The Benefits of Microlearning

We often use the metaphors hardware and software to describe the human brain but neuroscientist David Eagleman argues the brain is more liveware because it will physically change as new data is parsed. As neurons fire, building new pathways or reinforcing existing ones, our brains are experiencing the benefits of neuroplasticity. As we learn, we benefit both from being exposed to new content, but also reviewing what we’ve already learned. Microlearning is a strategy of discipline and repetition to help in skill and knowledge acquisition. In this article, we cover the benefits of microlearning, but first, we’ll briefly introduce the concept.

What is Microlearning?

Microlearning is the process of practicing a craft, reading a subject, or learning a new skill in short bursts at regular intervals. It’s like intermittent fasting for your brain. When you pulled an all-nighter to cram for that trig test, you may have been able to squeak out a passing grade the following day, but what do you remember today? If you had instead dedicated time each day to parse the information regularly, you would have built stronger neural pathways and therefore stronger recall abilities. German psychologist, Hermann Ebbinghaus, studied memory and introduced the idea of a learning (and forgetting) curve. Ebbinghaus discovered that as time progresses, we forget more and more of the knowledge we’ve acquired, but if learning is repeated regularly, we forget less.

3 Benefits of Microlearning

There are many benefits of practicing a new skill each day, from rapid skill acquisition to self-fulfillment. Here are three benefits:

1. Self-Exploration

Microlearning allows the learner to explore their interests and decide what they do and do not want to continue learning. It’s a fantastic way to try new things and go broad before you go deep. Leonardo Da Vinci, for example, was a notoriously curious person. The pages of his notebooks exemplify his self-exploration, ranging from anatomical drawings of an embryo in the womb, blueprints of military inventions, and ponderings of the hummingbird, among many others.

2. Bursts of focus vs. burnout

The burnout sets in when the learning stops. And unfortunately, our brains have not evolved to handle hours upon hours of intense focus. Microlearning feeds into the brain’s desire to have a single focus for a short period of time. It’s much easier to read a chapter every day than try to finish a book in one day.

3. Engaging Rich Media

Microlearning is believed to have the best results when the educational content is engaging and interactive. Whether it’s an eBook with automatically graded quizzes after each chapter, short documentary-style videos, or a code-editor alongside the lesson plan. The biggest benefit of microlearning is that as time progresses, these short bursts of learning compound into intelligence and real-world skills. Microlearning is a great way to form the discipline necessary to master a skill, but if you ever truly want to master something, you must spend thousands of hours actively practicing. Microlearning can be used as a stepping stone on your path to greatness.