Would you like to make e-learning for your employees more interactive and practical? Then opt for project-based learning and motivate your employees for sustainable learning. We explain to you how to achieve this:
Digital learning is becoming increasingly popular in companies. Perhaps you are already using online courses for training in your company? Then you know one of the biggest challenges for HR developers: making learning content not only informative but also practical. A strong practical relevance and high interactivity are the keys to motivated employees and sustainable e-learning.
Now we present a method that is practical and action-oriented – thus perfectly suitable for motivating your employees and providing sustainable training:
What is “Project-Based Learning”?
Project-based learning is a highly practical learning method where learners are to learn in realistic situations independently and action-oriented. The focus is on purposeful action and a structured project process. Project-based learning is primarily used in traditional face-to-face teaching. However, it is also highly suitable for digital learning concepts such as e-learning or online courses in companies.
In project-based learning, the promotion of self-organization of your employees is the focus:
Employees expand their knowledge by developing new skills through problem finding and solving in the immediate situation.
Employees must conduct their own research and gather the necessary information. This also encourages them to exchange ideas with other learners and share their insights with the group.
It is not just about solving the problem; the solution path is also crucial for the learning experience.
Actively participating and experiencing the learning process is incredibly important in project-based learning. Pure information presentation, as in many traditional trainings, is explicitly avoided.
You can divide project-based learning into four phases: the initiation phase, the planning phase, the implementation phase, and the conclusion phase. In the following representation, you will get an overview of what is important in each phase:
Phase model of project-based learning according to Elisabeth Kaliva // Own representation
Characteristics of project-based learning summarized:
The basis is always a question or a problem from a real context.
Each course focuses on the learning objectives and skills of your employees, which are enhanced through independent solutions.
Your employees must always have the opportunity to make their own decisions and develop their own strategies.
At the end of the course, employees should be able to present their results in the course and discuss the solution path.
Project-based learning hands over the responsibility to the learning employees themselves, making the role of the course leader rather passive. If you employ external trainers in your company, you should introduce them to the concept and convey this possibly unfamiliar role to them.
The course leader should mostly stay in the background and only interrupt the learning process in emergencies. If your employees actively seek assistance, it must also be provided; after all, you or the trainer, as the course leader, still have a leading role. Ideally, you try to integrate yourself into the group of learning employees to observe the learning process without influencing it.
Looking for inspiration? Check out our collection of free guides and online courses now<img src="https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/4162675/abf5df5d-3ac7-4387-915c-5e5b30cb4094.png" alt="!Discover learning materials now" />
As mentioned, the high responsibility of learners and a rather passive role of the trainer is often initially unfamiliar – for responsible parties, trainers, and employees. To ensure that project-based learning in e-learning succeeds, here are four practical tips for you:
4 Tips for Successful Project-Based Learning in E-Learning
1. Conduct a test run
So that your “learning project” in e-learning is truly successful, you should definitely work through the course yourself once. This way you can check whether all important elements and tasks are understandable and feasible, and whether your primary learning objective is indeed being achieved. When planning, you should keep the four phases of project-based learning mentioned above in mind and plan accordingly.
2. Encourage direct feedback
Encourage your employees to share their opinions and insights directly. The format depends on your LMS: At blink.it, for example, employees can upload their own videos or use the comment function under the learning units. Direct feedback helps you and your employees improve processes and content.
3. Give learners more responsibility
An important factor of project-based learning is the independence of learning employees, as the solution path is also crucial. Therefore, if you provide your employees with the necessary foundational knowledge and all required resources, they can learn independently and acquire new knowledge. Therefore, transfer the necessary responsibility for their learning process to them and step back from the role of the course leader.
4. Integrate interactive scenarios and simulations
Create special scenarios tailored to your employees' learning objectives. In your interactive e-learning exercises, your employees can apply their acquired knowledge directly and thus retain it longer. To incorporate active exercises into your e-learning, the blended learning method is also suitable. This way, you can optimally divide theory and practice between online and face-to-face phases.
Conclusion: In project-based learning, the solution path and the process of learning are always the focus. With projects, you motivate your employees to actively engage, apply their knowledge in practice, and find their own solutions. This not only increases motivation but also enhances the long-term learning effect: What is applied practically stays in memory!
With these extensive tips, you can now plan your own e-learning in the spirit of project-based learning. Are you still at the beginning and want to design your own e-learnings? Then use our free e-learning checklist and go through the individual planning points step by step. Once you have ticked everything off, your perfect e-learning is finished.
