How To Create Great Micro-Learning Experiences

The 4 pillar methodology

Let’s face it. Life as we know it is online... and that appears to be our new normal. As of October 2020, almost 4.66 billion people were active internet users - that’s about 59 percent of the global population.⁽¹⁾  

We live in a demanding, “Give me what I need when I want it” online culture. According to many data points, people today expect and want short bursts of learning on the go that is geared to help them. I agree with what EI Design’s eLearning Trends in 2021 report found that “with the changed workplace dynamics and need to offer short, focused remote learning (particularly, in the flow of work), micro-learning will continue to lead in 2021.”⁽²⁾  

Many of us must convey training or informative learning in ways that result in learning and business needs being met. So HOW do we DO that? Especially if a background in education, learning and development, or instructional design isn’t part of your professional development?

I believe micro-learning experiences are here to stay. We’ve known for quite some time that ”learning in stretches of 3-7 minutes matches the working memory capacity and attention spans of humans”⁽³⁾. Why wouldn’t we want to design learning that has better than average odds of accomplishing what we intend?!

Without a surefire way to design short, engaging segments of online learning that people can consume just-in-time to meet their needs - it really doesn’t matter how much time you invest. What people tolerated before (talking head videos for 30 or more minutes with a quiz at the end) will not suffice today. Enter micro-learning experiences as the new online learning medium. Effective micro-learning experiences or lessons are:
 

❏    Just-in-time training
❏    Generally 6-12 minutes in duration
❏    Focused in content to aid job performance
❏    Limited to one or two performance objectives
❏    Centered on one skill set to be developed/improved
❏    Well beyond just knowledge acquisition
❏    Providing learners with strategies
❏    Designed to help people use their learning
 

If you have content you need to “arrange” for someone else to build into a short course or micro-lesson, you need to know how to simply lay it out in a plan so it “sticks” and delivers results. Without a straightforward method on which to build a micro-lesson or short 6-12 minute online course or learning experience, you may be wasting your time. Even if you’re from the education or L&D world, a simple methodology is needed for building micro-learning experiences that work!

Ten years ago, I would have said that the scarcest resource impacting training and development was TIME. Schedules were packed. Whether training was to occur in person, online, or in a blend of both, getting people to commit time to learn was the top challenge.

Today, I see trends indicating that the hot commodity impacting learning is our attention span… our shrinking attention spans! How often, when we need to learn something, is our mindset, “Let me find what I need, let it be short, please let it be enjoyable (surprise me!), and help me do what I need to with relevant, meaningful, and timely strategies I can put into action.” That’s MY approach!

I typically look for the shortest, most interesting solutions to my learning needs. When’s the last time you hunted YouTube for a “How to do something” video and settled on the longest one with poor ratings?!

Brevity does matter. Our attention spans today are wired more than ever for, “Give it to me now, when I want it, with just what I need, and a few options to segue and explore learning more if I want.” Planning a design that, when built, will be mobile friendly also helps reduce barriers to learning.

Whether you need to design a micro-lesson, short course, or parts of a larger course, the simple “4 Pillar Micro-learning Methodology” can help! No Instructional Design background required!

Of course you will need to begin with clarity regarding your chosen topic, target learners and the basics about the personas of your target learners, and what the learning and performance objectives are - what should folks be able to DO after completing the micro-learning experience you design?  

Then you’re ready to begin placing your material into the following structure of the 4 Pillar Micro-learning Experience Methodology.

This is your shot at causing learners to WANT to learn about your content; and you won’t have time to convince our click-happy consumers! How can you emotionally connect with them, helping them sense that they truly need to learn what this micro-learning experience offers?

PLAN how you think it may work best to rapidly hook learners and cause them to mentally say, “I am two feet in! I need and want to learn this!” The main thing is that you have crafted a plan for what the learner will experience that connects with them emotionally and objectively to your learning topic at hand. Convince learners why they care about this!

This is the “teaching” part of your micro-learning experience. As it relates to your chosen learning and performance objectives, how might you present your material in interesting ways? Firehosing people with lists of stats, text-heavy slides, or a bland, talking head video won’t make the grade. Consider what creative, or even surprising approach you can use from which to convey key concepts.

Combining a variety of modalities (from slide decks to docs, videos, PDFs, infographics or e-learning modules) to methods (from an intriguing theme to scenario, attributes of gamification, reflective questions, dialogue, or storytelling) contribute to engaging learners. Strategically planning to engage learners in your material results in them grappling with key concepts before they realize what has happened. Effectively planning how to engage learners during the actual “teaching” is what will make your micro-learning experience stick.  

If you have Connected and Engaged well with learners, that’s great...but not if you stop there! They may have (hopefully!) acquired some knowledge. But so what? If knowledge acquisition is all they leave with, we can only hope they somehow go do something with it!

We must provide strategies from which learners can identify a few that resonate with them as they consider how to “operationalize” their learning. (That’s a big word for “doing something” with their learning!) What tangible ACTION could a learner who is completing YOUR micro-lesson DO that may help them put their learning to work?

NOTE: A strategy to DO may be less of a “doing” and more of a “being” step. For example, a great strategy to embrace and implement learning may be, “Consider and reflect on (list the key concept) during a time of personal quiet and stillness.” Explore both activity-based strategies and reflective types as you consider what may help people do something with your content/material.

Based on who they are, where they work and are in their role/career, as well as the challenges their organization faces, learners should be encouraged to select one strategy on which to focus on from those strategies that resonate with them. There should be one strategy (either chosen from what you provided or crafted on their own) that they believe that, if they were to implement, would move them toward their desired destination.

Remember, a strategy should be:
 

Give learners action-oriented, straightforward, tangible strategies from which to choose as they go put their learning to work. Remember, if they could have come up with this without you and the micro-learning experience - they would have already done so!

As a subject matter expert (SME), it can be tempting to focus so much on the content and what you want to teach and convey, that at this point you may think, “Phew! I have done it - I have a plan for how I will connect with and engage learners in my material. I even have tangible strategies to recommend so they can do something with their learning! I think I’m done…” Don’t stop here!

The Implement Pillar is where we put legs on their selected strategy...so it’ll walk right on to their calendar! This is where you can prompt consideration of items aimed to equip them to follow through on their selected strategy. Often, using many or all of the following Action Plan criteria help learners put together a plan, so they will more likely take action on their strategy:
 

The topic and target learners of any micro-learning experience will help you shape a fitting approach to guiding them to craft a plan of action related to their learning. The main thing? Encourage simple planning to move learners from thinking, “That is a great strategy!” (but doing nothing with it), to thinking, “I have a tangible step or two on my calendar to DO and improve/grow as a result of this learning!”

Using the 4 Pillar Micro-learning Experience Methodology to effectively design micro-learning experiences pays off in numerous ways.
 

So what is needed? Check out these options to further explore and use the 4 Pillar Micro-learning Experience Methodology: