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COMMUNICATION AND TRAINING
JONATHAN KLANE, MSEd, CIH, CSP, CHMM, CIT, is the senior safety editor for Lab Manager Magazine. He is also a member of the AIHA Communication and Training Methods Committee and a PhD candidate at Arizona State University in Human and Social Dimensions of Science and Technology where he studies risk perceptions, learning, persuasion, and storytelling.
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A Quick Dive into Microlearning
BY JONATHAN KLANE
Microlearning is a hyper-short, single-learning offering typically under five minutes. It can last up to 20 minutes but going that long is not advised. Each microlearning is limited to a single topic. If you have a second topic, create a second microlearning. Groups of related microlearning (for example, PPE, IH sampling, and risk communicating) can be strung together into modules, courses, certificates, and so on. These can also branch out in different directions, allowing greater flexibility.
For an introduction to microlearning, see my article in the March Synergist.
BENEFITS OF MICROLEARNING
For learners, microlearning has at least three benefits. It can be tailored to specific groups, they can fit it into almost any downtime they have, and if it doesn’t resonate with learners, it can easily be tweaked, revised, or replaced.
For organizations, there are more benefits. Microlearning facilitates analyses of learner and training needs. It is just-in-time, always available, and can be programmed for a workforce’s diverse learning needs. And it’s quite flexible: for example, a change in policy on N95 respirators can easily be reflected in training. It’s a simple matter of recording a new five-minute segment on N95s and uploading it to the learning management system (LMS).
HOW TO DO IT
To create microlearning, follow effective adult learning principles (ALPs). Just because microlearning is brief doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use a learner-centered approach. Choose various formats; don’t use the same approach for each one. Learners may become bored, so remember the law of diminishing returns. Try using videos, stories, blogs, exercises, and games, and do so with purpose, not randomly. Design or find an LMS that supports these many smaller offerings and can group them with branches, crossovers, tracks, certificates, suggestions, and so on.
As a detailed example of microlearning, consider a construction company that needs training on leadership, OEHS, and HR issues. The training requirements vary according to each employee’s role. For example, of the 12 microlearning installments in the leadership training, all employees are required to take the first two, managers are required to take five additional installments, while directors and the C-suite must take at least eight of the remaining ten.
Just because microlearning is brief doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use a learner-centered approach.
Let’s say the CFO doesn’t need to take the financial leadership microlearning (since she wrote it) but wants to take the public speaking one. And the head of training and development doesn’t need public speaking but does need financial leadership, and because they don’t have experience with profit and loss (P&L) statements, they need to take a prerequisite on that topic. All these details can be programmed into the LMS, allowing a combination of requirements, prerequisites, and self-direction.
For OEHS training, let’s take hazard communication as one example. Different groups of microlearning can cover safety data sheets, training, labels, and the hazcom program. Each team can have a different set based on the chemicals they work with. For example, the microlearning for carpenters might cover chemicals in coatings and glues while the microlearning for plumbers covers chemicals in solder and PVC cement.
Within HR training, imagine that each learner can decide how far and in what directions to pursue more microlearning on belonging, respect, inclusion, diversity, justice, and equity. And they can each do so on their own and privately.
Each module’s final microlearning can suggest resources for future reading, listening, or viewing. These can easily be revised as more resources are added without touching the other microlearning in that series.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Microlearning works well with many benefits to learners and the organization’s operations. It supports many ALPs, and it can be delivered as just-in-time training and easily changed.
The next step is to create and deliver microlearning and see how your organization and learners respond. Happy microlearning!