Micro Lessons Approach in Management Education to Develop Graduate Attributes

Introduction

Management Education has always relied on applied and learner-centered approaches to ensure that the right graduate attributes are acquired and the students are industry-ready when they graduate. The various teaching methods include case studies, role play, scenario building, and presentations that have focused on a student-centered approach to meet the learning objectives but may not have been in the form of micro-lessons. Microlearning (micro-learning, microlearning) can be described as very short and bite-sized lessons, “what one has learned, in small, focused steps, (…) self-contained, with its learning objective (…) as short as possible but as extensive as necessary” (Khurgin 2015, para. 1). The term microlearning was used for the first time in 2003–2005 (Glahn 2017; Hug, Lindner, & Bruck, 2005).

Continuous learning has become an increasing need in our society: the constant and rapid evolution of knowledge requires workers to adapt to this new context to maintain their productivity. Micro-learning comes into play to facilitate this process for potential learners by breaking down new concepts into small fragments or pills of content, also called micro-content. These small learning units are given to learners progressively and in a way that is suited to them. The combination of several factors has stimulated the development and the positive reception of the micro-learning paradigm. First, the human capacity to stay focused on a single item, avoiding distraction and inattention, has decreased. Indeed, some very specific studies have revealed that users only pay 8 consecutive seconds of continuous attention when surfing the Internet (Hayles, 2007).

Although there are all kinds of definitions of micro-learning, none of them has been unanimously accepted. Theo Hug’s is perhaps the most widely assumed, which is based on seven dimensions (Hug, 2006):

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  Time: A limited effort that leads to short time requirements

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  Content: Short units with well-delimited subject matters and relatively simple problems

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  Curriculum: Parts of modules or parts of curricular content, brief didactic elements, etc.

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  Format: Diversity of formats, such as fragments, pills, lab assignments, etc.

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  Process: Activities that is either independent or integrated into a wider context, iterative processes, etc.

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  Media: Classroom-based learning or distance learning based on different multimedia content.

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  Learning models: Repetitive, reflexive, pragmatic, constructivist, concept-based, connectivist, etc.

This reflects the main feature which defines micro-learning: it is the capacity for integrating a huge variety of didactic parameters without restricting or limiting any of the options in the seven identified areas. While the concept of micro-learning cannot be considered novel, since it dates back to the sixties, it was not until the arrival of the Web 2.0 age that this concept reappeared strongly, with the term being finally coined in 2004. Hence, adopting a mixed-method qualitative approach, this chapter aims to delve into the current scenario of teaching practices in management education. In doing so, this research hopes to contribute to the discourse on optimizing micro-lessons practice in management education programs. It also aims to suggest strategies that could assist management students to become better critical thinkers and problem solvers rather than mere rote decision makers by developing proper graduate attributes like critical thinking, problem-solving, and soft skills which are the imperative competencies to solve real-world complex problems.