Institutions of higher education must tailor the learning experience to meet the needs of all adult learners and increase student retention and lower dropout rates. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how post-secondary online learners described their engagement and instructional techniques they have experienced in an online learning environment. The community of inquiry (CoI) theory and the technology-based teaching and learning engagement theory were the theoretical foundations for the study. The research questions in this study were, how do post-secondary online learners describe their engagement in an online learning experience, and how do post-secondary online learners describe the instructional techniques they have experienced in an online learning experience? The sampling was purposive, and 19 adult online learners participated in the semi-structured interviews and the two focus group interviews. In Chapter 3, the researcher originally stated that the data analysis approach would use the Vaismoradi thematic data analysis, which consists of four phases. However, the researcher instead used Saldana's thematic data analysis, which consists of four phases to analyze the data, and MAXQDA software to organize the data. The analysis yielded four themes that addressed the two research questions related to the online learners' description of engagement and instructional techniques in an online learning experience. The themes included: collaborating with peers on learning activities, a process for learning new information to further their life skills, offering flexibility and different learning modalities and support to the learners. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]