As a new year approaches, millions of people around the world are making new year’s resolutions.
However, millions will abandon those goals by the end of January.
Often, the problem with self-improvement goals is that they are too big, too complicated, and too intimidating.
How Training Efforts Are Like New Year’s Resolutions
The same often holds true for training efforts. Who has the time at work to embark on a college semester’s worth of training content along with existing responsibilities? But simply saying there’s not enough time for training and development isn’t a solution.
Increasingly, individuals and organizations are embracing microlearning as a convenient and effective alternative to many traditional training formats.
Microlearning Holds Opportunities for L&D
As Wesley Chai explains for TechTarget, “Microlearning is an educational strategy that breaks complex topics down into short-form, stand-alone units of study that can be viewed as many times as necessary, whenever and wherever the learner has the need. Microlearning instructional modules are designed to be consumed in about five minutes and address one specific skill or knowledge gap topic.”
It’s not hard to think of everyday examples of microlearning. Several are probably readily available on your phone:
- Duolingo is a popular microlearning language app that involves a series of short, gamified lessons.
- YouTube videos can be used to quickly learn how to clean a clogged drain, bake a quiche, or fix a bicycle chain.
- Flowcharts in an office can serve as quick reminders of key processes.
Microlearning can also be leveraged for corporate training objectives.
“Although microlearning is most often associated with independent learning, modules can also be strung together to create guided learning experiences for individuals or small groups,” says Chai. “The small chunks of instructional content can be tagged with metadata for easy search, access and reuse.”
Microlearning combines the flexibility of bite-size, discrete training modules with the ability to create the structure and complexity needed for complicated subjects by stringing together interrelated microlearning lessons. It’s a powerful tool any training team should keep in its toolbox.
Lin Grensing-Pophal is a Contributing Editor at HR Daily Advisor.