Creating Effective, Interesting, and Engaging Learning Environments

Creating effective, interesting, and engaging learning environments is a challenge for even the most seasoned educator. At the conclusion of a given course, many educators will sit down and brainstorm ways to make the course just “a little better” the next time. When asked, most highly skilled and well-respected educators will admit that they’re not worried about the content; that usually doesn't need to be changed too much. What they’re working on are ways to improve content delivery and their goal is to design a course that's so interesting that students learn because they simply can't help themselves. This chapter deals with the challenges surrounding delivery issues and addresses just a few of the factors that educators must consider when constructing a course. How do instructional strategies support learning goals? What are instructional strategies, anyway?! What do adult learners want and need? How is teaching adults different from teaching less mature learners? How do educators develop evaluation mechanisms that maximize learning while assisting in the measurement of learning? This chapter provides some general suggestions about what to consider when designing a course.