements of the learners’ discussions within forums.
Enable mobile access: To increase flexibility and convenience, allow learners to access content on the go. Design your online course so learners can quickly return to where they left off.
Individual learner preferences: Embrace flexibility when designing courses, allow learners to create their learning path, and implement Universal Design for Learning principles. This will allow autonomy of learning and self-motivation.
Increased learner engagement could include learners accessing the learning material every week, completing assignments on time, or engaging with their peers in group activities and engaging with content on a deeper level by participating in a critical discussion using the discussion board. Synchronous virtual classroom sessions with your learners weekly have many benefits for online students who could quickly feel isolated and disengaged with their peers and facilitators.
Conclusion
In conclusion, considering the science of engagement through behavioural approaches offers valuable insights for enhancing learning experiences in various educational settings. As we explore the connection between behavioural science and education, it becomes increasingly clear that these strategies improve academic outcomes and empower learners to take ownership of their educational journeys.
Are you ready to apply behavioural science principles to your course designs?
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References
Ahmed S, Shehata M and Hassanien M. 2020. Emerging Faculty Needs for Enhancing Student Engagement on a Virtual Platform. MedEdPublish.
Derksen, J. (2023). Talk to the Elephant: Design Learning for Behavior Change (Voices That Matter)
Homkes-Hayes, A. (2018). Bringing Behavioral Science to Teaching and Learning Innovation. Center for Academic Innovation. Available at the University of Michigan
Lopez-Garrido, G. 2023. Self-Determination Theory: How It Explains Motivation. Available at Simply Psychology
