Event Replay: Four Places to Look When Engagement Starts to Slip

In this session with Helen Miller, founder of The Course Edit, explored why engagement drops in learning programs and communities, and how to identify the real causes before jumping to solutions.

Helen introduced four dimensions of engagement that help us understand what's happening beneath the surface:

Behavioral Engagement: Are people showing up, participating, and completing activities? These visible behaviors are useful signals, but don't always tell us why engagement is changing.

Cognitive Engagement: Are learners understanding and applying what they've learned? A drop in participation may indicate that the content is too challenging or that learners need more support.

Emotional Engagement: Does the experience feel relevant, valuable, and psychologically safe? People are more likely to engage when they understand why something matters and feel comfortable asking questions or making mistakes.

Agentic Engagement: Do learners have opportunities to contribute, make decisions, and take ownership of their experience?

Key Takeaways

1. Engagement drops are signals, not diagnoses. Before adding reminders or changing content, investigate what's actually preventing people from participating.

2. Design for learning, not just completion. Helen shared an example where course completion dropped because learners were being asked to apply skills they hadn't been adequately prepared for. The solution wasn't to make the assignment easier, but to provide better guidance and practical examples.

3. Connect engagement to meaningful outcomes. Completion rates tell only part of the story. Look at whether learners can apply their knowledge, change behaviors, and achieve the intended goals.

4. Investigate before you intervene. Follow a simple process: observe behavior, investigate the four dimensions, identify a likely root cause, and design a targeted improvement.

The biggest takeaway: Improving engagement isn't about getting people to do more. It's about understanding what they need to succeed and creating experiences that help them get there.