Engage Employees through Meaningful Learning Activities (cont.)

When? A program's sequence of events and the time of day can dictate when activities fit best. For example, we often put activities after a lunch break to get our learners re-engaged or at the end of modules for retention purposes. Simulations work better in small chunks throughout, while role-playing activities are more successful at the end of the day, when participants are more comfortable with the material and with each other.

Why? Use activities specifically to elicit the job-related behaviors desired from the learning objectives. When the value of the learning is explicitly communicated, there will be a greater transfer of learning, since the learner will understand which behaviours they need to perform and how it fits into their world at work. Additionally, if the activity is tied into the program evaluation, the behavior from the activity becomes a requirement for success.

There have been too many times when learners have dismissed the value of an activity as a "waste of time" because they were embarrassed, uncomfortable, self-conscious, or annoyed. It is important to keep in mind that if there is a learning activity, and it has been communicated clearly, the perception of the exercise will be just the opposite. Learners will celebrate the risks they took, embrace the nature of the activity and, most importantly, be more apt to apply what they have just learned and practiced. Additionally, your client will be able to see the value of incorporating activities into learning in dollars, and will likely come back for more!