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Principles of Microlearning

by Josh Biggs in Tech on 21st June 2021

The word microlearning is being vastly used when it comes to elearning. Breaking the topics in small byte sized chunks that are easy to understand is termed as microlearning. The smaller topics are not only easy to understand but relatively retain better in the mind. It is easy to accommodate the smaller lessons during the hectic workday schedule.

While implementing the  microlearning concepts is the in trend to develop the engaging course content, it is important to ensure that the ultimate approach should be focused towards more sophisticated, goal-oriented, and learner centered design. The smaller topics are easy to understand, however, collectively the learnings from the smaller modules should lead to fulfilling the final objective of the curriculum.

Microlearning has evolved with time, however the basic objective of designing an elearning programme remains learner’s experience. To help understand the same better, mentioned below are three basic principles of designing an effective microlearning program.

  • Should be short : As the name “microlearning” suggests, the lesson should be small. How small will always be a point of debate. The reason being, one might understand the same lesson in less than 5 minutes whereas the other person might take 15 minutes to understand the same topic. For designing the content of the micro lesson, the time and the length of the lesson completely depends on the overall goal of the program and the learner’s needs. The only point to address is that it should be enough to fit into the daily schedule of the learner. The lessons should be small enough for the learner to understand and absorb. It is then completely up to the learner if he wants to take one lesson at a time or a set of lessons at one go.
  • Course should be focused and each lesson adds value: The lessons must be curated in a way that every lesson makes sense on its own and is focussed towards the ultimate goal and the objective of the program. Having said that, ensuring that every micro lesson covers one topic at a time. Inclusion of multiple topics might become confusing for the learner and the learner might lose interest. Focus must be the learner’s experience while curating the elearning program. This will not only keep the learner engaged but keep the learner involved.
  • Should be easy to refer: The course must be designed in a way that is not only convenient to learn but whenever required, can be used as a ready reference. It is human tendency to forget the skill if not used often. One can brush up their knowledge by referring to the old lessons to pick up the process and will be ready to use their skill again. In the cases where the employee learns the skill for the first time, the course does become the reference point while implementing their knowledge in practical. They might require to get back to a few difficult lessons (as per the particular learner) at the time of practical implementation of the learned skills. To understand it better, the induction program for the freshers should be curated in a way that they can refer to it conveniently at the time of need. 

Conclusion: Elearning is the need of the hour and is becoming a trend in the corporate world. With the help of  an effective learning management system like Paycom, and incorporating the above mentioned basic principles of microlearning, you can easily curate an effective course content. This can guide you to design a learning program keeping the learner’s experience in focus. Effective training leads to better business and a happy employee. 

Categories: Tech

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