Pushing without pushing: nudging within learning

Have you ever tried to drastically change a certain routine in your life overnight? Exercise more, eat healthier, make more time for hobbies? If you've ever tried this, you know it's not an easy task. The same goes for your behavior while learning. But the good news is that this actually presents opportunities to use various tricks to make this behavioral change successful.

There are several methods to ensure that behavior changes, including nudging. This blog by Aksel takes a closer look at nudging and provides practical examples and helpful tips for applying nudging in an online learning environment.

Nudging

Nudging is a subtle form of behavioral influence that involves tapping into a person's subconscious. It's basically a nudge in the right direction, without literally giving the person a push. For example, it is possible to expose people to specific words such as "active" and "fit" in order to influence their decision to use the stairs or elevator. This encourages the desired behavior without people being aware of it. This can lead to more sustainable behavior change because the desired behavior comes from within. And this is completely different compared to traditional ways of behavior change. For example, we see that in the learning landscape there is still a lot of reliance on rewards. Think, for example, of giving an assessment based on online learning outcomes or - more extreme - giving financial compensation. This can work, but in practice we see that it also leads to resistance. Moreover, this is not a long-term solution because the desired behavior is exhibited by a reward that may not be an issue in another context.

Developing nudges for promoting successful learning

But how do we move away from traditional forms of behavior change and can we apply nudging in the online learning platform? To begin with, it is important to understand learner behavior and, more importantly, what behavior you want to encourage. Because despite all the efforts of educators to create the best possible learning experiences, desired behaviors that lead to successful learning are not guaranteed. You can gain insight into behavior by collecting data from a learning platform in a Learning Record Store, or by surveying learners.

Once you have identified the behavior of the learners, analyze the context in which the behavior occurs. Where and when is it happening? Who are the people involved? What factors influence the behavior? Based on this analysis, you can develop specific nudges that encourage the desired behavior. Consider subtle tweaks such as using a type of banner over a learning experience, using color to highlight important issues or sending messages. Next, test the nudges. This is because it is important to know whether the nudges you have developed actually have the desired effect on learners' behavior. It is important to emphasize that testing nudges is an ongoing process. The effectiveness of nudges depends on the context and the target group. Therefore, it is important to continue experimenting with different nudges and to keep monitoring how they are received and the effect on learners' behavior. It takes some effort in the beginning, but the rewards are worth it. By continuing to test with nudges, you can gain valuable insights that you can apply within a learning platform to optimize effectiveness.

Small steps lead to big results

Within Next Learning Valley, we have applied nudging in many different ways. This has allowed us to make big changes through small adjustments. Our success story is that we have used nudging to encourage our partners' employees to become self-directed learners. Online learning has become the new norm, but it can sometimes be difficult to fully complete the learning process. We have found that learners can lose enthusiasm and fail to complete the learning process. Therefore, we tried to change this through nudging. We did this by designing automated messages that are sent when an employee does not complete the learning process. These messages are designed to encourage the desired behavior and motivate employees to continue learning.

And this worked. The number of employees who became self-directed learners increased significantly. This ensured that learning goals were achieved faster and that learners' behavior had changed. It also increased the group of learners who visited the learning platform more frequently. So small changes can have a big impact.

Has this blog nudged your curiosity?

Want to learn more about nudging within the context of learning? Then contact Aksel and ask him about the client case above. He is happy to think with you about how nudging can work within your organization.