Andrew Badham 2023-04-06 15:28:58

With Easter around the corner, you might be looking forward to rummaging around in the garden to find some chocolate. But why not simply buy chocolate and eat it? Why the hunt? Perhaps it’s some ancient instinct to gather and forage that we’re fulfilling. Perhaps it’s because we get a dopamine spike whenever a reward is slightly uncertain. Either way, the chocolate just isn’t as delicious when it’s too easy to get. The same is true of any Easter Egg.

What are Easter Eggs?

An Easter egg is a hidden surprise or secret that's hidden inside a film, book, video game, or any other media. It's a secret message or reference that's tucked away for people who are paying close attention to the details. You might not even notice it the first time you watch the movie or TV show, but if you're really observant, you might be able to spot it. Easter eggs can be all kinds of things, like a reference to another movie or a hidden message from the production team. They're kind of like a fun little reward for fans who are paying attention. And people love it! Part of the explanation for Marvel’s success is their expert use of Easter Eggs. Finding a clue about an upcoming movie is so much more exciting than blatantly being told about it.

So, if Easter Eggs are so effective at creating excitement, could they be used to make training or learning more exciting? I think so. Here are a few reasons you might want to try to incorporate these ideas into your training

Some reasons to incorporate Easter Eggs

Encourage Exploration

Easter eggs can encourage learners to explore and engage with content by hiding interesting and unexpected surprises within it. For example, a hidden quiz or interactive element within a course module could encourage learners to spend more time on the content.

Increase Engagement

Easter eggs can make learning more engaging by giving learners a sense of accomplishment or reward when they discover them. This can help to motivate learners to continue engaging with the content and increase their overall satisfaction with the learning experience.

Foster Retention

Easter eggs can be used to reinforce key concepts or learning objectives by integrating them into the surprise or reward. This can help to reinforce important information and increase learners' retention of the material.

Create Community

Easter eggs can also be used to create a sense of community among learners by encouraging them to share their discoveries with one another. This can foster collaboration and encourage learners to engage more deeply with the material.

It’s important to remember that, just like the chocolates in your garden, you don’t want them to be too well hidden. After all, the goal is for the Easter Egg to be found. And, just like a traditional Easter Egg hunt, it helps to know that you’re supposed to be looking for something, so let the students know there might be secrets to be found.

So, how could we practically place Easter Eggs in learning content?

Let's say you're teaching a class on problem-solving techniques, and you want to encourage students to think creatively and approach problems from different angles. You could present a problem-solving scenario in which the class needs to evaluate the root cause of an equipment failure. You could include pictures of the equipment as part of their evidence. In the background of these pictures, you could hide words which, when added together, form a clue to another problem cause.

When students discover the Easter egg, you could offer a small reward, such as extra credit or a prize. This would encourage students to engage more deeply with the material, and to think creatively and critically about the problem-solving process.

By incorporating Easter eggs into the class, you can create a more engaging and memorable learning experience that encourages students to think creatively, collaborate, and approach problems from different angles.

It’s important to note that you wouldn’t want to overuse this idea. While incorporating Easter Eggs could make students pay more attention to the class, it could also cause them to hyper-focus on searching for Easter Eggs and not on the main content. So, use this idea minimally for the greatest effect.

Have you got any ideas for including Easter Eggs in your next learning session? If so, don’t be afraid to try it out and see how your students respond.