Literacy Corner: Microlearning in the Library

 

Microlearning in the Library 

By Linda Martin and Carrie M. Cannella 

 Linda is tutoring a student who recently got a new job and now simultaneously has less time for studying and is more anxious to progress quickly in his studies. They have been talking about how to shift gears and how to learn more in less time: the constant struggle with adult learners balancing all of life’s responsibilities. 

Around the same time, Propel colleagues started a discussion group about a book called Microlearning: Short and Sweet, by Karl Kapp and Robyn Defelice (learn more about the book from this podcast). Linda jumped on board, thinking this might be the magic bullet—a way to compress her student’s lessons. She realized that there is no magic bullet; microlearning can’t replace the deeper study her student was working on. Yet she has found microlearning to be an effective addition for the learning, teaching, and tutoring repertoire. 

This post will focus on how Propel Adult Literacy (PAL) is using microlearning in the Instructional Learning Library and how tutors might incorporate it. Be sure to read “What’s the Buzz About Microlearning?” to learn more about what microlearning is and how to design it and to see more examples, uses, and tools. 

The PAL Instructional Learning Library 

 Since microlearning is a part of a larger system of learning, it does not replace deeper learning; it supplements it. You might see it as a sprint versus a marathon or a snack versus a balanced meal. It is often used for learning needed now, quick updates, reviews of topics or skills, or introductions to new ideas. Propel has a number of microlearning opportunities, including Tech Tuesdays with short videos and infographics and TSTM Essentials Microlearning Moment and Mental Health Mondays using Nearpod. PAL’s Instructional Learning Library that was launched this fall is another example where Propel has built microlearning into more comprehensive offerings. 

The PAL library is a series of professional learning focused on one monthly topic that programs can access when they can and engage how they like. Each month we cover an instructional best practice for literacy tutoring and adult education. We know how valuable everyone’s time is, and we want to present tutors and staff with a diverse set of options for learning. Every tutor or program staff member has varying goals, availability, audiences, and engagement styles. So, we created the library as a way for folks to have more choice in their learning. 

For instance, a tutor might like to watch the quick introductory video and go from there, while another might want to spend more time digging deeper into the resources. A tutor who only has quick snippets of time might choose to complete a small reading or activity within the library with a student during a tutoring session. A program coordinator who is very busy may only be able to engage for a few minutes here and there to gain some ideas to share with tutors. 

Our initial learning topics this fall were on instructional routines, the science of learning, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and storytelling and comprehensible input as a method for English language learning. All of these topics are learner-centered and can be applied to most contexts of teaching, tutoring, and coaching. The library includes facets of microlearning along with content and strategies to deepen that learning. PAL Consultant Kathy De La Torre presents the varying levels of the offerings in the library in food terms: 

1. The initial introductory offerings are quick bites or fast food (microlearning): small, easily digestible nuggets of information you can use right now 
2. The continued learning offerings are home cooking: satisfying yet accessible amounts of information that give the learner a sense they got the core idea 
3. The deeper dive offerings are gourmet meals: in-depth explorations into the information for those who want to dive deeper into the topic 

 

Quick Bites as Microlearning

• In the Introduction section of the website, each topic in the library is introduced with a short video and/or blog post. The goal of these short offerings is to give people an idea of what the topic looks like and to get them interested in learning more. They are easily accessible, don’t take much investment, and offer links to further study if the learner is interested. 
• Quick bites also include a set of self-reflection questions asking the reader to consider how their own instructional practice relates to the month’s topic. Like the videos and blogs, these are quick and accessible engagements with the material, but the learning goals are more pensive, focused on helping the reader integrate the new ideas with their current understanding. 
• The examples above and more are also gradually released on the Tutor Facebook Group and can be seen as slow-released quick bites that offer a way for learners to engage with the content with others. See below on how this expands to a larger “meal” of learning. 
• The Tutor Tip is another piece of microlearning included with each month’s topic. It aims to give the learner more context of how to use the information within tutoring. Practical “how-to” instructions like this are easily presented in a microlearning structure, easily formatted as an infographic, bulleted list, or flow chart. 

