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RaymondVerhoef
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micro-learning-spec.md
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# Micro learning specification
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## Purpose
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This document defines what micro learnings are, how employees experience
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them, and how they behave within a learning session. It covers the learner
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perspective — interaction patterns, completion rules, and the relationship
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between micro learnings, topics, and sessions.
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This document is application-agnostic. It does not describe how micro
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learnings are generated, stored, or administered. For those topics see the
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micro learning generation specification.
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---
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## What a micro learning is
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A micro learning is a short, focused learning interaction derived from a
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single Topic in the knowledge base. It presents the content of that Topic
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through one specific format designed to activate a particular cognitive
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process.
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A micro learning has three defining characteristics:
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**Single topic scope**
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Every micro learning covers exactly one Topic. It does not introduce content
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from other Topics, even related ones. If an employee needs to understand a
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related concept, they access that Topic's micro learnings separately.
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**Single format**
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Each micro learning uses one format type. The type determines the cognitive
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demand: comprehension, application, recall, or reflection. An employee
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choosing different types for the same Topic is not repeating content — they
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are engaging the same knowledge through different cognitive processes.
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**Short duration**
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A micro learning is designed to be completed in a single sitting of five to
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fifteen minutes. It is not a course, a module, or a chapter. It is one
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focused interaction.
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---
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## Relationship to topics and sessions
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```
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Theme (one per weekly session)
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└── Topic A
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│ ├── Concept explainer ← micro learning
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│ ├── Scenario quiz ← micro learning
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│ ├── Flashcard set ← micro learning
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│ └── Reflection prompt ← micro learning
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└── Topic B
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├── Concept explainer
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├── Scenario quiz
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├── Flashcard set
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└── Reflection prompt
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```
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One session covers one Theme. A Theme contains multiple Topics. Each Topic
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has up to four micro learnings — one per type. The employee selects which
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type to engage with per Topic per session.
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---
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## Employee choice
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The employee is never assigned a specific micro learning type. For each
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Topic in a session, the employee sees the available types and selects one.
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This choice is made fresh each time — there is no default, no locked
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sequence, and no penalty for choosing the same type repeatedly.
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The choice is meaningful:
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- An employee who wants to understand a concept for the first time will
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likely choose the concept explainer
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- An employee who already understands the concept and wants to test
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themselves will choose the scenario quiz
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- An employee revisiting a Topic in a later cycle will choose differently
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than they did in the first cycle
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The system records which types the employee has used per Topic across their
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history. This history informs curriculum variation in subsequent cycles but
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does not restrict choice in the current session.
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---
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## Completion
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### What counts as complete
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Completion is defined per micro learning — one completion record is created
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when an employee finishes one type for one Topic.
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Each type has its own completion trigger:
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| Type | Completion trigger |
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|---|---|
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| Concept explainer | Employee reaches the end of the content |
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| Scenario quiz | Employee selects an answer and views the explanation |
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| Flashcard set | Employee views all cards in the set at least once |
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| Reflection prompt | Employee submits a response (any response) |
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Completion is not quality-gated. The employee does not need to answer
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correctly or respond thoughtfully. The act of engaging with the full micro
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learning constitutes completion. Learning quality is served by the content
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design and the spaced repetition mechanic — not by enforced correctness.
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### Multiple completions per topic
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An employee may complete more than one type for the same Topic in the same
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session or across sessions. Each type completion is recorded independently.
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Completing a second type for a Topic the employee has already completed does
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not overwrite the first. Both records exist. Both contribute to the
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employee's engagement history.
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There is no requirement to complete all four types for a Topic. The minimum
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for a Topic to count as engaged within a session is one completed type.
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### Completion and session progress
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A session is considered complete when every Topic in the week's Theme has at
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least one completed micro learning type. The employee does not need to
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complete all types for all Topics — one type per Topic is the threshold.
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This threshold is intentionally low. The goal is consistent engagement with
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the full breadth of the curriculum, not exhaustive coverage of every format
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per session.
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---
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## The four types — learner perspective
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### Concept explainer
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The employee reads a structured explanation of the Topic.
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The content moves through three stages: what the concept is, why it exists
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or matters, and what it looks like in practice. The final element is always
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a concrete example anchored in the employee's domain.
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The employee reads from start to finish. There is no interaction required
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beyond reading. Completion triggers when the employee reaches the end.
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This type is appropriate when:
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- The employee is encountering the Topic for the first time
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- The employee wants to refresh their understanding before attempting
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another type
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- The Topic is definitional or structural in nature
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---
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### Scenario quiz
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The employee reads a realistic workplace situation and selects the best
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response from three or four options.
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The scenario is specific to the employee's domain — it involves the kinds
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of decisions, tensions, or situations the employee might actually face. The
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options are plausible — the incorrect answers represent common mistakes or
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reasonable misreadings, not obvious errors.
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After selecting an answer, the employee sees an explanation for every option
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— not just the one they chose. The explanation for the incorrect options
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teaches as much as the explanation for the correct one.
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There is exactly one correct answer. The employee is not penalised for a
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wrong selection beyond seeing the explanation that corrects it.
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Completion triggers when the employee selects an answer and views the
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explanations. Selecting and immediately closing before reading explanations
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does not constitute completion.
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This type is appropriate when:
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- The employee wants to test whether they can apply the concept
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- The Topic involves a process, a decision, or a governance question
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where context determines the right response
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- The employee wants active engagement rather than passive reading
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---
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### Flashcard set
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The employee moves through a set of five to ten question-and-answer cards,
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each covering one discrete fact, term, or relationship from the Topic.
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Each card presents a question. The employee considers their answer, then
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reveals the answer on the card and evaluates whether they knew it. There is
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no automated scoring — the employee self-assesses.
