Your Way: Using Nudge Theory to Overcome Barriers to Student Participation & Engagement

This 1-hour webinar is from our suite of Your Way offerings.It is ready to be presented to your staff, at a time that suits you! Need more information? Simply fill out our enquiry form below for a quote.

How can students be encouraged to engage and participate to successfully complete VET Courses? They may need a ‘nudge’!

2021 feedback received identified that many trainers and assessors are looking for more PD in the area of ‘breaking through the barriers that students put up’. After surveying trainers and assessors from around the country, Tony Kirton has developed a brand-new webinar aimed at helping you with strategies to ‘break through' some of the obstacles to progression, engagement and participation.

As trainers and assessors, we recognise students failing to complete or make on-time assessment submissions, attend classes, complete learning activities or engage with the course content. The result of these failures often leads to sub-optimal educational outcomes.  Overcoming these issues can be difficult for students and educators alike, but with a subtle ‘nudge’ students can be influenced to make behavioural changes that can make a difference to their learning.  

Originating from behavioural economics, Nudge Theory explains how subtle changes in an environment can be used to change people's behaviour and decision-making. With Nudge Theory used in many commercial and public policy settings for years, we are all ‘nudged’ as we go about our lives, often without knowing it. While research on the application of Nudge Theory in education is still emerging, there is much we can learn from the research that has been conducted as well as examples of successful ‘nudges’ in other sectors.

Key topics covered

Throughout this webinar, we will explore some of the existing research on Nudge Theory in educational settings as well as how ‘nudges’ applied in other sectors could theoretically be applied to education. 

Attendees will be provided with examples that we hope will encourage you to design ‘nudges’ to address student barriers specific to your RTO.  

Together we will explore: 

• Existing examples of Nudge Theory applied in educational settings. 
• Examples of ‘nudges’ that you could use based on results from other sectors and settings. 
• A framework for thinking through and designing ‘nudges’ that can be applied to your students or in your RTO.   

Content note: We want to make sure this webinar is right for you, and that you know what to expect. Please note:

• Examples in this webinar will centre around overcoming the identified top-two key barriers (late assessment submissions, and lack of participation in a classroom setting) 
•  Some examples provided in this webinar will be low cost and easy for trainers and assessors to apply in their practice. Others will require more investment of time and effort and possibly systemic changes at an RTO level.  
• Nudge Theory is not an educational theory. It relates to techniques that can influence a person’s behaviour while maintaining their choice.  
• This webinar is intended for trainers, assessors and RTO operators who are interested in designing frameworks and implementing strategies that can influence student decisions and participation. 

Presenters