Agentic education · Learning science

Actionable companion · Cognitive load & attention

Learning with agency: The Historical Evolution of Microlearning in Health Professions Education: Bibliometric Analysis

AI-assisted editorial implementation guide, separate from the original research. Proposed actions are not claims or recommendations attributed to the source authors. No independent peer review of this guide is asserted.

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Evidence and context

Title and abstract screening; stage labels describe reported settings, not verified numerical ages. Design labels require full-text appraisal. Reported stage(s): Age / stage not established. Verify the participant population and task before transferring the findings.

Original authors’ abstract, reproduced under the linked source license:

Abstract Background Microlearning has emerged as a flexible, technology-enabled instructional approach in health professions education, yet its longitudinal evolution, collaboration patterns, and thematic development remain underexplored. Objective This study aimed to map publication trends, research impact, collaboration networks, and thematic evolution of microlearning research within health professions education. Methods A bibliometric analysis of the Web of Science Core Collection (1977‐2025) was conducted. Records were retrieved, screened, cleaned, and analyzed using established bibliometric techniques to examine publication trends, coauthorship networks, and keyword co-occurrence patterns. Results A total of 560 publications were included in the analysis. Publications demonstrated substantial growth beginning in 2015, with the greatest expansion after 2020. Research output was concentrated in English-speaking regions, particularly the United States. Coauthorship networks showed moderate collaboration within several established academic hubs. Keyword analyses revealed 5 thematic domains reflecting the field’s progression from instructional efficiency toward mobile, social, simulation-enhanced, and crisis-responsive microlearning. These themes suggest increasing attention to experiential, accessible, and adaptive learning approaches within health professions education. Conclusions Microlearning has evolved into a multidimensional scholarly area shaped by digital transformation, shifting pedagogical expectations, and increased demand for flexible learning formats. Ongoing development should prioritize global representation, theoretical grounding, and rigorous evaluation of emerging technologies. The findings may inform educators, curriculum designers, and institutional leaders seeking to implement evidence-based, digitally enabled microlearning strategies that support learners across diverse educational and clinical environments.

What kind of evidence is this?

Intelligent tutoring & adaptive learning · Bibliometric / mapping study

Stage: Age / stage not established. Screening labels describe reported context and study-design language. They are not a risk-of-bias rating or proof of effectiveness for an age band.

Study methods · source passage

This study used a longitudinal bibliometric analysis to examine the evolution and characteristics of microlearning within HPE. Bibliometric analysis enables quantitative evaluation of scholarly activity by generating publication, citation, and collaboration metrics through specialized software [21]. The study protocol was registered on the Open Science Framework to promote transparency and reproducibility [22].

Limitations and uncertainty · source passage

This study’s major strength lies in its comprehensive and systematically executed search strategy, which initially identified nearly 10,000 records through the WoS Core Collection. Collaboration with professional medical librarians ensured methodological rigor, transparent inclusion criteria, and reproducibility throughout the review process.

Design the system before the pilot

Document the learner model, mastery rule, hint sequence and adaptation signal. Compare adaptive routing with the same content in a non-adaptive sequence. Check whether early errors lead to persistent low-expectation pathways.

  • Limit simultaneous instructions and unnecessary dialogue. Compare task performance and a suitable mental-effort measure; easier-feeling work is not automatically better learning.
  • Co-design accommodations with learners and specialists. Check access and error burden across groups without inferring subgroup effectiveness from small or unreported samples.

A 90-day district pilot

  1. Days 1–15 · Appraise. Have the curriculum lead and a teacher read the methods and limitations. Record the study design, sample, comparator, outcomes and evidence gaps. Define a local question that the study can help inform.
  2. Days 16–30 · Design. Treat the paper as background evidence until its population is verified in the full text. Do not assign an age-specific intervention or extend adult results to children. Name an accountable owner and set the baseline, success threshold and budget before implementation.
  3. Days 31–60 · Test. Start with a small voluntary cohort, preserve an accessible non-AI route and require teacher review. Use synthetic or de-identified examples; approve data handling and tool terms through district processes.
  4. Days 61–90 · Decide. Extract the participant ages or education stage, recruitment, task and comparator before selecting a local pilot. If these cannot be established, retain the paper for design discussion rather than age-band efficacy claims. Compare with baseline, document uncertainty and stop or revise if learning worsens, access is unequal or critical errors persist.

The board decision brief

Report the learning problem, evidence quality, participating population, total cost including review time, measured benefit, errors, access differences and remaining uncertainties. Make a dated recommendation to stop, revise or expand. A positive perception survey alone does not establish learning improvement.

Attribution and reuse

Jennie C De Gagne; Paige S Randall; Elizabeth R Blackwood; Katherine A Carlson; Hee Sun Kang. The Historical Evolution of Microlearning in Health Professions Education: Bibliometric Analysis. JMIR Medical Education (2026-06-01). https://doi.org/10.2196/91616

Companion prepared 2026-10-30. Original authorship and DOI are preserved. The abstract is an attributed source extract; the implementation plan is new AI-assisted editorial material, offered under the same CC BY 4.0 license. This guide has not undergone independent peer review.