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Microlearning Made Simple: What It Is and How to Do It

by | Sep 30, 2025 | Blog, CFC Insider, Educational Technology, Online Learning, Pedagogy, Student Engagement, Teaching and Learning

Microlearning is a pedagogy that works well in both in-person and online courses. While definitions of microlearning vary, there is at least some consensus on the benefits and how to approach it. At its core, microlearning delivers content in short, small chunks that can be accessed on demand. Other benefits include reduced cognitive load for students, better knowledge retention, improved learning outcomes, and student engagement. 

Here are some tips for incorporating microlearning into your classes: 

  1. Focus on one objective or concept. Determine the goal so you can structure the lesson and select the best medium given your objective. 
  2. Use one medium (videos are the most common) with multiple learning elements. Examples of learning elements include visuals, audio, quizzes, slideshows, PDFs, and links. PowerPoint is a nice medium because you can include video, visuals, and link out to PDFs and quizzes. 
  3. Keep it short and focused. Research indicates 30 seconds to up to 15 minutes, and if you are using video, bear in mind that videos longer than 9 minutes results in a drop in viewer attention. 
  4. Make it interactive. Enhance videos by embedding 1–2 quiz questions directly into them (for example, you can do this directly in Panopto), or by using slides that prompt students to guess an answer, then click to reveal the correct response on the following slide. 

It’s fun to explore ways to integrate microlearning into courses. For in-person classes, one effective approach is to assign a microlearning module as homework before class. This helps students prepare for an active learning experience when the class meets. In online courses, microlearning can be used as either standalone modules or be embedded within larger units.

If you’d like to explore microlearning further, consider stopping by the CFC to chat or schedule a consultation with one of our educational developers. 

References 

Balasundaram, S., Mathew, J., & Nair. S. (2024). Microlearning and learning performance in higher education: A post-test control group study. Journal of Learning for Development 11(1), 1-14.

Denojean-Mairet, M., López-Pernas, S., Agbo, F. J., & Tedre, M. (2024). A literature review on the integration of microlearning and social media. Smart Learning Environments, 11(1), 46.

Kohnke, L. (2021). Optimizing microlearning for mobile learning. In Corbeil, J.R., B.H. Khan, & M.E. Corbeil (Eds.), Microlearning in the digital age [pre-print]. Routledge.

NC State Teaching Resources (n.d.). Micro-learning with digital tools. Available at: https://teaching-resources.delta.ncsu.edu/micro-learning-with-digital-tools/ 

Thillainadesan, J., Le Couteur, D. G., Haq, I., & Wilkinson, T. J. (2022). When I say… microlearning. Medical education, 56(8), 791–792.

Professional Development Opportunity from Association of College and University Educators (ACUE)

by | Sep 16, 2025 | Blog, Pedagogy, Teaching and Learning

WCU faculty, graduate students, and instructional staff are all eligible to receive no-cost access to the ACUE self-paced course, Effective Teaching 101: Starting the Semester Strong. It is suitable for those teaching in person, online, or hybrid formats and designed to equip participants with five essential evidence-based teaching practices that enhance teaching and positively impact student success. This self-paced course takes less than 8 hours to complete. A digital badge will be provided upon successful completion.

Project Kitty Hawk, in partnership with the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE), is excited to offer this professional development opportunity as part of their commitment to instructional excellence and student success.

CFC Listening Sessions This Fall

by | Sep 15, 2025 | Blog, Feedback, Pedagogy, Teaching and Learning

This semester, the CFC is taking a closer look at how you experience the resources and support available to you, and how we can better align our programs with what you truly need. To kick things off, we just launched a needs assessment survey (check your inbox). But that’s just one part of the conversation.

We’re also hosting a couple of informal listening sessions this fall, and we’d really like to hear from you. These are relaxed, drop-in gatherings (no presentations, no pressure). Just a chance to share what’s on your mind.

We’ll be at:

  • Lazy Hiker in Sylva | 4:30–6:00 PM on Monday, October 27
  • Hillside Grind (on campus) | 9:30–11:00 AM on Thursday, October 30

We’re especially interested in hearing:

  • What’s working well for you?
  • What could be better?
  • What kinds of support or resources would make a difference?

It’s buy-your-own beverage style, so feel free to grab a drink and join us whenever you can. Whether you’ve got ideas, questions, concerns, or just want to chat, we’re here to listen. Your input helps shape how the CFC grows and how we support teaching and learning at WCU. We hope you’ll stop by and be part of the conversation!

