Bite

 sized  learning  
Bite sized learning appears to have first been used in corporate training in the 1990s in the
United Kingdom (Gordon, 1997; Armstrong and Sadler-Smith, 2008; Klein, 2003). Corporate
professional development modules were designed in bite sized, reusable chunks so as to be
timely, embedded in the context of the employee and brief. Gordon (1997, p. 27) reports that
using this approach enabled employees to access “…just the data they need, just when they
need it”.

Subsequently the bite sized approach has been used in the UK business, government and
education sectors (Morrison, 2005). The BBC Bite Size initiative is an online resource that
consists of a series of discrete topics based on the United Kingdom school curriculum. The
resource was created to support the learning of children in the classroom.

A bite sized approach to learning in higher education appears to have developed only in the
United Kingdom. A website search reveals that bite sized modules are currently used for:
accreditation of prior learning (University of Teeside); professional development of
academics (University of Northampton); university provision for corporate training
(Universities of Northampton, Western England and Wolverhampton); skill focused programs
(University of Teeside); and degree provision (the University of Derby offers a joint honours
program using bite sized modules of study while the University of Western England offers
postgraduate certificate, diploma and masters qualifications through the study of bite sized
modules). A private provider, Medicles, provides bite-sized, self assessment opportunities
for medical students.

From conversations with university staff at several UK universities, it appears that the bite
sized approach originated as universities initially worked with employees to provide bite-
sized learning packages to address skills gaps. The bite sized modules could be studied with
or without assessment, the former allowing employees to gather credits towards degree
qualifications, so providing a pathway into higher education.

More recently as the UK went through an economic downturn in recent years, some
universities saw opportunities to work more closely with industry. "As it becomes
increasingly difficult for companies to compete with overseas low-cost economies it becomes
vitally important for them to maintain competitive advantage and many businesses are now
looking to the intellectual capital they have within their organisation. The University has a
major role to play in helping them to do this." (Oakes, 2012).

Wolverhampton, like other UK Universities, has focused many of their accredited programs
on learning around workplace problems. This learning is “more easily absorbed into work
routines, including bite-sized chunks of learning which can be studied in the workplace or out
of normal working hours” (Oakes, 2012).

There appears to be no published literature on the use of bite sized chunks in higher
education programs. In conversation, UK colleagues who have been involved in programs
that use bite sized chunks valued the ease of developing the bites, the ways in which some
chunks could be developed to be either accredited or not accredited (used for professional
development purposes), and the flexibility with which the university could use them across
different programs. Difficulties reported included a lack of integration between a program
composed of bites and a lack of cohort identity for students.

2012 RMIT Learning Segments Project

Resources

Armstrong, SJ., & Sadler-Smith. (2008). Learning on Demand, at Your Own Pace, in Rapid
Bite-Sized Chunks: The Future Shape of Management Development? Academy
of Management, Learning and Education. 7(4): 571-586.
Gordon, J. (1997). Infonuggets. The bite-size future of corporate training? Training. 34(7):
26-33.
Klein, D., & Ware, M. (2003). E-learning: new opportunities in continuing professional
development. Learned Publishing. 16: 34-46.
Morrison, M. (2005). E-learning ‘Bites’ for adult learners: mixed messages from research.
Research in Post-Compulsory Education. 10(3): 403-422.
Oakes, I. 2012. A New Dynamic. PVC Research and Enterprise, Wolverhampton University.
Retrieved 24th April 2012 from http://www.wlv.ac.uk/default.aspx?page=27512

Websites  

University websites:

University of Western England (Bristol) - http://www.uwe.ac.uk/

University of Derby - http://www.derby.ac.uk/
Teesside University - http://www.tees.ac.uk/
Wolverhampton University- http://www.wlv.ac.uk/default.aspx
The University of Northampton - http://www.northampton.ac.uk/

Business and Government websites:

BBC Bitesize for school kids http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/bitesize/

Bitesized Learning Ltd http://www.bitesizelearning.co.uk/ourprogrammes.htm
Bitesize Ltd http://www.bitesizeltd.com/
Campaign for Learning
http://www.campaign-forlearning.org.uk/cfl/assets/documents/Activitiesandworksheets/
bitesize_law.pdf
Leicester government: Bite size learning evaluation, 2009
http://www.leicestershire.gov.uk/b_-_appendix_1_-_gds_funding_evaluation.pdf
The Mind Gym http://www.themindgym.com/
Medicles. The medical revision community. Retrieved from http://medicles.co.uk/, April 18,
2012.

2012 RMIT Learning Segments Project