Clicking, laughing, and “having fun” can look like engagement, but it can also be a mirage. In this episode, Jackie unpacks a stubborn instructional design myth that shows up in classrooms, eLearning, and workplace training: engagement means entertainment. If you’ve ever felt pressure to add games, humor, flashy visuals, music, competition, or constant interaction to keep attention, this conversation will help you slow down and design with more intention.

Jackie breaks down why the myth sticks around, especially when we’ve all sat through boring, passive, content-heavy learning. Entertainment is easy to see and easy to count: smiles, comments, clicks, completion rates, and attendance. But visible activity isn’t the same as learning. Real learner engagement goes deeper into attention, relevance, effort, reflection, practice, connection, feedback, and application. Sometimes engagement looks loud, but just as often it looks like concentration, problem solving, and learners wrestling with an idea long enough to make it useful.

You’ll leave with a practical shift toward purpose-based engagement: stop asking “How do I make this more fun?” and start asking “Why should learners care?” Finally, Jackie shares concrete strategies such as decision-making scenarios, low-stakes practice with feedback, reflection prompts, discussions to process ideas, and realistic challenges that support performance and transfer.

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Myth Reset Case File: Engagement Beyond Entertainment

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