Microlearning: best practices
Microlearning is now becoming an essential approach to vocational training. Short, targeted and accessible on demand, it meets new digital uses and learners' time constraints. But for it to be really effective, it must be thought out methodically.
Vocational training is key to guaranteeing the performance and competitiveness of any company. But budgetary constraints are increasingly weighing on training programs. Fortunately, there are modern and inexpensive tools that can truly enhance training while placing each learner at the center of the educational process.
What is microlearning?
Microlearning is a training method that is based on short, targeted and easy to consume content. Unlike traditional courses, which often require several hours of learning, microlearning focuses on one specific concept at a time and relies on repetition.
For example, a sales representative in the field can conduct short quizzes on his phone between two customer appointments, to have better control of products or services. Or a student who, every day, would receive two questions with explanations of concepts learned during previous courses until exam day. Microlearning can also be used to make company employees aware of occupational risks, by submitting to them every week, on the same day, short and fun content on the prevention of accidents at work.
This approach is particularly effective in everyday professional life, as it fits easily into busy schedules and meets an immediate need.
In any case, microlearning promotes memory anchoring and makes learning more concrete and actionable.
The origins of microlearning
The concept of microlearning has its roots in research in educational sciences and cognitive psychology of the years 1960-1970. Several studies have shown that learning is more effective when it is divided into small, easily assimilated units. The theory of the forgetting curve of Hermann Ebbinghaus (end of the 19th century) had already shown that memory is rapidly eroded if knowledge is not regularly reactivated, paving the way for short and repeated formats to optimize retention.
However, it was with the rise of digital learning in the 2000s that microlearning really emerged as a training practice. The appearance of smartphones, YouTube and LMS platforms has encouraged the consumption of fast and accessible content everywhere. Companies saw this as an adapted response to employees who were increasingly in demand, with little time available to follow long training courses.
Since then, microlearning has established itself as an essential approach, integrated into the strategies of Blended Learning and often enriched by AI or adaptive learning tools.
Setting up microlearning: some best practices
Clearly define educational goals
As with every educational action, the starting point is the definition of educational objectives.
Each microlearning course must have a specific and measurable objective and must be part of a broader training approach. Microlearning is not an isolated format, but a strategic complement to other modalities (face-to-face, elearning, tutoring).
It is particularly effective in strengthening memory after longer training, or in advance to prepare a course.
Capitalize on existing content
An effective microlearning approach relies on existing content, which has been or will be used in other educational contexts. The aim is to Stimulate memory of learners while facilitating the implementation of microlearning. By recycling content (for example, a video from an e-learning module or questions used in formative or summative assessments), there is no need to create new teaching materials.
It is in particular thanks to this principle that microlearning does not generally require no additional budget.
Rely on an adapted tool
Microlearning must be based on an adapted and reliable digital learning platform. It's not about hand-sending items to learners, but rather about using the power of automation to maximize the impact of microlearning.
The platform must therefore allow the automation of all the components of microlearning: from the selection of content, to the sending of invitations and to the analysis of the results. It must also be possible to trigger a microlearning cycle automatically after a learner has taken online or face-to-face training. Training managers would therefore only have to invite people at the very beginning of the training course so that the connection with microlearning, or even with a training evaluation survey, is automatic.
The combination of microlearning and adaptive learning is extremely powerful. The tool used must therefore be in a position to analyze the results in order to offer adapted content in order to intelligently target the shortcomings of each learner.
Microlearning must be easy to access, anywhere and on any medium (computer, tablet, smartphone). Ease of use is essential to encourage learner adoption.
The Experquiz platform makes it possible to meet all these requirements to truly enrich learning and capitalize on the work of trainers and educational designers.
Discover how Experquiz allows you to combining microlearning and adaptive learning at the service of learners.
Adapt the periodicity and duration
A microlearning module generally lasts between 2 and 10 minutes maximum. The shorter and more fun the format is, the more the learning will be accepted and followed.
The periodicity depends on the educational objective. It is a question of finding the right balance between:
- A sufficient number of requests to allow people to assimilate knowledge correctly.
- Too frequent requests, which would become a constraint for learners and could discourage them.
A request once a week may suffice if the apprenticeship period lasts several weeks. On the other hand, daily demands cannot be repeated over a long period of time.
Create a ritual
The aim of the ritual is to engage learners and create a routine, and sometimes even an expectation.
That is to say, requests must always take place at the same time, on the same day if they are not daily, on the same medium, and delivered in the same way (by email, by SMS, via notifications, etc.).
Thus, the learner will know that at such a moment he will have to devote a few minutes to his learning, and he will be able to organize himself accordingly.
Integrate interactivity and exploit evaluation
Even in short format, learner engagement involves interactivity: quizzes, gamification, questions and answers, role plays. Varying formats makes it possible to reinforce memory anchoring and maintain attention.
- Short video to illustrate a concept or a gesture.
- Quiz to check, stimulate and activate memory.
- Audio for on-the-go learning.
- Infographic or fact sheet.
Evaluation using digital questionnaires, and in this case micro-questionnaires composed of 2 to 3 questions, is a powerful tool in the context of microlearning, since it puts the individual in a situation of reflection. Each question can contain media (video, sound, image) and the formats should vary to stimulate thought (multiple questions, matches, empty text, search in an image, etc.). Assessment is both an excellent tool for providing explanations justifying the correct answer, but also a particularly effective way to specifically target learners' weak points: an adaptive learning approach must rely on evaluation to be credible.
Evaluate the microlearning journey
Training assessment applies widely to microlearning. Gather learner satisfaction through surveys allows you to have a subjective assessment of the effectiveness of the process and to gather valuable insights on the strengths and weaknesses of the system. Once the microlearning process is over, offering a summative assessment makes it possible to measure the acquisition of skills and to concretely assess the effectiveness of the system.
In a process of evaluating the training of Level 2 of the Kirkpatrick model, it is possible to measure very precisely the benefits of microlearning that complements more traditional training: by providing a summative evaluation on the spot, after the training course (and before microlearning), then by repeating the operation after microlearning, it is possible to measure the progression and retention of knowledge. By repeating the operation again some time after the end of the entire training process (for example one month later), it is possible to measure knowledge retention again.
In conclusion
Microlearning is a concrete response to new ways of learning. Short, targeted, accessible and interactive, it must be carefully designed to deliver real educational value.
With the right tools and a methodical approach, microlearning becomes a real driver of performance and skills development in companies.
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