3 Essential Questions Every Learner Needs Answered

As an instructional designer, you serve as the crucial bridge between two key stakeholders: your client and your learners. While clients come armed with specific expectations, learners approach your course with varying levels of motivation – some eager to learn, others merely fulfilling a requirement.

Let’s focus on three fundamental questions that can transform your course design approach, leading to more engaging content that satisfies organizational goals while delivering real value to learners.

The performance vs. information challenge

When designing performance-based courses, your path feels clearer. Your client’s concrete performance expectations naturally shape the learning environment, making the content more relevant to learners. Success isn’t measured by course completion but by improved real-world performance, which drives learner motivation.

Information-based courses present a trickier challenge. Clients often fixate on content delivery rather than learning outcomes. This is where your instructional design expertise becomes critical. How do you transform pure information into an engaging learning experience?

Consider this: motivated learners need minimal instructional support. When I needed to learn crown molding installation for a home project, I happily consumed plain text instructions without fancy multimedia or interactions. My motivation to complete the project made even basic content valuable.

The secret to successful course design lies in sparking and sustaining learner motivation, whether you’re teaching skills or sharing information. Put yourself in your learners’ shoes and address these three fundamental questions:

 “Why am I taking this course?”

While developing learning objectives remains important, don’t just present a bullet list of “You will learn…” statements. Instead, demonstrate how your course will impact your learners’ work or knowledge. When learners grasp the course’s value, their motivation soars – and motivated learners learn better.

Consider using scenarios and case studies to showcase your content in relevant contexts. These tools help learners see the immediate application and value of what they’re learning.

“What should I do with this information?”

No one wants to waste time on irrelevant training. Your learners invest their time and expect clear direction on applying their new knowledge.

Build your content around specific actions. Even compliance training should focus on behavioral outcomes. For example, preventing hearing loss doesn’t come from knowing about ear plugs – it comes from consistently wearing them.

“How can I prove what I know?”

Frame everything around expected actions. When learners understand these expectations, they work harder to meet them. Consider why learners sometimes click through courses mindlessly: they often do this when they see content as irrelevant and view completion as the only real requirement.

Create authentic assessment opportunities that mirror real-world application. While multiple-choice questions have their place, we rarely face such decisions in real life. Take inspiration from creative assessment approaches: Instead of quizzing students on nutrition facts, one school had children design healthy summer camp menus and explain their choices – a far more effective measure of understanding.

A practical approach to course design

Let’s be realistic: sometimes organizational constraints limit how much time you can invest in course design. Some training might actually serve the organization better by being quick and simple.

However, when you want to create truly valuable learning experiences:

• Show learners why the course matters to them
• Clearly explain how they’ll use the information
• Provide meaningful ways to demonstrate their understanding

By addressing these three questions in your design process, you’ll create courses that resonate with learners and deliver real value.