Microlearning is not chunking

What this lesson covers

1. 01

   Chopping a course is not a pathway

   Stakeholders often say “make it micro” and mean “cut every module into five-minute slides.” That is chunking a long course — Mayer’s segmenting helps inside a lesson, but it is not microlearning. A micro unit is a standalone experience: it opens a need, teaches or rehearses one action, and closes with a usable takeaway — without requiring the previous twenty screens.

2. 02

   Microlearning vs chunking

   True micro unit: Works alone at point of need (pull). · One observable action or decision. · Begin–middle–end: hook, practice or teach, close. · Searchable title matches the job moment.

   Chunked long course: Part 7 of 22 — makes no sense alone. · Same long objective, sliced by clock. · “Continue where you left off” required. · Titles like Module 3 Lesson 4b.

3. 03

   Hierarchy drill-down

   1 · Program / pathway: Business goal and the actions that move the metric.

   2 · Experiences: Push courses, pull micros, on-job practice — each owns a slice of the map.

   3 · Micro unit: One action, one BME arc, one evidence cue (check, try, or job aid use).

   4 · Screen / asset: Only then pick clip, job aid, or Studio pattern — modality last.

4. 04

   Content first, modality last

   Do not start with “we need a reel / podcast / chatbot.” Start with the action and whether the moment is push, pull, or practice. Length is a constraint (often 3–7 minutes for a pull micro), not the design goal. A three-minute video that still dumps seven topics is still a bad course — just shorter.

5. 05

   When micro earns a slot

   Use micro when | Do not use micro when

   Reinforcement after a full rehearsal (spaced pull). | First teach of a complex multi-step skill.

   Just-in-time decision or lookup at the desk. | Stakeholders only want “shorter compliance.”

   One policy exception learners miss under pressure. | You still need prerequisites from a 40-minute arc.