We often talk about getting learners to pay attention.
It is worth noticing the word pay. Attention is not free.
When we ask someone to engage with a learning activity, we are asking them to give us some of their time, concentration and mental effort.
So what are we giving them in return for their payment?
This applies to all learner attention, and one place where it shows up particularly starkly is course pre-work.
We ask people to read something, watch something or complete an activity before they arrive.
Then we complain that some of them don’t do it. But look at the transaction from their side.
We may be asking them to find 15 or 20 minutes in an already busy working day, often with little more than:
“Please complete this before the workshop.”
Why should they?
If we want their attention, we need to offer something they think is worth paying for with their attention.
That might mean giving the activity an immediate payoff. A short diagnostic that tells them something useful about themselves. A question that makes them curious. A small problem connected with something they actually face at work.
It also means making the later payoff clear.
“This will take about ten minutes. Bring your result because we will use it in the first workshop activity.”
And then we must keep that promise.
If we say ten minutes, it should take about ten minutes.
If we say it will be useful, it had better be useful.
And if we say we will use it in the workshop, we had better use it rather than quietly repeating the material for everyone who didn’t bother.
Every request for attention is a value exchange.
If learners repeatedly discover that the exchange is a poor one, perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised when they stop paying.
