Online teaching: A battle between forced learning and engagement

Since we opened our eyes for the first time, we have been learning - about the environment, sounds, smells, tastes, etc. We continued to learn in school, college, or university. Later, we developed our learning in our careers - we will continue to learn until we close our eyes. Learning is an exciting journey, allowing us to develop new ideas and change.

For those in the insurance industry, the FCA requires 15 hours of learning (or, CPD) to be undertaken each year. However, for many this is seen as a burden, time taken away from important work to wade through pages of complex information that is near impossible to remember, let alone implement in your working life. As a result, our learning has been reduced to a tick box exercise in meeting targets and ‘remaining competent.’

Yet, learning is exciting; it presents us with an opportunity to grow, become better at what we do, and to develop new, and hone existing, skills.

So, what can be done differently to help support your learning and help employers and employees alike to view learning positively?

Currently, our courses are undergoing a transformation, moving away from reading and comprehension style teaching methods to a more engaging learning solution that focuses on the needs of the learner and requires their active involvement. 

From the quantity of information to each individual task, all aspects of our modules will prioritise learning and we have some exciting new courses on the way which will demonstrate this. Our old courses are also being carefully reviewed and reconsidered to ensure that learning takes place and imbues value to the learner, ultimately reducing the quantity of reading and expected understanding of complex information in favour of more task-based learning that boosts engagement.

There are limitations to what we can achieve with online learning, as it is unable to replicate the ability of a teacher in a classroom to provide information, reinforce learning, and assess a learner’s knowledge. However, the exciting new learning strategies we are implementing seek to simulate the learning process of a classroom teacher, encouraging leaners to engage and participate and, ultimately, facilitate true, valuable online learning.

Adults want autonomy in their learning.

Our research and experience points to adults learning best when they actively make the choice to learn. This can present challenges as a company that offers an online learning experience to adults to support firms in fulfilling a regulatory obligation. Our clients have been told that they must learn, and forced learning, whilst necessary, is a demotivator.

To challenge this, it must be made possible for the learner to motivate themselves to learn. To aid with this, we recommend that, if you are required to complete a specific course, you review the learning objectives of the course and compare them to your roles and responsibilities, allowing you to assess what you need to take from the course and the value it will have for your competence, skill, and experience.

Don’t close the tab and forget about everything you have learned. Instead, make a list of actions detailing how your learning can be implemented in your daily working life, allowing you to begin to relate what you have learnt to your role and view CPD as an opportunity to strengthen your performance and support you in your career development.

We are all on a journey; why not make use of the tools at hand to better yourself and further your path of development?