Nudges in Learning
Over the past few weeks I’ve been experimenting with nudges for learning for some of the programs at NextLeap.
Since this word can be interpreted in different ways, here is what I mean by a nudge in the context of learning:
✅ An intervention designed to alter behaviour of a learner or the learning experience
❌ It is not a rule or a mandate and is not compulsory
There are 2 kinds of nudges that we’ve been running experiments on:
Behavioural Nudges
Feedback Nudges
Let’s unpack that these mean.
Behavioural Nudges
Behavioural Nudges refer to nudges that influence the actions that a learner is taking.
For Desirable Behaviours
These are designed to positively reinforce the learners to do the same thing over and over again. Desirable behaviours must be called out in public. Some examples of what this could look like:
A learner helps a peer with something → Thank them in front of their peers
A learner finishes their work on time → Give them a shoutout
A learner asks a great question → Call it out!
If you notice, none of the examples are on the output they are able to produce, just on the effort that the learner is making.
By positively reinforcing learners in public for desirable behaviours, we’re able to nudge the learner to repeat those behaviours and also indicate to other learners what are behaviours that are expected from them.
For Undesirable Behaviours
These are designed to call out something that the learner has done that should not be repeated. Undesirable behaviours must be called out in private. Some examples of what this could look like:
A learner has submitted a blank document as their submission → DM them and let them know
A learner has missed a session → Reach out to them to ask if all is well
A learner has not submitted an assignment → Let them know and ask them if they need help
By calling our undesirable behaviours in private, we’re able to nudge the learner to not repeat those behaviours.
Feedback Nudges
Feedback Nudges refer to nudges that are based on the feedback that a learner has given but seek to influence the learning experience. Taking feedback at smaller milestones (like the end of every session) helps us gauge the experience so that we can iterate & refine it.
Positive Feedback
As learning experience designers, often we’re not able to figure out what worked. Positive Feedback must be understood well so that it can be replicated again and again. Some examples of what this could look like:
A learner rates a session 5/5 → Ask them what was the highlight of the session for them
A learner indicates that they really like the content → Enquire which part worked for them
By understanding what is working in a learning experience, we can repeat and scale those aspects successfully.
Neutral & Negative Feedback
Neutral & negative feedback must be dug deeper into so that those parts can be iterated on. Some examples of what this could look like:
A learner rates a session 1/5 → Ask them what could have been better in the session
A learner indicates that they are confused → Help them resolve their confused and ask them how they would explain the same thing to a peer
By understanding what is not working in a learning experience, we can focus on iterating those.
In a nutshell
Have you used nudges in your learning experiences? What has worked? What hasn’t? Tell me in the comments below!
Caveat: All of these are experiments that we’ve run so far. The jury is still out on some of them - like all things learning, this framework is a work in progress too! If you have any ideas - please do reach out :)