If you are interested in implementing micro-credentials in your teaching, be sure to read this article by Dennen, Arslan, and Bong (2024), in which the authors discuss the implementation process of micro-learning challenges at a large public university in the United States and their subsequent findings. In short, microlearning is a way of enabling a learner (student) to self-direct their learning through accomplishing small-scale educational challenges, which then earn them digital badges.
One of the findings was the fact that those students who earned their badges did so because of their educational, rather than "bragging" value. Additionally, because micro-challenges were optional, only a portion of students (about 21%) achieved digital badges.
As a teacher of IET (Integrated Education and Training) Introduction to Healthcare, I can see potential in using micro-challenges in adult workforce education. As the authors state, students recognized that by accomplishing micro-challenges, they were learning additional skills that further developed their understanding of skills that were graded.
Last week, I started teaching the summer version of my class. It means that my students have to improve their reading comprehension skills by at least one level on the CASAS GOALS test by participating in an online, synchronous class that meets four days a week for three hours. During regular semesters, this class meets three times a week for fifteen weeks, which amounts to 13 more 3-hour-sessions. Because of this, achieving measurable learning gains is possible only when students participate actively, and instead of relying solely on the teacher, seek language affordances outside of class. That is where micro-challenges might be helpful.
Based on the mentioned study, I created my first-ever voluntary weekend homework. For information, in adult education, students do not get homework. At the time of writing this blog, five out of 12 students have attempted, and four have completed the assignment. This is a valuable insight which I am going to use in the development of more homework that I am planning to rebrand as micro-challenges. To do that, I established a comprehensive set of rules. Students with:
- Perfect attendance + ten digital badges, or
- One absence + eleven digital badges (one challenge making up for the missed class)
I am planning to include tasks that will be moderately challenging, such as:
- creating a six-slide presentation on a disease,
- creating a poster of a body system,
- recording a short video in Canvas explaining a law which pertains to a healthcare sector,
- creating a short presentation/movie about a day in the life of a CNA, etc.
Hi: Really interesting way to incorporate digital badges into your class. I think this is often the struggle--figuring out a way to do it that helps to drive the outcomes you want to see in your class. I find that badging, as an adult learner, is sort of incidental. I have yet to seek out achieving a badge for it's own sake. I will do things that earn badges, but I do them either for a course specific goal, or out of my own intrinsic learning goals. I am also one of those people who has never loved accolades at work, so I'm not sure digital badges are aimed at me. I'm just happy to collect my paycheck, move into more interesting/responsible roles, vs. having praise. I realize that is a different scenario than badging in learning environments. I do think, however, that badges are something that many people like to achieve, especially if it conveys a meaningful accomplishment. Will you badges all be Challenge 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. or will you name them something specific? I know for myself that if I got badge 1, 3, 6, etc. it would annoy me that they are numbered vs. titles. Sort of dumb, but it would offend my sense of something--symmetry? Order? Anyway, I like your plans. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHi JenSum26! Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment. You opened my eyes to something I had not really considered. I never realized that digital badges need to look interesting, too. Indeed, the graphic aspect is powerfully motivating. I took my time and thought about what you said. Because I cannot post my new rendering here in the comments section, I posted it directly on the blog.
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