What is the formula of x square + y square? Or what is the significance of photosynthesis- these are two of the finest examples of concepts that students need to learn at high school level education. Similarly, teachers teach them diverse topics from different subjects, so they get to know a large amount of information. But do they remember all of what they learnt? Why is it difficult to recall specific information after a certain point in time?
It is noteworthy to point out that upon learning new things, people are able to retain them for a limited time. Meanwhile, if the content that they learned is not vital to the activities at hand, they might forget it gradually. Therefore, most often than not, students resort to rote learning, wherein they memorize a particular material; the technique might help them recall and answer questions quickly, but it does not add value to their educational journey.
So, isn’t there a way to help students to retain knowledge for a more extended period of time? There are certain techniques, such as Microlearning, that are effective strategies that instructors can use within the traditional or online classroom environment to enable innovative learning strategies.
What is Microlearning?
Microlearning is an innovative instructional approach that breaks down comprehensive educational material into small chunks, enabling teachers to deliver them for specific outcomes. The material includes illustrations, short video tutorials, infographics, interactive modules, mini-assessments, etc.
Besides, the microlearning concept’s origin can be found in Hermann Ebbinghaus’ Forgetting Curve, which indicates memory does not remain the same. Moreover, it can increase, decrease, fade or reinvigorate many times; the forgetting curve pointed out that people usually lose eighty percent of the knowledge they accumulate within a month. However, people can use microlearning effectively with the forgetting issue.
Let us take a look at some of the best practices of microlearning that teachers can use in the classroom and organisations can use to optimise their training activities:
Gamification of Educational Content
Students zoning out in the middle of a class is a common occurrence that many teachers have observed. Also, the problem is even more noteworthy during online classroom sessions, wherein the teachers cannot assuredly determine whether students are paying attention or not. So, how would a student be able to learn if they are not concentrating in class? Although learners are primarily responsible for giving the required focus during an ongoing session, teachers must implement effective teaching strategies.
Apart from following the standard teaching practices of explaining core concepts, they can integrate unique methodologies. For instance, they can integrate microlearning with gamification of educational content; teachers can use game-based elements like point scoring upon completing a specific goal, peer competition surrounding a project, etc. Additionally, gamification enhances learning practices, so students feel motivated to learn, helping them retain knowledge.
Quizzes
While teaching or explaining any topic, it is ideal for checking what the students have understood so far, so quizzes can help to accomplish the goal. Also, long learning lessons can become monotonous, causing learner burnout; quizzes offer the necessary lesson breaks and reduce cognitive overload.
Moreover, quizzes are helpful for microlearning as it helps to review students’ understanding levels, thereby informing the instructors about learners’ knowledge capacities.
Mobile Learning
As the title suggests, mobile learning is using smartphones/ mobiles for educational purposes; learners access material across various sources on their mobiles and continue their education on the go. Therefore, teachers can use mobile-responsive microlearning content, which would help them to take their learning process beyond the classroom.
Consequently, when students use their devices like smartphones or tabs for educational purposes, it helps keep distractions at bay.
Personalized Learning
Traditional teaching-learning practices force students to keep up with the rest of the class’s pace, but some do not succeed; hence they fail to achieve the objectives. However, with the help of microlearning, teachers can easily establish personalized learning plans. For instance, they can divide complex subject topics into small bits of manageable info, which would help students with low understanding levels.
Using Multiple Formats
The combination of multimedia and microlearning is the most productive and beneficial mechanism to improve students’ capability to retain crucial information. Furthermore, they can use audio formats like podcasts, video documentaries, short films, and other graphic content to teach effectively.
Also, mixing various formats to provide instruction has been fruitful in helping students achieve Learning outcomes across multiple disciplines.
Let’s Wrap It Up
Microlearning is distinctive learning and teaching practice that helps learners to break down information and retain them for a longer time. Also, it makes it easy for them to consume diverse knowledge and comprehend them accurately; therefore, it allows flexible training without compromising on the quality of teaching
