The Four Uses of "Micro-Learning" in the (Sports) Workplace

Remember that 3-hour class you took in college? The one you found yourself catching up on all the sleep you missed over the weekend?

That's not Micro-Learning.

How about that 50-minute "talking head" safety training video you went through not too long ago for work?

That's not Micro-Learning either.

Traditional long-form training can be beneficial in some applications, but for the majority of situations involving the TikTok Generation, any training that drones on for too long without some sort of unique attention-getting element or two will most likely go in one ear and out the other. Training must be "sticky" and resonate with participants in a brief, interesting interaction that allows the formation of new habits quickly.

Here's the professional definition of Micro-Learning:

Content that is written to be purposefully short in order for the learner to engage more positively, to be able to apply the learning more quickly and completely, and to be able to fit learning into their personal and professional lives more easily.

If you ever studied German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus and his Curve of Forgetfulness, you know that what he discovered over 100 years ago is still true today: unless you use what you learn right away, you lose it. Taking in too much at once without the benefit of applying it is essentially wasted training, which is why Micro-Learning makes so much sense, and is used by nearly every top company in the world to learn and to create new habits of success.

There are four general uses for Micro-Learning in the workplace:

• Preparation (or Pre-Work)

Preparation videos are designed to get someone ready for what's about to happen. It could be a new work assignment, a new procedure on an assembly line, or an explanation of why something is about to happen in order to give people an understanding of the context behind what's ahead.

When participants are assigned a preparation video prior to a live training session, we professional trainers have found that there's always a percentage of people who show up without their pre-work done. If it's a a large percentage, I'll simply take 5 minutes for everyone to watch it together; even though it's a repeat for some, it puts everyone on the same page as we begin.

• Follow-Up (Post-Training Recap)

After a live training session, a Micro-Learning video that recaps what was just learned can act as an effective reinforcement tool. When we learn, we process different parts of the training in different ways; this Follow-Up formula allows for the training to be "stickier" with those facts that didn't quite make it to the memory parts of our brain the first time. These videos are often only a minute or so in length, and serve as a reminder vs. an entire lesson.

• Stand-Alone (Short-Form Learning)

These are the actual lessons being taught in Micro-Learning video form. Just like a YouTube video on how to fix a plumbing problem, these lessons are to teach a specific element of the subject at hand, so that the learner can use what they've learned right away without having to write pages and pages of notes. The most effective Stand-Alone videos are connected to other videos in a sequential format, connected to others in a logical way that build upon one another. (FYI... this is how ISBI 360's 11 different "Micro-Learning" training programs are structured and delivered.)

• Support (On-The-Job Learning)

Having a knowledge library of "How-To" videos can be a lifesaver to any employee that needs knowledge fast. In any work situation, a Support video resource helps them to do a task when it needs to be done, making them more productive and taking less time from a supervisor's day. These are typically anywhere from 30 seconds to 5 minutes long, and are created for solving specific situations, much like an internal Frequently Ask Questions page with Micro-Learning video solutions attached. (Many of our clients use our PRO+ Library for this very purpose.)

It's no secret why Oracle, Microsoft, Raytheon, Google and hundreds of other companies have adopted "Micro-Learning" as standard operating procedure in their training efforts. It just plain works.

--?Bill Guertin?is Chief Learning Officer of?ISBI 360,?a training, sales and recruitment company that increases revenue and results for the business side of sports & entertainment. Reach out to Bill at?[email protected], or set a time to talk with him one-on-one at?www.calendly.com/bill-isbi360.