5 Reasons to include micro learning in your teaching strategy
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A version of this post was originally published in Education Technology, on April 17, 2021.
Researchers and educators have always tried to optimize how we consume knowledge by looking at the realities of the learning brain. We now know that students learn better when learning is spread out over time. This is called the spacing effect, a term coined by the renowned memory scientist Hermann Ebbinghaus. If you give students a list of historical dates to memorize, they will retain it much better if they try to recall the dates in a few sessions rather than memorize them all at once.
Educators have put the spacing effect to good use through micro learning, which is the pedagogical practice of dividing learning into easily digestible nuggets of information. Contrary to popular belief, micro learning has been around for quite some time, and many teachers have been delivering lessons in a microformat without calling it so (using flashcards is an excellent example of micro learning).
The philosophy behind the concept is that the effects of short attention spans and the poor absorption of new information can be counteracted with bite-sized lessons that are clearly explained and engaging. Micro learning achieves this in two major ways: by turning the attention to the most important ideas that students should remember and offering an easy way for them to repeat the information at certain intervals so it won’t be forgotten.
5 Reasons to include micro learning in your teaching strategy
The global pandemic has shifted the way young people learn towards an online, or at least a hybrid, learning environment. Therefore, the new characteristics of this learning environment must be considered when deciding on teaching methods. So let’s explore a few different ways microlearning can ensure students’ attainment and engagement remain high when studying online.
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Improving long-term retention with bite-sized lessons
Simply put, familiarity with a subject accelerates the learning process. The more a student knows about a topic before learning about it, the faster they make connections between the main ideas. A key aspect of micro learning is that it enhances the long-term retention of information by bringing attention to what really matters and familiarising students with a lesson’s main ideas.
Using micro learning, teachers can deliver five or 10-minute video lessons on the key ideas that students should remember before explaining the more intricate details of a topic, making them understand the meaning before going into the details. In other words, the main ideas become familiar, which increases the chances of students remembering them.
Read more: 6 Steps that prove any teacher can create educational videos
For example, a Biology teacher could start the lesson by explaining why photosynthesis is important, then follow up with an explanation of the main components involved in the process, and then delve into the more complex chemical reactions, all by fragmenting a big lesson into 5-minute units.
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Reducing cognitive load for students
The curriculum can be very demanding for some students, with so much new information having to be processed and remembered daily, not to mention the switch between online and face-to-face learning activities. Sometimes this can lead to student burnout due to cognitive overload.
Incorporating micro learning can help prevent this issue before it becomes a problem. By breaking lessons into chunks, with one or two learning objectives each, teachers are making the information much easier to digest and comprehend.
A 40 or 50-minute class can be divided into logically connected micro lessons that are organized hierarchically. Instead of jumping from topic to topic, the difficulty increases once students get a good grasp of the key ideas that are presented in each micro lesson. You can also make it easier for students by showing them how to take notes more efficiently and uploading learning materials on a learning platform that can be accessed often.
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Breaking the cramming habit
We’ve all been “guilty” of cramming before tests or exams. It might help students pass a test once or twice, which gives the impression that it’s a successful method. In reality, not only does it bring unnecessary stress, but it’s also a guaranteed way for students to quickly forget what they’ve learned.
Spaced repetition is an evidence-based learning technique to improve learning that can be implemented with the help of micro learning. This breaks the bad habit of cramming since students simply retain more information in study sessions separated by breaks. To make this possible, micro lessons allow students to repeat the same information over the course of a few days, weeks, or even months.
Teachers can use an online learning platform to quiz students on different topics on days and weeks after the initial learning event took place to help them better recall topics. Plus, it’s much easier to track student progress using a micro learning format than wait a couple of weeks to test that knowledge.
Read more: What works for tracking student progress in online learning
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Varying delivery formats for student engagement
Don’t let the name deceive you: micro learning doesn’t mean delivering superficial pieces of information. In fact, teachers can greatly vary the format of their online lessons to get their point better across. Students can read a paragraph and discuss the main ideas, comment on an image, watch a short video, listen to a short audio guide, participate in a learning game.
For example, you can use a micro learning game: use an online tool or print out flashcards. Students should work together in small groups or pairs to quiz one another. This can take five or 10 minutes at most. Edtech can really help you organize the learning content to be accessed online. To speed things up, teachers can also create quizzes that can be corrected automatically.
Read more: How edtech helps students demonstrate learning in more than one way
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Helping students learn wherever they are
The purpose of micro learning is for teachers to create and curate easily digestible and short content that students will be motivated to access wherever they are: at school, or at home, in remote or hybrid learning environments.
To make reviewing more efficient, students can set up a learning schedule with the help of the teacher. With micro learning, all they need is 30-minute study sessions with breaks in between. For this to actually happen, you can upload the learning materials to a centralized library. You can also track their progress and see who accessed the lessons. As a bonus, some teachers like to add fun learning games that students of all ages can enjoy, such as gaining points and badges for mastering different topics.
Read more: Using edtech to bring edutainment in the classroom
Key takeaway
All in all, micro learning has a place in all types of learning environments and is suitable for all ages. The most important takeaway for teachers is to break bigger lessons into smaller units and focus on the main ideas of a lesson first. Perhaps the most significant advantage of micro learning is that teachers can show students how to learn more effectively through study sessions and breaks, which can undo the cram-test-forget cycle.
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