Do You Struggle with Disengaged Learners?

Years ago, I used to get really annoyed when I facilitated PD and saw people browsing Facebook during an activity or while I was giving instructions. Sometimes, they were shameless: I’d hover next to them, hoping my proximity would redirect them, but they didn’t stop. I’d ruminate on their rude behavior and design coercive strategies to try to control them, but those rarely worked. 

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Three things I’ve learned about this experience:

• “Annoyance” is anger. According to how emotions are classified, annoyance is a form of anger. And anger is often a “secondary emotion” that masks fear, sadness, and shame. So I felt sad, fearful, and ashamed when learners scrolled on social media. Blaming others is a maladaptive way of discharging an uncomfortable emotion. But feeling angry is exhausting and ultimately doesn’t help me process and release underlying emotions. 
• Nothing is personal.  The stories I told myself about their behavior made me feel upset. As I shifted those stories, I felt better. Maybe they scrolled FaceBook to get a little cognitive reprieve from the content. Maybe the activity was outside of their ZPD. Maybe they didn’t really want to be there. Whatever the reasons were, it wasn’t personal. 
• Clarity is magical: Now when I present workshops, I clarify expectations from the first communication and throughout the experience. I ask for presence. I explain the “why” behind an activity. I describe what happens to our minds when we multitask. I make sure the activities are as meaningful and relevant as possible, and that there’s some kind of accountability for engaging. I recognize my role in creating the kind of space and experience where people want to be fully engaged, the whole time. I recognized that their behavior isn’t a personal attack on me, and that I can take responsibility for how I create and facilitate the space. 

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I could tell you another 25 things I’ve learned about people disengaging on their apps (or in email, or texting, or shopping) during PD sessions. There is so much that goes into creating an experience in which people learn. 

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And guess what? During workshops that I present, from time to time, I still see someone scrolling on social media. And guess what? Once in a while I feel irritated (also a form of anger) but more often than not, the flicker of emotion passes quickly and I am amused by how I was once so upset. 

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Keep Learning:

1. Subscribe to my Weekly Wisdom Newsletter to get content like this sent right to your inbox
2. Download the Core Emotions Tool to learn more about how emotions are classified
3. Take our Artful Design and Facilitation workshop to develop your skills as a PD facilitator