To keep up with the pace of the working world, busy employees have sought shorter, quicker ways to learn. Whilst not a new idea, microlearning is the trending term for this style of learning.
By contrast, learning initiatives that take more time, provide more structure and increase in complexity over time still have their place and their merits. In any L&D provision, learning asset or skill to be learnt, there’s a tension. Should this be ‘short and sweet’ or ‘slow-release’? Think fast or think slow? ‘Just in time’ or well ahead of time? These are important questions for L&D teams, HR leaders and organisations passionate about effective learning.
How can we blend the right mix of learning for individuals, teams, leaders and organisations at macro and micro scale?
DEFINING THE TERMS
Microlearning
Microlearning is a type of L&D offering short, focussed bursts of content at the point of need, typically allowing employees to control when and what they learn around their individual schedule.
Learner time invested per asset/experience: Measured in minutes (typically under five but can be up to 15min)
Key features:
^ Focussed on one to two learning objectives
^ Brief in duration
^ Action-oriented in the sense that there is a specific achievable purpose or goal.
Macrolearning provides a structured experience for employees that can gradually increase in stretch level to give depth. This learning is typically delivered as part of comprehensive programmes or courses.
Traditional approaches to L&D have encouraged a depth of knowledge in select areas. Fewer topics. Properly understood and applied. Microlearning offers an alternative approach, where a lot of ground can be covered. The level of breadth can be left to the learner’s discretion or appetite. Many topics. Enough to get the job done. Two approaches; one that gives immediate access to the shallower end of the skills pool, and one that teaches us comprehensively to navigate the deep end.
T-Shaped Employee
Shallow knowledge in a broad range of areas
Deep knowledge in one area
V-Shaped Employee
Gradually deepening knowledge in a broad range of adjacent areas
Deep knowledge in one area
Source: Jeroen Kraaijenbrink, Adjunct Associate Professor at University of Amsterdam Business School.
Coaching Question
How would you map your learning objectives on a graph where the x axis is breadth and the y axis is depth?
9 WE
DON’T HAVE TIME TO WRITE A SHORT LETTER, YET TOO MUCH TIME TO TELL A GOOD STORY
MICROLEARNING NEEDS TIME INVESTMENT; MACROLEARNING NEEDS TIME CONTRAINTS
Brevity is not quickness. As the fable goes “I don’t have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long one.” We know that crafting something short and sharp often takes more time. They say good design is when all the unnecessary parts have been taken away. That chiselling process takes time. To create a microlearning or series of microlearning assets can take longer, and require more focus than a larger or longer macrolearning approach. Conversely, macrolearning can be the long yet facinating story we told badly because we had too much time. Too much time in ‘macroland’ endlessly discussing, debating, overthinking and overhoning (even about what to do in the first place) can stifle the best attempts for innovative learning at macro level.
Key stat: According to PwC’s Global Workforce Hopes and Fears
Survey 2023, 53% of employees think their job needs specialist training they don’t have.
Source: PwC 2023
Coaching Questions
Where are we treating brevity as synonymous with quickness? Where could we shorten time frame to avoid overthink and overdiscussion?
WE TALK ABOUT TIME EFFICIENCY, BUT WE CAN ALSO TALK
ABOUT OUTCOME ACHIEVEMENT
MICROLEARNING TAKES OUT LITTLE TIME;
MACROLEARNING TAKES A LITTLE TIME OUT.
It’s great that an employee can pick up a job aid from anywhere, at any time, and get a quick download on structuring a difficult conversation before such a meeting. This kind of learning asset didn’t exist 20 years ago. Yet we know that short is not always useful. At some point, we’ve all started watching a 5-minute video, or begun a 3-minute survey, or been prompted to complete a very short eLearning and still find ourselves thinking “this is a waste of time.” Start with time efficiency and people will say they have no time. Yet start with an end goal that’s incredibly compelling and aligned with individual and business targets, and time seems to open up to make it happen.
Key stat: According to a recent Mercer Global Talent Trends survey, 42% of firms have upskilling programmes focussed on digital skills, 40% are increasing access to online learning, and 38% are deploying rapid internal skills courses.
Source: Mercer
Coaching Questions
What’s the most compelling case for the outcomes we hope to achieve from this initiative? Is this compelling enough to ‘make time’?
7 SOME OF US WANT TO CHOOSE OUR OWN PATH, SOME OF US WOULD RATHER TREAD THE PATH IN FRONT OF US
MICROLEARNING LENDS ITSELF TO SELFNAVIGATION; MACROLEARNING LENDS ITSELF TO FACILITATION.
A Subway for lunch offers so much choice. But do we really need complete sandwich customisation? Or is it better to grab a pre-made one from the shelf? Whilst that’s a low stakes decision, designing a learning journey has us considering a similar question. Where should the path be free to navigate and where should the path be set? Both tap into our intrinsic motivations. Do we offer autonomy or facilitate mastery? (Thanks Dan Pink...) One approach gives us the power of choice, total flexibility and modularity of asset. One makes sure we make it to every session, hit every objective, and nail the action plan afterwards.
Key stat: Cornerstone’s Talent Health Index reported that learners spend 72% more time consuming content they actively seek out compared to learning that is assigned to them.
Source: Cornerstone, 2023
Coaching Question
What motivations are we aiming to tap into with our programme(s) or resource(s)?
6 LEARNING IN
OPEN WATER IS EXCITING, BUT IT’S SAFER TO BE ANCHORED
MICROLEARNING IS A JET SKI; MACROLEARNING IS A CRUISE.
