A less is more learning strategy

 

Lately it seems that platforms like Tik Tok, YouTube and even texting can be useful ways to get information out, quickly, to young learners. Microlearning and Nanolearning are growing learning modalities that also take engaging content, condensed into just a few minutes with maximized retention levels as the goal. This emerging educational trend is designed around short chunks of time and may be helpful for students who have fallen behind. Pandemic-induced deficits in learning have taken place across all grade levels and subjects. Whether online or in person, this strategy can be part of the solution to help get back on track.

Microlearning and Nanolearning work best when they are engaging. These lessons are designed to include videos, images, text, and audio clips to appeal to the age and level specific to the learner. It takes a skill or topic and breaks it down into smaller parts, for better understanding. For younger students, a topic should be introduced by the teacher, followed by a short video or slideshow to explain a skill. A break should then be made available for students to pair-share with a peer and to reflect on the content presented. A brief assessment directly following (or sprinkled within the lesson) will quickly check understanding by the student and conclude the specific skill session.

In an elementary classroom setting, an under 20-minute lesson is broken down/chunked into segments and would follow the flow of three to five minutes spent for each of the following steps.

The teacher presents the objective or lesson, such as, “What is the main idea of a story?” and explains the concept with examples.

Peers pair-share and discuss (with a classmate) their ideas and jot down a sentence or two to share with the class.

The teacher shows an engaging short video or slideshow on the main idea of a story. Students can also create their own short video or presentation as a secondary activity via programs like Flipgrid or Google slides.

The lesson concludes with a brief assessment either on the computer or on paper.

The model for older students and for different topics would still be short but would have room to vary in format. Keeping all students engaged is always high on the list for teachers no matter what age, level, or subject they are instructing. Microlearning and Nanolearning remove the feeling of, “information overload” and can make learning easier to digest while eliciting better learning results and participation. Sometimes less really is more.