 Home-cooking 

The progressive slow-release of further learning on the Continued Learning section on the website might be seen as home-cooking, with pieces of learning that adds on to the initial microlearning above. This often includes questions to guide the learner as well as ways to implement strategies or ideas. 

• The content of the Facebook group postings expands on the microlearning described above. Delivering them gradually through the community provides a potential for deeper engagement by learners. Questions, potential actions, and links to progressively more involved learning go beyond the quick bites. Our hope is that learners actively participate here, and that doing so helps them incorporate new ideas into their own instructional practices. 
• The tutor drop-in discussion “cafes” at the end of the month provide tutors and others with more opportunity to discuss the topics with colleagues synchronously. This is an opportunity for deeper, more collaborative investigation wherein tutors and others can share ideas, experiences, and resources around the topic. 

Gourmet Meal 

The Digging Deeper section on the website is designed for more in-depth learning through longer videos, research articles, and potential comprehensive training. It includes ways to really explore and investigate the content and to consider what’s next in the learning process. This is designed for the learner who wants to really involve themself in the topic. As it is time-intensive, a tutor might invest their time and interest in just one occasional topic that they are particularly passionate about. 

• The library is designed to provide a comprehensive treatment of the topic, with microlearning on different aspects of the topic being a part of the entire learning experience. With all of these moving parts, the library as a whole might be seen as a complete gourmet meal that includes all of the above if they are all utilized, which is not necessary nor ideal for every learner or situation. The idea, instead, is that someone exploring one of these library pages can take what they like and leave the rest. 

What About in Tutoring Sessions? 

You may be thinking that you already use microlearning in your sessions or homework assignments. It is true that it is nothing new, but while activities like flashcards, flipbooks, little whiteboards to review or practice a skill, mini-lessons, quizzes, games, checklists, “Do Nows,” and how-to guides might all be used for microlearning, they are not necessarily so. 

The differences between microlearning and activities simply used in the classroom or tutoring setting are that in microlearning, these might be utilized as one type of learning in one short instructional unit based on one specific objective. Microlearning is typically individual, self-paced, controlled by the learner, and usually digital (though not necessarily) and focused on performance or immediate need.

Digital tools like Quizlet, Nearpod, Padlet, apps, You-Tube or other videos, emails, text messages, and infographics might all be used to provide a burst of information that the learner has to do something with. This could be practicing speech that was learned, taking a little quiz to review what was learned, writing an example of what was learned, and so on. 

Self-paced microlearning within the classroom or tutoring setting might look like each student individually choosing a different short video to watch and respond to in a few minutes. A tutor might also encourage their student in creating and finding their own microlearning. For example, the two might work together to create a video or song playlist that the student then goes through at will with questions to answer for each. The student can write their own questions, create infographics to use for study, or create videos to teach someone else. The key is to keep the microlearning short and focused and to keep the goal always in mind.  

These ideas have changed the way Linda has approached content. Keeping the specific goal in mind has helped her as she works with the student who first piqued her interest in microlearning. Linda had always focused her lesson plans around specific content goals, but she wasn’t as clear about defining the role each part of the lesson played in the broader learning trajectory. Being mindful of the specific learning goals of each component of a lesson has helped her to cut out activities that weren’t productive. Identifying which of those activities could stand alone as microlearning opportunities has helped shift to more effective delivery. 

For example, rather than striving for sustained practice during a tutoring session or homework assignment, Linda texts the student several times between lessons with prompts to do a short practice exercise or on-the-spot application. And rather than always giving instructions through in-person verbal demonstrations, she has started creating infographics and other self-explanatory materials that the student can navigate on his own, giving him control of the pace and timing of his learning. 

Linda has learned that microlearning has to be designed intentionally. There is simply no space to meander through the material. At the same time, remembering that microlearning is simply one part of a larger learning process reminds us how important overall planning is. It allows us as educators to envision how each small part fits into the whole.