Knowledge pills in Education and Training: A Literature Review

Abstract

Object and purpose: Knowledge pills (KPs) are a technique for transferring knowledge in the form of short factual batches of content. Its use has gained consensus especially in vocational training because they can help learners acquire very specific pieces of knowledge or practical skill in a few minutes, through what has been called a “microteaching” approach. Thanks to the advancements of multimedia applications and the diffusion of e-learning platforms, they can contain a mix of multimedia contents, i.e.: lecturer voice, images, videos, or other e-learning applications. KPs are often associated to the emerging methods of active learning and teaching, because learners can be involved in interactive exercises, quizzes, and games which result in a more engaging experience. This paper aims to explore the state-of-the-art of the literature on KP under the perspective of knowledge management, with a special focus on their actual use as a mechanism to boost effective knowledge transfer and learning processes. The goals are as follows: a) to clarify definition and characteristics of KPs, and their relation/distinction from other methods; b) to classify of their main typologies; c) to analyze their implications under a knowledge management perspective, and d) to understand actual application fields, pros, and cons. Methodology: This study is based on the literature review with the use of snowball effect and also the search of global citational database such as Googlescholar. The articles found are then carefully analyzed. Findings: The results of the literature review shows that the advantages of KPs can be related to the division of teaching content into small parts, which also fits today’s needs of learners to “study faster” so they can acquire the specific knowledge or skills they really need. In addition, KPs are often in the form of easily reusable materials or applications but, due to their limited “size”, they can more easily updated than traditional supports (like, e.g., a textbook). Possible limits come from the fact that, despite their little size, designing a KP can be a difficult task, and a careful consideration of the actual learning process and the mechanism by which a certain type of knowledge is transferred from a “knower” to a “learner” is required. The review also shows that KP is a very useful concept in modern teaching and training. Research limitations: Research is of theoretical character, based on a limited literature review. However, this limitation is going to be overcome in the future research. Practical implications: Findings of this study provides useful insights not only for the academic society and researchers, but also for teachers and trainers dealing with all types of education.