New Faculty Join the Catamount Community

by | Sep 8, 2025 | Blog, CFC Insider, Teaching and Learning, University Support

The Office of the Provost and the Coulter Faculty Commons welcomed 60 new faculty on August 6-8 for New Faculty Orientation (NFO). Throughout the three-day event, new faculty members enjoyed a warm Catamount welcome from Chancellor Kelli R. Brown, Provost Starnes, Associate Provost Huffman, Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management & Student Success Moultrie, and Faculty Senate Chair Alsayyed.  

Some sessions that stood out that new faculty highly recommended were: Colleague Connection (an interactive networking bingo game), Welcome to Success & Supporting Our Students (a panel and case discussions with Student Success and Student Affairs), and Ask Us Anything (a faculty panel where Brian Byrd, David Jons, and Tracy Mensah fielded questions).

As a result of attending NFO, 81% of respondents said their confidence levels in their preparedness to teach at WCU increased significantly; 85% reported their preparedness to support students increased significantly; and 93% reported that NFO gave them a sense of connection with the university. One new feature that helped connect new faculty to WCU was a short history walk across campus that was led by Peter Koch, Associate Director of the Mountain Heritage Center.  

Almost 40 campus partners participated in the resource fair, another highly rated component of NFO. One new faculty participant noted, “Overall, NFO was an outstanding experience. I learned so much about WCU’s rich history and how I can best service the university’s students and my colleagues. I’m very grateful to those who organized for providing new faculty with the space to meet and network with one another, too!” 

Group picture of NFO participants during the History Walk.
Percentage breakdown of NFO attendees' satisfaction.
Two new faculty chatting with each other during bingo.

30th Annual FALCON Conference (Virtual): A free conference for adjunct faculty and lecturers

by | Sep 8, 2025 | Blog, CFC Insider, Pedagogy, Teaching and Learning

The Faculty Academy on Excellence in Teaching at Indiana University presents the 30th Annual FALCON Conference themed Teaching with Purpose: Supporting Learners in a Changing World. The virtual conference, to be held September 26th, will explore how faculty can create responsive, student-centered learning spaces amid evolving challenges. Sessions will highlight strategies for building connection and resilience, designing flexible and accessible learning, and fostering environments where all students can thrive. 

Participants can easily register and then self-enroll in the course. Those without an Indiana University account can very quickly create a guest account. Session recordings from last year are also available to view. 

Do You Have a Minute?

by | Aug 29, 2025 | Active Learning, Activity, Assessment, Blog, Pedagogy, Teaching and Learning

Teaching & Learning Tip: Engage Your Students in Just One Minute

Think about ways that you can help your students set short-term academic goals – ones that are challenging, but attainable. You might review some goals with a class that will be met over the next couple of weeks, for example. And then ask your students to set their own goals dealing with a particular content area. The students could then outline what they need to do to meet those goals and identify what resources they need from you to help them meet those goals. By helping students realize what they can do to control their own learning, you can help students begin to take responsibility for their own learning.

Clock showing the time of one minute after twelve.

Another activity to build on this idea is the One Minute Paper. These quick, short bits of writing can help students check what they know. Hand out paper slips to your students or ask them to pick them up as they come into the classroom. Ask students to write an answer to a question about the content, lecture, or chapter for one minute (yes, time them!). 

The question prompt for these papers is an important component of the activity. Traditionally, the two questions used are “What was the most important topic in today’s class?” and “What questions do you still have on this topic?” (Chiou et al. 2014, Campbell et al. 2019). Collect the papers for review or ask students to review each other’s answers and discuss. Research on the use of minute papers has shown increased student learning (Stead 2005, Chiou et al. 2014) and reduced anxiety (Chiou et al. 2014). Students also indicated that minute papers were beneficial to their learning (Stead 2004, Chiou et al. 2014).

 

References

Campbell, M., E. M. Abel, and R. Lucio (2019). The one-minute paper as a catalyst for change in online pedagogy. Journal of Teaching in Social Work 39:519-533.

Chiou, C., Y. Wang, L. Lee (2014). Reducing statistical anxiety and enhancing statistics learning achievement: effectiveness of a one-minute strategy. Psychology Reports: 115:297-310.

Morrison-Shetlar, A., Marwitz, Mary R (2001). Teaching creatively: Ideas in action. Outernet Publishing.

Stead, D. R. 2005. A review of the one-minute paper. Active Learning in Higher Education 6:118-131.