Microlearning through the Lens of Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction: A Qualitative Study

Microlearning provides a valuable and efficient strategy for delivering content to students. As online enrollments continue to increase, further research is needed to determine how students experience microlearning in an online learning format. In this qualitative study, a focus group was used to explore how learners experienced an online microlearning activity through the lens of Robert Gagné’s nine events of instruction. Gagné’s framework is designed to maximize cognitive processing and learner engagement. Using a hybrid process of deductive and inductive thematic analysis, learners’ experiences were used to determine if each of Gagné’s nine events were present during a selected online microlearning activity. This study revealed that eight of Gagné’s nine events were detected. The results provide faculty with a better understanding of how students experience online microlearning and will inform faculty and course designers of critical elements to consider in the development of future online microlearning instruction.