Principle of Engagement - Guideline 1 - Recruiting Interest

 

Universal Design for Learning

Principle of Engagement - Guideline 1 - Recruiting Interest

The first principle of Universal Design for Learning, ‘provide multiple means of engagement”, helps promote an inclusive learning environment on many levels.  When developing a course and focusing on this principle, there are three guidelines to follow.  They are:

1. Recruiting Interest
2. Sustaining Effort and Persistence
3. Self-Regulation

We are now going to take a deeper look.

The first guideline, Recruiting Interest, again is related to accessibility.  This time it is a different kind of accessibility.  Information that does not engage the learner’s cognition is effectively inaccessible.  From the moment if passes by the student, if the student does not process the information as relevant, the information passes them by unprocessed, or unnoticed.  After this point, instructors will have to devote more energy to stimulate the learner’s engagement with the material or getting the learner’s attention. 

For Example: Recruiting interest is just like marketing a good product.  You could have the best product on the market.  If customers are not aware of the benefits of owning your product, or even that your product exists, then they will not purchase your product.  After they pass it by, more energy will be needed, such as commercial advertising, to get the consumers interest in your product that they currently do not recognize as an item that serves any purpose for them. Just like a product, the information to be learned must have a reason for the learners to engage with it.

Likewise, when teaching, learners need to know why the information is important and that they should be engaged in it. The problem is that not every learner is the same.  They can differ significantly.  Even the same learner can differ over time or circumstance, such as their interests change as they learn more.  Thus, it is important to have several alternate techniques to recruit learner interest.  We can become more inclusive by ensuring that these techniques are able to accommodate the variety of differences among learners.   

Some criteria to help meet this guideline include:

1. Optimize individual choice and autonomy. Adult learners prefer to direct their own learning.
2. Optimize relevance, value, and authenticity. Learners are more likely to engage the content if they find it meaningful or relevant.
3. Minimize threats and distractions

By promoting an inclusive strategy with multiple ways of recruiting interest in a wide variety of learners, your learning environment will be more accommodating and promote student success.