Accelerated Learning is a teaching and learning model which is based on the original work from Dr. Georgi Lozanov in the 1960s. (Read more here.) He named this model, Suggestopedia.
Throughout the past decades as we have learned more about learning and brain functions as well as human development, this approach to learning has been continually updated and refined thus including new ideas, techniques, best practice and learning models placing AL on the cutting edge in the world of teaching, training and learning.
It is a method which addresses the needs of all learning styles and modalities; it is motivating, creative, varied, playful, and structured. Consequently, the learning process is accelerated.
In the foreground is the implementation of the newly acquired information and skills into one’s business and/or personal life.
Accelerated Learning provides guidelines to everyone who facilitates learning. These guidelines are like a recipe for a delicious meal with special ingredients and spices. They provide a structure which assists in setting up a rich learning environment; one in which the needs of all learners are met. They support, deepen and accelerate the learning.
Results: learners learn more, apply more to their real world, and retain more. Critical, innovative thinking evolves or increases. They become more effective as participants as well as in their work and in their personal lives.
The Accelerated Learning Cycle provides guidelines for designing and facilitating learning programs. This unique structure is like a well-balanced meal with 5 courses. They include:
To discover the 5 courses of this recipe, use the arrows to jump from one to another!.
Sending positive and supportive verbal and non-verbal messages to the learners leads to successful learning. The environment and the facilitator are key factors. The facilitator is like the cook creating and serving a delicious meal. For this to happen, the facilitator must be sensitive to the needs of the learners and provide for these by having key qualities such as positive mindfulness, presence and humility.
By creating and orchestrating a “brain-friendly”, interaction-rich environment, we activate and deepen the learning. The physical environment supports playfulness in that it invites movement, interaction, and promotes optimal flexibility in approaches. The interaction with the facilitator, with the content and materials, and with the other learners provides an opportunity to play with ideas and concepts, to experiment with new ways of using the learned material, to test assumptions, to present ideas, etc.
Involving all learning styles and modalities; a critical factor to the success of learning is the awareness of the various ways we learn and the facilitator’s ability to adapt their behaviors, communication and course design accordingly. The learners can understand more quickly, remain confident throughout the learning process and enjoy a successful learning experience. Success breeds success!
In other words design the learning so that complexity is made simple. This is reflected in the conscious choice of appropriate activities, such as card games, board games, guessing games, etc. and tools such as analogies, mnemonic devices, storytelling, use of music, etc.
Create a positive learning atmosphere by consciously setting the stage for learning. The peripheral information such as posters, texts, background music, and even the other learners, play a key role in building confidence and eliminating any existing learning barriers.
The environment includes:
The physical, mental and psychological/emotional state of the learner is taken into consideration and activities are designed to help maintain the ideal state for learning. Facilitators are skilled in orchestrating the course to create a state of “flow”. The skills are: the ability to pace high and low energy activities, to direct the learner’s attention (either to the facilitator, the other learners, to the individual learners), to move from working alone or in small or large groups, to shift the use of space in the room and so on.
The definition of flow from Wikipedia:
Flow is the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. In essence, flow is characterized by complete absorption in what one does. Proposed by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, the positive psychology concept has been widely referenced across a variety of fields
