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Micro-learning

Many companies are on a quest for the latest holy grail in on-the-job training: micro-learning. They want to know how to help their employees acquire knowledge and skills in five minutes or less. Several factors are fueling this high interest in micro-learning.

Increasingly, organizations need employees to learn things faster. Industry reports for the past several years reveal that most employees only receive a small amount of formal training per year. Today’s employees have less than 1 percent of their time available each week to devote to professional development and learning, which translates to 4.8 minutes per day in a 40-hour workweek.

Over the last few years, MOOCs (massive open online courses) have promoted the latest trend of offering free college-level courses. These courses are organized into bite-sized lectures that are typically 7 to 12 minutes in length, coupled with homework assignments and discussion forums. Some categorize this sort of learning as micro-learning. More importantly, they are claiming major success rates, because courses tend to have thousands of students enroll.

Brain science and research on memory shows long-term memory of knowledge significantly increases when learning and study sessions are spaced over time, and content is repeated over time (lots of repetitions rather than a one-time delivery). New brain science and learning research tells us people learn and remember better when learning is spaced over time and key skills and content are repeated multiple times. That does not necessarily translate into shifting everything into learning modules of 5 minutes per day. It does mean re-structuring learning solutions into smaller components with frequent practice and reinforcement. It also could mean coupling extended on-the-job experiences, such as managing your first real project, with appropriate micro-lessons or stories and discussions with a mentor or experienced colleague.

Clearly, these factors point to the need for a shift to micro-learning. Indeed, there’s no question that micro-learning components, such as video tutorials, a quick review, or a simple game, can offer effective learning preparation or reinforcement. However, there are some things to keep in mind while designing micro lessons:

• People need relevant practice and feedback to build skills and apply knowledge to their work. If a microlesson merely explains a concept or provides an example, people will easily forget it afterwards.
• People cannot multi-task. We cannot learn and do other work tasks at the same time. Microlessons need to actively engage learners.
• Reading something or following the steps listed in a micro-lesson is not the same thing as “learning.” A successful microlesson needs to give people insight so they do not merely imitate what is being shown to them.

Microlearning can be a useful tool, one that has actually been in use for a long time – every time we ask a colleague for an explanation on how to do something, we get a microlessons of some sorts. Keeping the above recommendations in mind will make you a better learner and a better trainer, whether online or by the water cooler.