Mastering the Art of Engaging Educational Courses: Secrets to Captivating Your Students

Educational designer Jenya Ivanova reveals professional insights beyond the usual advice like "add games and quizzes."

This article isn’t just about creating a course; it’s about crafting an unforgettable learning experience that keeps students fully engaged. To ensure maximum value, we turn to instructional design theory—a discipline focused on enhancing student experience and launching outstanding educational programs.

Here’s a curated list of tips to help you create impactful "wow moments" within your course, develop innovative lesson formats, and attract students so that learning feels more exciting than scrolling through TikTok or Instagram.*

Jenya Ivanova

Clarify Your Course’s Purpose

Before aiming to create an engaging course, understand why you’re making it. It’s okay to admit, "I want to earn money." In that case, focus on building a scalable product—minimizing your direct involvement while increasing student numbers without compromising quality.

If your goal is to "transform a field," that’s a different story. For example, while attending writing courses, I often felt something was missing. That inspired me to design a program addressing those gaps.

Since I’ve always loved writing and wanted to promote it, I needed to define: "What makes my product unique? What’s my mission? What change do I want to spark?"

When creating my writing course, I aimed to challenge the notion that "only a chosen few can write well," promoting the belief that "everyone can write."

Many answers exist to "Why am I creating this course?" but only an honest one keeps you focused and moving forward.

Research Competitors and Your Target Audience

Analyzing competitors and your target audience simultaneously helps you find winning strategies and understand how to make your course stand out.

Ask yourself about competitors:

• What do companies X, Y, and Z offer? Will you create something similar or entirely different?
• What are their prices? What price can your course command?
• How many students do they enroll? How many can you attract?
• What are their programs’ strengths and weaknesses?

Established companies often have a business model that works. Understanding it reveals valuable insights.

Company X enrolls 100 students at $30 each with two instructors, likely offering lecture-heavy formats and limited feedback. Company Y enrolls 10–20 students at $300 each with multiple instructors, probably emphasizing personalized feedback, which justifies the higher price.

Equally important is understanding your audience’s needs, fears, and interests. You can’t create an engaging course without knowing what excites or bores them.

For instance, writing courses attract both seasoned writers seeking to hone specific skills and beginners eager to start. Advanced students might find basics repetitive, while beginners could be overwhelmed by niche topics.

The best approach is to engage potential students directly—post a quick survey on social media platforms like Facebook* to gather insights.

For example, if respondents fear judgment from friends about pursuing writing, emphasize a supportive community in your course.

Then, align these insights with competitor analysis to identify gaps your course can uniquely fill.

Focus on Delivering a Tangible Outcome

Students journey from point A to B, and a clear end product greatly boosts motivation.

While not every course yields a physical product, defining the skills and knowledge students will acquire by the end is essential.

In a sewing course, the final product might be a dress or clothing collection. In a literature course, it might be the ability to navigate major poetic movements confidently.

Design Clear Steps to Reach the Goal

To keep students engaged and ensure progress, map out every step they need to take.

First, design your program for a "C-grade student"—someone with minimal prior knowledge—so everyone can reach point B.

Typically, courses follow a logical sequence: the steps a student must complete to achieve the goal.

For example, a "How to Write a Short Story" course moves from no ideas or skills (point A) to having a completed story and the necessary skills (point B).

Student steps might include:

1. Finding ideas
2. Building a plot
3. Working on language
4. Editing the text

Always verify that all steps lead directly to your defined endpoint.

Maintain a Balance Between Challenge and Accessibility

Consider the volume of material and time needed. Avoid overwhelming students with daily three-hour sessions; instead, extend the course duration.

If a course feels stretched thin over months with minimal content per lesson, condense it into a shorter, more intensive format.

Factor in homework time when planning your schedule.

Within the course, alternate between complex and easier lessons to prevent burnout. Sprinkle in fun facts to maintain interest without overwhelming.

