Motivation and the Art of Not Making Things Too Easy

How do you keep a learner motivated and engaged so they actually learn? It’s a question as old as the earliest CBT programs and there are about a million different theories and talking points on the issue (as it should be because its a vast and complex topic.) One thing that I keep coming back to, even though it sounded counter-intuitive at first was "don't make things too easy."

The idea is that if you make things too easy your learners get bored. By not doing a lot of explaining or giving a lot of guidance you allow the learner to explore, take some risk in a very low risk setting, and take some ownership of the learning process. Over explaining, taking away choice, and prescribing just one approach to learning  can not only lead to boredom, but it sends a signal that they are not trusted to be able to figure things out on their own.

I say this sounded counter-intuitive at first because I was thinking "How will they learn what we want them to learn if we don't show them the way?" But the fact is, and I know this from my own life, I tend to learn and retain more when I figure something out on my own rather than have someone tell me what I should know.

This does not mean we don't guide the learner. It means we need to use thoughtful design (intuitive navigation, familiar settings) that meets learning objectives while giving the learner a sense of autonomy. Setting the stage and providing appropriate context, then letting the learner do some trial and error exploration is a great way to keep them engaged and motivated. In elearning this could mean not providing a page of instructions but rather letting the student jump right in and start navigating through your course..