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The cards cover a mix of question types: what something is (definition),
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how something works (application), and how two things relate (relationship).
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This mix ensures the set tests different aspects of the Topic rather than
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repeating the same cognitive demand.
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Completion triggers when the employee has viewed both sides of every card
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in the set at least once. The employee may move through the cards in any
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order. Skipping a card and returning to it later counts — what matters is
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that all cards are seen.
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Flashcard sets are designed for repeated use. An employee who completed a
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Topic's flashcard set in week 3 may return to it in week 15 and use it
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again as a retrieval practice exercise. Each return creates a new completion
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record.
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This type is appropriate when:
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- The Topic contains terminology, definitions, or facts the employee needs
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to retain
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- The employee is in a later cycle and wants to maintain knowledge rather
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than relearn it
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- The employee has limited time and wants a quick retrieval check
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---
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### Reflection prompt
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The employee reads an open question that asks them to connect the Topic's
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content to their own professional experience. They write a response in a
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free-text field, then compare their response to a model answer.
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The question cannot be answered with a fact. It requires the employee to
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think about how the concept applies to their own context — their team, their
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role, their past experience, or a situation they have encountered. There is
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no single correct answer.
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After writing their response, the employee reveals the model answer. The
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model answer is not a rubric or a correction — it is an example of a
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thoughtful response that shows the depth and specificity expected. The
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employee compares their thinking to the model and draws their own
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conclusions.
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Completion triggers when the employee submits a response. The system does
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not evaluate the content of the response. An employee who writes a single
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sentence has completed the micro learning in the same way as an employee
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who writes three paragraphs. The value is in the act of reflection, not
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in the output.
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This type is appropriate when:
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- The Topic describes a practice, a structure, or a principle the employee
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is expected to apply in their work
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- The employee wants to move beyond understanding into internalisation
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- The Topic involves holacratic roles, governance, or process — areas where
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personal application is the goal
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---
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## Behaviour across cycles
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In the first cycle, the employee encounters each Topic for the first time.
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Their natural tendency will be to use the concept explainer to build
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understanding before using other types.
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In subsequent cycles, the employee already has a foundation. The curriculum
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may vary the recommended type based on the employee's history — surfacing
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types they have not used — but the employee retains full choice.
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The flashcard set is the type most suited to later cycles. An employee who
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understood a Topic in cycle 1 can use the flashcard set in cycle 2 and 3
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purely for retrieval practice, maintaining knowledge without re-reading
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explanatory content.
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The reflection prompt gains depth in later cycles. An employee who has
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spent six months applying a holacratic principle will reflect more
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concretely in cycle 2 than they did in cycle 1.
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---
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## What a micro learning is not
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**Not a test**
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The scenario quiz includes a correct answer but its purpose is to surface
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reasoning, not to grade performance. No score is recorded. No minimum is
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required to complete a session.
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**Not a course**
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A micro learning does not have prerequisites, chapters, or progression within
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itself. It is a single interaction. Depth comes from the curriculum's
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sequencing of Topics over 26 weeks, not from within any individual micro
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learning.
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**Not a substitute for the knowledge library**
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The knowledge library contains the full Topic body — the source material.
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A micro learning is a derived interaction from that material. An employee
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who wants to read the full source goes to the library. An employee who wants
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a focused learning interaction uses a micro learning.
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**Not locked to a session**
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Employees may access micro learnings for any published Topic from the
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knowledge library at any time, regardless of where they are in the
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curriculum. Completing a micro learning outside a session still records
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a completion and contributes to the employee's history.
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---
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## Data model (logical)
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These are logical entities described from the learner's perspective.
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Implementation may map them to any storage system.
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**MicroLearning** (the artifact)
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```
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id
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topic → Topic
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type concept_explainer | scenario_quiz |
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flashcard_set | reflection_prompt
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content structured data per type schema
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status published (only published items are visible to employees)
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```
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**MicroLearningCompletion** (the event)
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```
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id
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employee → Employee
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micro_learning → MicroLearning
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topic → Topic
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type type identifier at time of completion
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completed_at datetime
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session_week integer — curriculum week when completed
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cycle integer — which cycle
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```
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Completions are append-only. They are never updated or deleted. Each
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represents a discrete learning event in the employee's history.
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---
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## Behaviours that must never occur
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- An employee sees a micro learning that has not been published
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- A completion is recorded before the employee reaches the completion
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trigger for that type (e.g. recording completion before all flashcards
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are viewed)
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- A completion record is modified or deleted after creation
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- The employee is prevented from choosing a type they have already
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completed for a Topic
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- The employee's response to a reflection prompt is evaluated, scored,
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or shown to anyone other than the employee themselves
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- A micro learning introduces content that is not present in its source Topic
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---
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## Acceptance criteria
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1. An employee accessing a Topic sees only published micro learning types
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2. An employee can complete a concept explainer by reading to the end —
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no further interaction required
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3. An employee who selects an incorrect answer in a scenario quiz sees
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explanations for all options, not only their chosen option
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4. An employee cannot complete a flashcard set without viewing all cards
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5. An employee who submits any text in a reflection prompt completes the
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micro learning — the content of the response is not evaluated
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6. Completing one type for a Topic does not remove or replace the
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completion record for another type for the same Topic
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7. A Topic with one completed type counts as engaged for session progress
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8. An employee can access and complete micro learnings from the knowledge
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library outside of their scheduled session week
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9. Each completion creates exactly one record — submitting a reflection
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prompt twice creates two records, not one updated record
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10. An employee in cycle 2 can complete a flashcard set for a Topic they
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completed in cycle 1 — the new completion is recorded independently
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