Microlearning to Macro Impact: Rethinking Teachers’ Capacity-Building for Developing Required Competencies in Indian HEIs Ecosystem

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-618-5_22How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Microlearning; Capacity Building; Digital Pedagogy; Blended learning; andragogical approaches; AI integration

Abstract

This paper redesigns teachers’ capacity building in Indian higher education spaces by deeply examining the shift from episodic generic/domain specific Faculty Development Programs (FDPs), or Leadership Development Programs (LDPs) to reinforced and more modular microlearning learning ecosystems. Drawing on the author’s extensive practice of designing and delivering large-scale, high-engagement training interventions for diverse educator cohorts, the study proposes a pragmatic framework that integrates bite-sized learning, contextual application, and reflective practice.

The paper argues that traditional capacity building models often face limitations in effectiveness, engagement, sustained impact and measurable outcomes, particularly in contexts characterized by differential needs, digital disparity and competencies and time constraints. Thus, institutionalizing the concept of microlearning—designed and designated as short, focused, and action-oriented learning capsules—enables more accepted, doable and personalized pacing, and immediate classroom transfer. Evidence-informed reflections from multiple offline, online and blended programs (serving cohorts of up to 50 participants in a batch) are used to indicate and qualitatively illustrate how such microlearning pathways, when aligned with the contemporary and needed themes such as innovative andragogical approaches, digital pedagogy, AI integration in classrooms, emotional intelligence, sustainability, and design thinking, can significantly enhance teacher’s learning and instructional design suiting their classrooms.

A key contribution of the paper is the proposed ‘Micro-to-Macro Impact Model’, which plots the progression from individual learning interventions of teachers, then mapping it collectively towards institutional transformation through integrating the efforts, peer sharing and learning, some iterative practices, and customized assessment mechanisms. The study also highlights the role of digital platforms and professional networks (including LinkedIn-enabled knowledge sharing) in extending learning beyond formal training spaces. By encompassing microlearning within the broader discourse of NEP 2020 and outcome-based education, this paper offers a scalable, adaptable, and practice-driven approach to reimagining teacher capacity building for future-ready academia.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Pratima Khandelwal
AU  - Poorna Shankar
AU  - Satish Polshettiwar
AU  - S.R. Bhagyashree
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/06
TI  - Microlearning to Macro Impact: Rethinking Teachers’ Capacity-Building for Developing Required Competencies in Indian HEIs Ecosystem
BT  - Proceedings of the 18th National IQAC Conference (ICon 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 287
EP  - 292
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-618-5_22
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-618-5_22
ID  - Khandelwal2026
ER  -