Why enabling learner feedback is crucial

Bill Gates is quoted as having said: “We all need people who will give us feedback. That’s how we improve.” A lot of people would agree. In this article, we’ll touch on why enabling learner feedback is crucial to a microlearning approach.

1. Encourages independence

The huge advantage of microlearning, especially when delivered via an LMS such as SC Training (formerly EdApp), is that your learners can access bite-sized courses from their smartphone – or any device – whenever they have 5 minutes to spare And the best part, there's no internet is required.

The key to success is that your trainees need to be self-motivating. The best micro lessons in the world are of little use if no one is completing them. So, one goal of learner feedback is motivating your learners to keep training. 

How can we do this?

Who said feedback had to be boring? Game scores can tell you rather quickly how your learners are doing. And since most of them want to win (or at least improve their scores), they are naturally motivated to do what it takes. In this case, more training. Basically, it’s feedback in fun form. 

But games are not just fun. Depending on the games played, in addition to joy (90%), gamers report that playing stimulates them mentally (87%), relieves stress (87%), teaches them teamwork skills (81%), and inspires them (79%).

That’s powerful stuff! It seems to me that these results will greatly improve your employee training experience. This will motivate them to do more of the coursework and lead to better overall outcomes. To get started, take a look at a top-level LMS such as SC Training (formerly EdApp), which has built-in online gamification. 

And before you start to question using games in adult learning, you can take a look at the latest statistics.

• In 2022, the global number of video gamers was reported to be 3.03 billion.

That’s roughly 38% of the world population. 

• The younger you are, the more video games you tend to play.

Data shows that 81 percent of Generation Z are gamers. These people were born between 1997-2012. Today they are between 11-26 years old.

Among the Millennials, 77 percent play video games. Millennials, born between 1981-1996, are now between 27-42 years old.

Generation X, people born during the years 1965-1980 and now 43-58 years old, also play a lot of video games. Statistics show that 60 percent are gamers.

The percentage drops with Baby Boomers, those born between 1955-1964. Aged 59-68 at the moment, only 42 percent are gamers.

• Gender does not matter.

It’s roughly half-half: 55 percent of gamers identify as males, with 45 percent identifying as females.

Thus, chances are, there is a very high percentage of online gamers in your workforce. That is, those who like playing video games and feel that they are beneficial. Since these people are already onboard, why not use gamification to your advantage?

What gamification features are available?

This type of learner feedback will vary with your LMS. You can look at those on SC Training (formerly EdApp) as an example.

Find-a-word game: A new take on word search. No word list means learners must recall the learned keywords such as your product names or polite conversation openers.

Elevator game: A timed matching game in which both speed and accuracy gain you more points. Visually striking as the item you are matching moves up and down (like an elevator) to increase your feeling of the ‘need for speed’.

Image/word match game: A more traditional, timed matching game.

Jeopardy: Trainees answer true/false questions to gain points. OK, it’s the reverse of the original Jeopardy in which contestants had to say the question for the answer they were given. However, it still creates that gameshow feeling.

Letter jumble: Your keywords/phrases are missing letters. Your trainees need to choose the correct letter from the letter bank to complete them. Again, time is a factor.

Memory game: Classic matching game made more challenging by the clock.

Next in order game: Before the time is up, your trainees need to choose the image which is next in order. Excellent review of any process flow or step-by-step procedure.

True or false: The popular ‘swipe left, swipe right’ is put to learning use. The faster your trainee swipes the correct answer, the more points they will gain.

A recent study investigated how game-playing enhanced learning. It looked at both young learners and adults. One game was used in two versions: full and simple. In both age groups, the simple game was more effective. 

The reasoning was that too many gamification elements interfered with the learners’ cognitive load and information process. In other words, if learners needed to pay too much attention to playing the game, they had trouble recalling the learned information they needed in order to do well.

2. Keeps it specific and bite-sized

The whole idea of microlearning is to provide trainees with the precise teaching and practice they need in lessons of 5-7 minutes (on average). How can you measure your success and where do you need to tweak things? Enabling learner feedback is crucial, so you can get the data you need.

How can you do this?

Surveys help you understand what worked or didn't work so well for your trainees. You can then tailor your training content to use more of the elements that your learners found useful and effective. An LMS like SC Training (formerly EdApp) offers a variety of survey templates. 

• Automatic results (no manual calculation needed)

If you are looking for a closed-ended approach with automatic results, use a multiple-choice option: one question with several text answers. While it does limit the feedback, it is a great way to elicit exactly the responses you want to measure.

A variety of this option is a slider survey. Instead of text answers, your trainees slide a button to choose a number that represents their amount of agreement/disagreement. A little more open-ended.

• A visual representation

The quadrant matrix creates an infographic about how different topics, modules, lessons, etc. compare for your trainee. Learners drag the items given to the relevant zones for them. Note that the zone labels can be edited. In this case, you can measure how relevant the topics were and how confident the learners feel after having worked on them. 

• Open surveys

Using a free text survey, you can set a question and have your trainees respond. True, this open-ended template requires reading and some manual analysis. However, it enables your learners to talk about anything they want to as deeply as they wish. As a result, you can gain valuable insights into your training that would not be revealed with any other survey type.

3. Two-sided feedback keeps it neutral

When feedback is not handled correctly, it can sometimes feel abusive. That is the third reason why enabling learner feedback is crucial. We want to make sure that trainees feel empowered by the feedback process. 

Gamification elements and interactive templates allow you to give your learners information in an objective, non-threatening way. The survey templates show that you are open to receiving their honest thoughts and opinions. When it is a two-way street, the feedback exchange tends to be a more positive experience. And the more positive the learning experience, the better the overall training results.

Try SC Training (formerly EdApp) at no cost and start enabling learner feedback through the microlearning platform!

Sources:

https://www.uschamber.com/co/start/strategy/bill-gates-business-quotes

https://www.statista.com/statistics/748044/number-video-gamers-world/

https://www.cloudwards.net/online-gaming-statistics/

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/07356331221098148

https://cruciallearning.com/blog/when-feedback-feels-abusive/