Micro-post: How do I create a micro-credential?
This five-step process will help you get that micro-credential program out of your imagination and into a project charter. Creating a micro-credential may vary depending on the platform, tool, or method you choose; these steps are intended to be broad strokes.
1. Define your objectives
Before creating your micro-credential, take some time to define your objectives. What are you hoping to achieve with your credential? Keep it simple!
What skills or knowledge do you want learners to demonstrate and/or be recognized for?
Examples
Recognizing/reinforcing existing skills/competencies.
Incorporating new skills/competencies into work processes.
2. Choose the right platform or tool
(Image credit: Powerschool)
There are various platforms and tools that you can use to create a micro-credential. Choose the one that is best suited to your needs and objectives.
Pro Tip: As I'm sure you know by now, I've worn many hats, but I tend to identify as an educator professionally. When navigating tech integration questions, I almost always use a modified version of SAMR to determine:
tech readiness for the project scope, and
tech appropriateness to support project outcomes and continuous improvement.
There are many ways to develop a micro-credential program, and your primary goal should be to determine which approach is most appropriate for your team and your learners. Consider any technology your team adopts to pursue its micro-credential aspirations through the lens of "change management."
3. Create a learning pathway
Once you have chosen your platform or tool, create a learning pathway that outlines the steps learners need to take to earn the credential. Next, connect your micro-credentials into greater "stacks" of meaning. This exercise will help ensure that each micro-credential is achievable and meaningful.
For more information on how to think about learning pathways - check out my last edition of the newsletter! (See Below 👇 )
Zooming in on micro-credential "Grain Size": Part 2
How I came up with my original "stress test" for what is and is not micro-credentialable.
4. Design your assessment criteria
Once you have created your learning pathway, you will need to design assessment criteria that students will meet to earn the credential. Make sure to align the assessment criteria with your objectives and the learning goals of the micro-credential.
Generally, I think through assessment against a quadrant system consisting of two main variables: motivation and rigor.
I define motivation as "how motivated is a learner to earn the award - by internal/external recognizers and outcomes (aka market value). "
I define rigor as "the rigorousness that skill or competency is assessed and therefore - trusted - by internal and external recognizers."
As you can tell, both variables are ultimately a function of TRUST.
🎓 Quadrant 1
Rigorous and Motivational
These micro-credentials are challenging, and the outcomes are clear.
For example, a college-credit-bearing micro-credential that qualifies a learner for a degree program. See the Upskill SA! Program.
🎟 Quadrant 2
Not Rigorous and Motivational
These micro-credentials are not challenging, but the outcomes are clear - therefore, it is motivational.
For example, Google Career Certificates aren't generally rigorous (although they're more rigorous than most credentials), but there are somewhat clear outcomes for earning one, depending on your goals.
📛 Quadrant 3:
Not Rigorous and not motivational
These micro-credentials are not challenging, and learners are not motivated to earn them.
An example of this is a conference badge with no external or internal incentive for earning it. This doesn't mean these awards are without value, but they're generally limited to commemoration over competency.
😓 Quadrant 4:
Rigorous and not Motivational
These micro-credentials are challenging, but the learner isn't motivated to earn them.
This is the worst combination for a micro-credential. There are dozens of online education marketplaces filled with useless, expensive MOOCs (or online degree programs), culminating in a PDF certificate with no clear labor market value.
5. Publish your micro-credential
Once you have created your micro-credential, publish it on your chosen platform or tool. This will make it available to learners and educators to earn and share.
Pro Tip: I deeply agree with the "nail it, scale it and sail it" philosophy of project management, change management, and the introduction of new products/services from the perspective of a start-up or a well-established organization. When creating your first batch of micro-credentials, narrow your focus on getting that first one out into the wild - including the publishing process. The last thing your team needs when trying to get a micro-credential program off the ground is to have costs balloon, schedules slip, or performance suffer because of too broad a scope.
🌈 Thank you for reading my article 🌎
I hope these strategies will help you create rewarding experiences for your learners as the world does its best to get back to work.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider:
🕊 Following my new company Micro-credential Multiverse.
💌 Subscribing to my newsletter on LinkedIn to get these posts delivered conveniently to your inbox.
🌎 Sharing this article with someone in your network.
