Do you remember being in school and thinking that you couldn’t wait until you were older and all your educational days are behind you? When summer breaks were the best time of the year and you just knew that one day you would never have to go to school again?
Even if you were the student who loved every minute of your educational journey, you could likely agree that moving out of a classroom into real-world experiences certainly had its perks. That is, until you realized that education never really ends. Or at least, it shouldn’t.
Whether you are a leader or aspiring to grow in your career, there is always more to learn. But how do you avoid letting training become mundane and uninteresting—or worse, just another forced meeting that could have been an email? Enter microlearning.
What It Is
“Microlearning,” which is sometimes referred to as microtraining, is not a new concept. You may even have training that could already be described as microlearning.
This way of furthering your education takes complex topics and breaks them down into small, short modules. Often employed to onboard new hires, this style of learning helps prevent people from becoming overwhelmed with information.
There are a lot of benefits to introducing topics in this fashion, which is why many HR departments already use this style of learning when someone is new to a company. Not only is information retention better, but learning new skills in short bursts makes applying those skills easier. For new employees, that means they can get to work faster as they essentially train on the job rather than spending a week or more away from what they will actually be doing.
With so many benefits to microlearning, businesses would be wise to introduce this concept as a way for well-established employees to grow in their professional careers as well. There are certainly still many advantages to taking a deep dive into a topic and spending a week in a classroom style setting, but microlearning can allow an employee to engage in professional development consistently—which is a total bonus for those kids who thought school was the greatest.
Make It Effective
Microlearning by its very nature is designed to be flexible, which is why it is the perfect choice for staffers with schedules that are already jam-packed. Many of us would love to learn a new skill or even gain more knowledge in something we feel less than proficient in but are often held back by the time it will take to do so.
Busy schedules have led to less and less professionals engaging in development beyond what is required of them. Microlearning opportunities can help you and your coworkers upskill at a speed and time that works best for you. Many offerings can be accessed on a mobile device, too—something that is never very far away from any of our hands.
This style of learning can be applied internally as well. The next time you have a new piece of equipment, software or standard of practice, consider engaging your workers in short, informative meetings rather than one long training session. Give them enough information to start practicing the new skill, and learn together as you go.
Learning is a lifelong process, but that doesn’t mean each thing we learn needs to feel like it took a lifetime to get through. Consider the microlearning concept and how it could benefit your business and your own personal career path. Get a burst of information, a taste of a new skill—when learning is simple, you will likely find yourself coming back for more.
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