Engage the Elephant!
Dirksen’s chapter 5 describes how to get and maintain learners attention, which is not an easy task. Staying focused is particularly hard for people learning new things. Dirksen suggests ways for learning designers to help engage the more visceral part of the brain and ultimately set up learners to become intrinsically motivated to learn. There are four ways Dirksen suggests learning experience designers help engage the elephant, the first is to tell it stories. This is particularly useful because people already have existing mental models for stories. The second is to SURPRISE IT! Push learners to evaluate their existing mental models and find teachable moments in their cognitive dissonance. The third is to provide opportunities for learners to engage with one another through collaboration and cautiously with competition. Dirksen cautions designers to use competition sparingly. Some people are just not competitive and can get discouraged when put in competitive environments. Other people may like competition too much and may focus more on winning, and miss important learning opporunities. It is a delicate balance. Finally, using “shiny things” such as visuals, humor, and tactile environments can engage learners in interesting ways.
