Microlearning Benefits
- Negates the effect of the forgetting curve
- Preps learners for online/classroom training
- Helps time-pressed employees make time for training
- Promotes a learning culture
- Offers performance support/refresher training
Providing bite-sized learning modules enhances the retention levels of learners and ensures better transfer of acquired knowledge to the workspace. Consider your organizational goals, your desired learning goal, and decide if microlearning can meet your training needs. These are few situations where microlearning helps.
Microlearning Negates the Effect of the Forgetting Curve
If we look at the forgetting curve by Ebbinghaus, it shows that almost half of newly learned knowledge is lost in a matter of days, unless it is reviewed.
Learning is an active process that happens continually, and the key to beat the forgetting curve is revising learners’ knowledge periodically. It may not be possible to bring back learners to a classroom regularly. Microlearning for follow up and reinforcement activities will ensure employees continue to go up the learning curve over time.
Bite-sized modules made available over multiple devices provide greater opportunities for approaching learning as a process and not an event. Microlearning beats the forgetting curve by:
- Offering spaced learning
- Providing just-in-time learning
- Helping retrieve knowledge from memory
Preps Learners for Online/Classroom Training
Quizzes, flashcards, or infographics enable learners to recap information. Mini quizzes or micro assessments can be used as pre-assessments to check learners’ existing knowledge be it in ILT (Instructor Led Training) or online training. Ensures knowledge is refreshed and helps them connect to the new knowledge.
Microlearning in the form of micro-video teasers, GIFs, or podcasts is a good way of introducing a topic to learners. A subtle hint of what’s going to come on the learners’ way will build up their inquisitiveness to learn.
Makes Time-Pressed Employees Make Time for Training
Microlearning being short and extremely focused on a single learning objective can be taken up by learners, in just a few minutes – even while traveling or during downtime. This way employee time will be saved, increasing their inclination to take it up.
An ATD research reports that microlearning should ideally run between 10-13 minutes.
Promotes a Learning Culture
Reuse existing training content and configure into multiple microlearning assets. This will help learners pick and choose the topic they want to learn – in their preferred format. Continual opportunities for learning will promote a learning culture and learners will have the flexibility of learning on multiple devices. Micro videos can be also be developed by learners and shared with peers – promoting the use of user generated content.
Offers Performance Support/Refresher Training
Short size and availability in myriad formats make microlearning ideal for offering performance support as well as refresher training. Use how-to videos to help learners look up how to troubleshoot a machine, infographics to showcase do’s and don’ts. As micro assets are short and handy, they can be accessed by learning at their moment of need – in the midst of work.
Finally, dynamic market changes demand quick the update of training content and the rapid rollout of training programs. So, if you need to update learning of something or bring them to speed on the latest happenings and trends, microlearning is you should reach out for. Microlearning modules are fast and easy to develop, update, and maintain, thus making training fast and flexible.
