Impact of microlearning on academic performance of students in higher education: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Microlearning is an innovative pedagogy which is the process of learning through small-sized, well-planned learning units and short-term learning activities. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the impact of microlearning compared to macro-learning on the academic performance of students enrolled in higher education. Studies conducted on microlearning in higher education, in which the academic performance in theoretical examinations following microlearning method was evaluated quantitatively and compared with macro-learning. Studies which were reported in English language were included in this review. Ten databases were searched including SCOPUS, EBSCOhost, Emerald, JSTOR, Taylor & Francis, PubMed (MEDLINE), Oxford University Press, ERIC, ACM and IEEE Xplore. The search retrieved 602 studies and 12 studies were included in the systematic review. Cochrane’s risk of bias tool was used for the risk of bias assessment of the included studies. Five studies were included in the meta-analysis which was conducted using the RevMan 5.4 software. Meta-analysis showed a higher academic performance in students learned using microlearning (n=344) compared to the students learned using macro-learning (n=310) (p = 0.03). The overall mean difference in academic performance in relation to post-test scores in theoretical examinations between microlearning and macro-learning groups was 12.6 (95% CI: 1.2 - 23.9). Microlearning has contributed to a substantial increase in academic performance among students in higher education compared to macro-learning. Microlearning can increase academic performance of students by reducing cognitive load, providing flexible learning environment, promoting self-directed learning and by providing timely feedback.