Post #1: Trends – Collaborative Learning and Micro-Learning

Two trends in Adult Education are Collaborative Learning and Micro-Learning.

By definition, ‘collaborative learning’ is a group of students working together to solve a problem, complete a task, or create a final product. While this type of learning can offer benefits to people of any age, it particularly speaks to adult learners for a few key reasons:

1. Collaborative learning is an ‘active’ process. In other words, all students are required to focus on processing information, synthesizing information, and stepping forward with their own thoughts and ideas. This goes against ‘passive’ learning where students simply (and likely less effectively) listen, memorize, and regurgitate information;
2. Collaborative learning is a social process. While this isn’t always for everyone, it does offer a smaller group setting than the classroom for more introverted students to speak up;
3. Because collaborative learning gives all participants in a group the chance to share, it can open the floor to a lot of diversity. Rather than having only the background and knowledge of the instructor, each student could potentially draw from past experience to aid in the problem solving process.
4. Collaborative learning creates opportunity for other skills to be obtained: critical thinking, analysis, and evaluation. It also pushes students to be more team focused, diplomatic, appreciative, and understanding – soft skills that can go a very long way in the job field .

In summary, I would argue that this type of learning offers much more depth and breadth to students, especially post-secondary, as they strive to understand their topic of study and, potentially, become the best possible employees in the future.

‘Micro-learning’ is a common trend in our current world. In fact, I would suggest that it is so common that each of us is subjected to it on a daily basis. Nikos Andriotis, in his article What Is Microlearning: A Complete Guide For Beginners (elearningindustry.com, Dec 2018), says that, “all microlearning-based training shares one key characteristic: brevity. This could either be small learning units or short-term learning activities.” He goes on to defining micro-learning (or microtraining) as delivering “short bursts of content for learners to study at their convenience. Content can take many forms, from text to full-blown interactive multimedia, but should always be short.”

If we stop and think about that for a moment, it might become clear as to the different ways that we micro-learn in our day-to-day lives. For example, watching a 3 minute YouTube video how to create a button on WordPress; reading a hard-copy, 8-step Safe Job Procedure on how to use a circular saw; completing a 5-question quiz at the end of each section of a PowerPoint presentation before starting the next chapter; or, following a step-by-step recipe on a website, complete with progressive photos, on how to cook Chicken Parmesan. I’m sure if you considered these examples further, you could think of many more examples.

So, what are some advantages and drawbacks of this type of learning?

Advantages:

1. From the perspective of both the instructor and the student, it takes less time. Less time and effort is required of the instructor to create smaller, bite-size lessons rather than one large lecture. It has long been said that studying for 15-30 minutes at once is optimal for most humans before a break is required; therefore, as a student, you could come to study on your own time for brief periods, taking away one or two points to ponder further before moving into the next step.
2. It is flexible. As point 1 shows, students can come and go in shorter spurts as time allows. The days of sitting down at the desk for 6 hours straight may be much less common if our brains can absorb smaller bits of info at once. Perhaps this means seeing it, writing it, studying it, and then physically attempting the lesson (if possible) all within a half hour. These half hours could inserted into mornings, afternoons, or evenings of busy lives.
3. As point 1 and 2 suggest, receiving info in smaller doses allows for shorter study times, but it also may increase retention. Andriotis’ research brought him to say, “when you study something repeatedly and revisit it when you are close to forgetting it, you retain it much better.”

Disadvantages:

1. Complex concepts require much more time to capture, study, and practice. Understanding the history, development, continued reshaping, and effects of climate change on coastal sand dunes isn’t learned in a 3-minute. Perhaps at a high level, some information can be retained, but overall, there is simply too much information for one sitting.
2. Micro-learning lacks depth in its topic. While we may be able to know the basics of safely using a circular saw from the Safe Job Procedure, we may not know how to adjust for changing situations. What if I don’t have a sawhorse to mount the wood stock on? What if I cut the extension cord during use?

While micro-learning offers many positives and negatives to the adult education field, one thing is for sure – in many different forms, it is here to stay.