In our work with global organisations we’ve seen both sides of this — we often build suites of independent, smaller assets to give modularity and flexibility of content. Our clients (and the learners) love that. However, we also hear feedback from learners that it wasn’t as joined up as they would have liked. That’s because, by design, the assets had no direct links to each other. Do we want learning that feels like taking the jet ski out for a spin? Or a cruise along a learning journey ‘weighing anchor’ through discussion, practice and peer-to-peer reinforcement?
Coaching Question
Is our approach primarily geared to be more helpful for the designer or the learner?
5
WE TEND TO PRIORITISE SHORT TERM WINS, BUT COULD PRIORITISE LONG-TERM GOALS
Could someone build strong biceps with just five minutes of exercise a day? Possibly, with the right exercises, form, etc. But it’s likely we won’t see much progress. Combining that exercise with broader healthy habits will deliver better overall performance and help us achieve our goals. Similarly, learning for five minutes a day, could help (see Duolingo) but won’t guarantee we smash our goal. Refresh the learner’s knowledge periodically? Or build in a journey that ensures thorough understanding with the right follow-up accountability?
Key stat: A report from social impact consulting agency Carol Cone On Purpose and co, 86% of B2B companies said that having a defined purpose is important to their growth. Yet, only 24% said that their purpose is embedded into their business, influencing how they operate, innovate, and engage with society overall.
Source: Carol Cone On Purpose, Association of National Advertisers, Harris Poll
Coaching Question
Where can we make quick progress and where would it be advantageous to play the long game?
4 ARRIVING
JUST IN TIME IS GOOD, BUT THEY SAY “ON TIME IS LATE”
MICROLEARNING CAN BE TIMELY; MACROLEARNING CAN BE TIMELESS.
Microlearning can offer assets just in time. For example, a salesperson can dive into an eLearning on negotiation before the big meeting with a potential new client. Macrolearning takes the broader view… What’s everything one of our sellers might need to know? How can we build a sales accelerator that gives them all of these things well before they need them? We could build an excellent micro asset. But ‘just in time’ is a low bar. Plus, we know from the classic ‘forgetting curve’ that we’ll typically only retain up to 50% of the information just an hour later. We could have it all sorted so that the seller has sharpened their negotiation skills (and all the other necessary skills) through practice on a programme with a macro view, with micro assets for retention.
The Forgetting Curve
Source: Hermann Ebbinghaus
Coaching Question
What areas could we raise the bar from ‘just in time’ to learnt and retained ahead of time?
3
WE TALK A LOT ABOUT ACCESSIBILITY OF INFORMATION, BUT INCREASINGLY ABOUT ACCURACY OF INFORMATION
Microlearning has huge upside for accessibility. On hand. Any device. For everyone. But with a downside: Is it up to date? Has the learner interpreted correctly? True in general or true of our organisation’s specific context? On the flipside, macrolearning’s curated flow of information can be accurate whilst lacking the same accessibility. It simply takes longer to curate, longer to launch, and longer to navigate for the learner. This leaves us needing to create robust, scientifically-backed microlearning, and create macrolearning with agility and pace.
Key stat: A study published by the National Library of Medicine evaluated the accuracy of ChatGPT’s responses to medical questions. Physicians across 17 different specialties posed 284 medical questions to ChatGPT and graded the AI’s responses on a scale from 1 (completely incorrect) to 6 (completely correct). ChatGPT received a median score of 5.5, equivalent to approximately 92% accuracy.
Source: National Library of Medicine
Coaching Question
What’s our approach to maintaining accessibility and ensuring accuracy?
2 WE COULD TAKE THE NEXT STEP, OR WE COULD TAKE A STEP BACK
MICROLEARNING SHOWS US THE TREES; MACROLEARNING SHOWS US A FOREST.
Microlearning’s goal is to move the learner onto the next lesson or course. ‘Got that? Now get this.’ ‘You got the download on Decision-making, now get the download on Tricky Conversations.’ That’s a great way to make progress. Macrolearning on the other hand, wants us to gradually step back to see the full picture of what it is to handle tricky conversations, be a great manager, leader or employee. That’s a different way to progress.
Key data: Language learning app Duolingo conducted experiments on their learning algorithm to nearly halve the error rate of their users. Using their ‘half-life regression’ (HLR) approach, the app’s algorithm learns to predict the retention of each learnt word in the longterm memory, by analysing the error patterns of millions of language learners.
A student’s word practice history and the HLR-predicted forgetting curve.
Source: Duolingo
Coaching Question
How will we verify our learning approach through experiments, tests or pilots?
1 MOST PEOPLE WANT QUICK FIXES, BUT SLOW FIXES CAN TAKE LESS TIME
MICROLEARNING ASKS US TO THINK FAST; MACROLEARNING ALLOWS US TO THINK SLOW.
A ‘quick fix’ can seem like a huge timesaver. Take even the smallest office problem (a faulty appliance, a broken bit of tech, something missing…). Anyone can do a job of a quick fix. Yet, over time, more and more people find the same issue as they discover what’s covering the cracks. In the long term, this can take more time than that person driving forward a proper fix. This ‘catalyst’ kind of person puts in more effort in the short term (slowing the individual) but in finding a true solution saves everyone time (creating an efficient organisation). This ‘slow is fast’ paradox applies to our learning offerings too – sometimes short and fast makes individuals quicker in the short term, but – if too fast and short – we’ll slow our organisations down in the long run.
Catalyst: someone that helps a business achieve their objective with less energy expended in a shorter time frame.
Source: Gazelles International
Coaching Questions
How would a ‘catalyst’ approach our key L&D challenge? How would a ‘fixer upper’ approach it?
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