The Microlearning Design Guide A Framework for Accelerating Performance

Traditional training often falls short in today's fast-moving, performance-driven world. Long courses, one-time events, and information-heavy formats are no longer enough to keep up with changing business demands or support how people actually learn on the job. The Microlearning Design Guide offers a clear, practical approach for building smarter learning solutions—ones that are short, focused, and strategically aligned with real performance outcomes.

This book is written for learning and development professionals, instructional designers, HR business partners, talent development leaders, facilitators, and performance consultants who want to make learning more relevant, efficient, and impactful. Whether you're supporting onboarding, compliance, leadership development, or on-the-job skill building, this guide provides the tools to design and deliver high-impact microlearning that fits seamlessly into the flow of work.

Grounded in learning science, instructional design best practices, and decades of real-world experience, the guide introduces a flexible framework that helps you:

Translate business goals into targeted learning objectives

Identify when and how to use microlearning effectively

Align learning with performance outcomes, not just content coverage

Design activities that engage learners and improve retention

Select the right formats—from job aids and videos to mobile modules and knowledge checks

Streamline development with checklists, templates, and rapid design practices

Collaborate with stakeholders and subject matter experts using a consultative approach

Reinforce learning and support skill transfer through real-world application

What sets this guide apart is its clear focus on results. It doesn't just teach you how to break content into smaller parts—it shows you how to build learning experiences that change behavior, support performance, and contribute to organizational success.

The Microlearning Design Guide is packed with practical insights, reflection prompts, and application tools that help bridge the gap between instructional design theory and workplace learning. Whether you're working solo or as part of a team, this book will help you create learning that sticks—and drives results.

If you're ready to move beyond outdated models and start building modern, performance-aligned learning, this guide gives you the tools, language, and structure to do it well.

Dr. Lewis has been involved in education, instructional design, and performance technology for over 40 years, including corporate leadership positions with Health Net, Xerox Corporation, Apple Computer, and RTC.
He specializes in learning strategy, instructional design, eLearning development, mobile learning, microlearning, and performance improvement solutions that drive measurable business results. Over the course of his career, he has designed and developed more than 3,500 custom training programs—delivered on time and on budget—across a wide variety of industries and job functions, including leadership, management, sales, marketing, engineering, safety, medical management, customer service, and performance management.
In addition to his industry work, Dr. Lewis serves as an adjunct professor at Colorado State University, where he teaches a variety of courses in the Organizational Learning, Performance, and Change Master's Program. He has also served as an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University and the University of Hawaii.
Dr. Lewis earned his Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, Instructional Technology, and International Training from the University of Southern California. He also holds a master's degree in occupational safety and health and a bachelor's degree in environmental interpretation (outdoor education).