Engaging the Adult Learner: Strategies That Actually Work
Apr 28, 2025
We work with educators across Australia and New Zealand, and one of the most common challenges we hear is this: engaging adult learners in meaningful, impactful ways can be difficult — especially in high-acuity, fast-paced environments, where motivation may vary.
So, we’ve bundled up years of experience and educator feedback into a set of practical, digestible tips to help you boost engagement and make your teaching sessions more impactful.
Microlearning
Gone are the days of long PowerPoint lectures. Instead, use naturally occurring downtime — between cases, during setup, or while waiting for a patient — to deliver bite-sized, targeted teaching moments.
Focus on one concept at a time. You can also draw from our free Concept Series library of 200+ articles to help guide your sessions.
Critical Thinking
Whether you trained in a hospital or university, critical thinking forms the backbone of adaptive, evidence-based practice. Encourage learners to reflect and explain their actions.
For example:
“Why do we choose this induction agent for this patient?”
This approach helps develop real-time reasoning skills. It’s all in how you structure and phrase the questions.
Debrief — and Do It Often
Nurses love a good debrief — whether formal or informal.
Encourage short debriefs after procedures or interactions to help consolidate learning and improve outcomes.
Ask questions like:
“What went well?”
“What would we do differently next time?”
Make Learning Visual
Visual tools are powerful. Use laminated cue cards, drug charts, and diagrams like the Vortex approach near workstations.
We have a range of visual teaching aids available for nurse educators — just reach out.
You can also include QR codes linking to quick refreshers or procedure videos for on-the-go learning.
Use Technology Thoughtfully
If appropriate for your OR environment (and patients aren’t involved), share tablet-based modules or interactive quizzes learners can complete during breaks.
Phones are already a key part of daily life — why not leverage them for learning?
They can improve access to resources and help you stay connected with learners in real-time.
Acknowledge Experience and Individuality
Validate what your learners already know. For example:
“You’ve seen this before — how did your last team manage it?”
Adapt your teaching style to suit each learner’s experience level and professional goals.
Relate Content to Practice
Adults learn best when the content is relevant. Always link teaching points to real-world scenarios or patient safety.
If it matters to practice, it will matter to them.
Here are the key takeaways:
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Deliver content in small, digestible chunks to maximise engagement, improve retention, and make use of downtime effectively.
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Encourage critical thinking by prompting your learners to ask “Why?” and fostering deeper reflection.
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Always debrief—whether informally or formally—to reinforce key points and ensure understanding.
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Enhance learning with visuals like diagrams, aids, and flowcharts to support understanding and retention.
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Leverage technology—an under-utilised tool in healthcare education—to enhance your teaching practices and engage learners.
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Adapt to your learners’ experience levels by validating their prior knowledge, which helps consolidate both new and existing information.
To truly transform learning in these environments, it's all about creating connections between knowledge and practice. By using these strategies, you’ll foster deeper engagement, empower learners, and ultimately improve patient care outcomes. It’s time to rethink how we teach and make every moment a learning opportunity.
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