5 Tips for Designing Microlearning that Learners Remember

One of the biggest challenges in learning design isn’t just creating content, but creating content that sticks with learners.

Most learners are busy professionals juggling tasks, meetings and deadlines. Sometimes, they take a course because they want to, and sometimes it’s because they have to. Either way, the goal is to make learning helpful, memorable and engaging.

Here are five tips for designing microlearning that sticks with learners: 

1. Make sure the outcome is crystal clear

When designing any module, think about with what learners should walk away knowing or being able to do. Without a clear goal, they might forget what they’ve learnt or perhaps even wonder why they’re learning what they’re learning!

With a clear goal, such as, helping employees manage their time at work effectively, you can then frame your content around this outcome and make sure that every section, explanation and example supports it.

2. Focus on one concept per module

Microlearning works best when each module zooms in on one skill or concept at a time. For a course on helping employees manage their time effectively, you could have one module be about planning your day, another on prioritising your tasks, another on managing distractions, and so on. This gives learners the space to fully absorb what they’re learning.

3. Keep it interactive

Learners remember best when they actively do something with what they’re learning, so that they’re not just learning new information, but walking away with something they can confidently use. This is where short, interactive elements come in: quizzes, scenario-based exercises, decision-making challenges, reflection prompts and so on. 

For example, for a module on managing distractions at work, you could include:

• A mini-scenario where learners decide how to respond to interruption during a workday
• A quick quiz that asks them how to prioritise tasks in a realistic work situation
• A reflection prompt that encourages them to think about a distraction that easily pulls them away, and think about how they can manage it

Including one or two well-placed activities help reinforce the main takeaway in a practical way, encouraging learners to think about their own situation.

4. Reinforce overtime

Remember that learning doesn’t end when the module ends! Microlearning has maximum impact when learners come across the same content multiple times across different contexts. This can be through quick reminders, short quizzes, or brief check-ins that reinforce what they’ve learnt.

For example, you can start a new module with a quick recap of the last one, or send a short follow-up activity a few days later that asks learners to apply the concept in a new context. This approach of spaced repetition, where learners interact with the content multiple times over days or weeks, can help move the knowledge from short-term memory into long-term memory. 

Summary

Microlearning should be focused, simple, and fun, include some interaction, and thoughtfully reinforce key ideas at different points of the learning journey.