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According to Mayer (2019), “meaningful learning occurs when the learner engages in appropriate cognitive processing during learning” (p. 464). Mayer’s (2009) Principles of Multimedia Learning are based on the view that the most effective learning materials are those that manage limited cognitive resources by emphasizing generative processing, handling cognitive processing, and limiting extraneous processing. The question then arises, how can this be achieved with microlearning? This chapter provides microlearning design tips based on the research-based Principles of Multimedia Learning and the Multimedia Design Principles for Effective Instructional Videos (Mayer, Fiorella, & Stull, 2020). By applying the principles and keeping in mind key tenets of Cognitive Load Theory, upon which the principles are based, microlearning objects can be created to maximize learning through web-based multimedia.

Microlearning is an instrumental tool for both educators and students alike. Microlearning objects can be delivered in a variety of formats including short videos, e-learning lessons, infographics, images, and podcasts. Through a spiraling curriculum that repeats and gets more complex as time passes, microlearning objects can be used throughout the lesson cycle to pre-assess students’ knowledge of a concept, during instruction to introduce new concepts and lay a foundation for future lessons, and after a lesson to reinforce concepts post-instruction. This chapter will examine how microlearning can be used in K-12 settings for teaching, learning, and professional development. Examples include online tutorials, microlectures in the flipped classroom, mobile language learning, digital textbooks and open educational resources, and the use of micro-credentials in professional development.

Microlearning, delivered through mobile devices, can increase levels of interactivity and engagement by using high-impact learning strategies in media-rich environments. Podcasts, slide presentations, infographics, videos, flashcards, and collaborative spaces are all suitable delivery tools with which one may create engaging learning experiences. Today’s learners are social, mobile, global, digital, and visual. They embrace the possibilities of technology to facilitate their learning. As a result, microlearning is able to leverage familiar, modern learning technology in short bursts to motivate and engage learners while they are on the go. This chapter provides suggestions for practical strategies, tools, and best practices in multimedia design. In doing so, it aims to help educators and learning professionals create and deliver microlearning mechanisms that are optimized for mobile learning.

According to a recent report by the Association for Talent Development, “microlearning is one of the most widely discussed and debated trends in the learning industry”. Microlearning is also starting to take its place in K-12 and higher education. In educational contexts, microlearning strategies can assist in delivering just-in-time informational and instructional content in short, manageable bursts, matching the way learners of all ages are accessing information that interests them in and outside of class. The benefits of microlearning can be harnessed to increase the transfer from short-term to long-term memory by helping to reduce cognitive load. Before a new microlearning initiative is implemented, each of the aforementioned dimensions should be analyzed to ensure a smooth implementation. When evaluating potential issues, Khan recommends presenting them in the form of questions to help stakeholders think through new and existing initiatives thoroughly. This chapter presents potential questions associated with the adoption of microlearning for educational and professional development initiatives.

This chapter discusses the important aspects of sound pedagogy with regards to microlearning. It reflects on contemporary challenges for education and learning. In doing so, the chapter highlights the relevance of combining micro-, meso-, and macro-perspectives of learning and the need to develop new pedagogical paradoxes and innovative design principles for educational transformation. Sound pedagogies, in a literal sense, refer to educational approaches exploring the world of music and cultures of listening, supporting learning processes by acoustic means, or creating sonic media artifacts. Non-literal interpretations of sound pedagogies are different from literal interpretations in a number of respects. While literal interpretations aim at more or less thoughtful clarifications of the subject and corresponding theoretical, empirical, or application-oriented dimensions, non-literal interpretations of sound pedagogies commonly refer to a wide range of metaphorical descriptions. Web-didactics is an example of a sound pedagogy, which aims at developing pedagogical traditions of the integration of synthetic and analytical micro-steps as formerly suggested by Herbart.

The chapter focuses upon the conceptual engagement of learners within microlearning events, born from real world implementation of microlearning design and development within the business and industry training and talent development workforce realm of understanding. The integration of microlearning throughout the learning approaches of pedagogical novice, andragogy, and heutagogy, is articulated through the Recursive, Reflect, Engage, Develop, and Scaffold (RREDS) Microlearning Model of instructional design within a differentially structured training event understanding. This model is framed through the informational and instructional understandings of learning, highlighting the metaphoric representation of time as progressive and differentiated engagement, emphasizing the ebb and flow of learning and information through an hourglass approach while extending the time metaphor towards approaching curricular engagement within different end-user understandings.

This chapter provides an overview of the present state of microlearning in higher education. It discusses the contexts in which microlearning offers potential solutions to qualifying student learning in academic settings. The chapter identifies limitations of present implementations and how they fall short of providing students with a framework that effectively communicates the value of a degree. While credit courses and traditional measures of learning are not going anywhere for the time being, microlearning has emerged as a logical addition to the learning ecosystem. Historically, students have received transcripts upon graduation from an institution. The transcripts typically consisted of abbreviated course titles and codes followed by a series of letters or numbers to denote one’s level of mastery with the subject matter they were evaluated on. Microlearning has the potential to enable students to see direct connections between the skills and knowledge that comprise a degree and their employability in the professional field.

Conventional approaches to corporate training, such as instructor-led training and comprehensive e-learning courses, have significant drawbacks, chiefly their cost and the amount of time they pull employees away from their work for training. Corporate microlearning moves training into the workflow, minimizing disruption. It is a flexible approach to training that appeals to digital consumers. Microlearning is particularly effective as part of a broad training strategy, used to introduce and reinforce deeper training, to provide on-the-job learning and support in applying training, and to teach and review fact-dense content. This chapter will describe the appeal of microlearning in corporate settings and the problems and pain points it addresses. It will present best practices for designing and using microlearning with corporate learners and provide examples of microlearning in a variety of fields and use-case applications.

As with any other type of instruction, the instructional design process is integral to the development of effective microlearning assessments. Understanding the defining characteristics of microlearning and the target learners is crucial in the design process of significant microlearning assessments. This chapter will guide readers on the design of effective microlearning assessments that are Inventive, Targeted, Specific, and Yielding (ITSY). While there is no road map specific to creating microlearning, the practices and guidelines discussed in this chapter will lay the foundation for microlearning assessments that are effective in measuring progress and informing subsequent steps.