Andragogy is a fundamental learning theory when we talk about Instructional Design. The participants of the courses and trainings that are developed especially in a corporate environment respond to the description of the adult learner: adult, of course, but also intrinsically motivated and looking for practical solutions to solve concrete problems in their personal life and, especially, during their work. Furthermore, this type of learner often rightly wants to have the opportunity to express their opinion on the objectives of their learning, on the modalities and on the final evaluation criteria. In short, they want to be actively involved, no longer as a mere recipient, but as the backbone of a process in which they are the central part.

​

All of this is wonderful, but it can be misleading at times. Many times instead we see in courses (often mandatory) organized in the workplace adult learners who are listless and disinterested in the topic. The reasons may be different: they do not consider the contents of the course useful for their immediate purposes; they think they already have sufficient knowledge of the topic and see the time spent completing the course as a waste of time; they are distracted by the more or less daily problems that life brings to all of us.

​

In these situations, the intervention of the Instructional Designer is essential. We cannot always count on adult students to be motivated and willing to learn: it is essential to be able to create courses that are engaging, that can keep learners' attention high even when their intrinsic motivation is not sufficient to to do it. The attention to detail, the use of engaging techniques of gamification, cooperation, group work, use of information through different channels (audio, video), the interactivity of the course... Only by building courses that are truly engaging and that can produce "pleasure" in the learner, we can be sure that their attention level will not fall below the minimum level and that learning will be significant and deep.

​

Image by javi_indy on Freepik