Break Large Courses Into Mini-Courses

Trying to cover everything in one course often leads to overload. Splitting content into smaller courses can improve engagement and retention.

Mini-courses appeal to learners who prefer shorter commitments and can spark interest in related topics.

Additionally, microlearning suits today’s fast-paced lifestyles and can be more profitable.

However, if your goal requires comprehensive mastery—like defending a thesis—micro-courses may not suffice.

Encourage Active Student Participation

In a world filled with distractions like TikTok and streaming, passive listening is ineffective.

Engage students by asking questions, providing practice opportunities, and assigning tasks. Active involvement boosts learning outcomes.

Assignments with feedback foster accountability and motivation.

When preparing lectures, segment your time thoughtfully:

• Theory: 20 minutes
• Q&A: 10 minutes
• Theory continuation: 30 minutes

Then shift to action:

• Practical assignment with feedback: 40 minutes
• Q&A: 10–15 minutes

For purely theoretical courses, facilitate discussions or virtual debates to shift focus from instructor to learners.

For example, use chatbots in messaging apps to challenge students’ ideas or assign research tasks encouraging independent discovery.

Of course, if your instructor is captivating and structured, originality for its own sake isn’t necessary.

Create Strategic "Wow Moments" Throughout the Course

Designing a course is like scripting a Hollywood blockbuster. The first lesson(s) must captivate immediately—like an explosive opening scene that hooks viewers.

These early "wow moments" build trust and anticipation for what’s next.

Mid-course, inject emotional boosts such as surprise guest lecturers, unexpected lessons, or unique formats to keep excitement high.

The final lesson should be a powerful climax, leaving students transformed.

For our final "Verb" course session, we invited three unannounced writers for a Q&A, creating a memorable "wow" experience.

Other lessons can be steadier in tone, much like a well-paced film.

Embrace Both Online and Offline Formats

I spent three years delivering in-person courses, now exclusively online. Each has unique advantages.

Reasons to choose offline include:

1. Access to a valuable expert in person.
2. Stronger emotional connections, though this increases costs due to venue, speaker fees, and refreshments.
3. Hands-on subjects like crafts requiring physical demonstration.
4. Personal preference against screen time.

Offline allows creative use of space for surprises and interactive elements.

Online enables global reach across cities, countries, and time zones. If you can’t justify in-person benefits beyond personal contact, online may be preferable.

Our "Verb" course shifted online during the pandemic. Initially, tools seemed limited to Zoom, but we discovered possibilities like collaborative brainstorming on Miro and distributing materials via email.

Innovate with Unexpected Lesson Formats

Lesson formats include text, video, audio, tactile, and interactive tasks, delivered in various settings like classrooms, parks, or virtual platforms. The magic lies in creatively combining these elements.

Examples from my offline practice:

1. Lectures via headphones: students roam the camp listening to lectures and completing tasks alone, fostering introspection and creativity.
2. Lessons in unexpected locations: students receive lectures on flash drives and write stories inspired by their surroundings.

Online examples:

1. Phone voicemail lessons: students receive mini-lectures via phone calls, creating a personal touch.
2. Multiple personas: collaborating with a colleague, we portrayed various characters in Zoom videos to illustrate diverse story protagonists.

While experimenting with formats is exciting, avoid turning your course into a spectacle. Always align format choices with your course goals.

For example, a creativity camp benefits from constant novelty, but a writing course may require steadier focus. Don’t add effects just for their own sake.

Support Instructors to Deliver Engaging Sessions

Finding energetic instructors is ideal, but if some lack charisma or engaging delivery, approach them with empathy and constructive dialogue.

Understand their message and gently suggest improvements, like adding practical elements to help students grasp concepts better.

You might say, "It seems students would benefit from practice here. Let’s brainstorm ideas together."

Offer support without ultimatums. If collaboration fails, consider recruiting new instructors.

*Meta Platforms Inc. and its social networks Facebook and Instagram are restricted in certain regions.

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