Summer 2007

Accelerated Learning is a conglomerate of nontraditional methodologies that have evolved from the work done in the mid-1970s by Bulgarian psychiatrist and educator Georgi Lozanov and American neuroscientist and educator Leslie Hart. Ongoing research in education, psychology, and neuroscience with advances in technology since the 1990s significantly enhanced our understanding of how the brain learns.

Accelerated Learning is a very holistic approach to learning that applies what science and technology have taught us about how we learn and remember. It recognizes that where we have come from (our evolutionary past) is an integral part of who we are and how we learn. Accelerated Learning focuses on the function of learning: results are a higher priority than following a proscribed format. Long term memory is the goal!

Benefits of Using Accelerated Learning

Accelerated Learning works in concert with how our brains naturally learn and adapt. By working with the brain's natural curiosity and learning ability, you can:

• Reduce training time.
• Dramatically increase long term retention.
• Increase participation.
• Reduce stress associated with learning.
• Return joy and fun to the learning process.

Five Characteristics of Accelerated Learning

1. Provide a safe, non-threatening, personally meaningful, and highly challenging environment.
2. Support natural brain functions regarding shifting focused attention, right and left hemisphere differences, and shifts between external and internal processing.
3. Provide an input-rich environment that maximizes non-conscious perception and fully immerses the learner in an educational experience.
4. Recognize and accommodate the fact that every brain is unique.
5. Provide opportunity for active processing through talking and feedback from peers.

Characteristic 1: The Learning Environment

Safe: Learning occurs when the environment is safe. Survival is the impetus behind all behaviors, including learning. When we feel safe, we relax and learn as easily and naturally as breathing. Our brains respond to threat by "downshifting" to very primitive behaviors designed to ensure survival. The same survival response that prompted us to run from the tiger in the bushes causes us to downshift in the classroom. Forced participation ("John, what's the answer to number 3?"), embarrassment or humiliation ("Wrong! Who can come up with a better answer?"), fear of consequences ("Your test scores will be forwarded to your supervisor."), physical discomfort such as a cold or hot room, too long between breaks, painfully uncomfortable chairs, all shut down learning and focuses the attention on surviving the experience.

Personally Meaningful: Learning occurs when the subject is personally meaningful. Emotion and meaning are required for learning to occur. Our search for meaning is innate and comes through patterning. Every second, our brains process over 10,000 bits of internal and external sensory information alone. Scientists estimate that total cognitive function involves processing 1 trillion bits of electro- and bio-chemical information per second.

Learning is the extraction of meaningful patterns from this confusion of data and our emotions are critical to pattern making. In training design and delivery, meaning and emotion are engaged by linking new learning with what participants already know, and addressing the big-picture WIIFM (What's In It For Me). Emotion and meaning are also engaged by embedding the content in story and metaphor, as well as using music, peripheral learning, humor, color, and group games, activities, and projects in the learning process.

Challenging: Learning occurs when the brain is challenged. The brain thrives in high quality, high volume, and input-rich environments. Challenge, problem solving, and the opportunity to express understanding creatively are the driving force behind our highly evolved and uniquely human brain. Learning occurs rapidly and transfers to long-term memory when novelty and challenge are wrapped around an emotionally meaningful experience.

What this means in the classroom is providing content in ways that challenge the learners to "dig for" and discover the information for themselves. Incorporate challenge and novelty through active problem-solving, activities that require movement and group interaction along with thought, and many opportunities to link prior knowledge with the new content. When you use lecture, overheads, or visual presentations, break it into small sections (no more than 20 minutes) with interaction between each part.

Lecture and visual presentations can be effective means of delivering content in short pieces. Spoon-feeding through lecture and overheads or graphical presentations is boring, void of challenge, and bereft of novelty. Unfortunately, we often fall into the trap of over-use because it is easy for the facilitator, it "looks good," and it meets the facilitators need to say everything they know to feel like they did a good job. This approach may (and I do emphasize may) hold attention for 15 or 20 minutes, but after that the content falls on deaf ears, glazed eyes, inert bodies and bored brains. More often than not, you end up repeating the same or similar training because nobody "got it!"

Characteristic 2: Brain Function

Shifting Focused Attention: Support natural brain functions regarding shifting focused attention. One reason we have survived as a species is that our brains evolved to automatically scan the environment for potential threats and to search for novelty. ("What can I learn that will ensure survival?") If our scanning identifies a threat, the brain downshifts.

Our brains scan the environment (jungle, classroom, or boardroom) about every 20 minutes. Forcing attention for long periods—over 20 minutes—is counter-adaptive and results in increased stress, mental fatigue, and decreased learning. To avoid this, work with natural brain function by providing a state change every 20 minutes. Use movement, talking and sharing activities, games, music, and problem solving activities to provide state changes.

Right and Left Hemisphere Differences: Support natural brain functions regarding right and left hemisphere differences. The Neo-cortex is divided into two hemispheres that focus on different cognitive functions. The left hemisphere focuses on logic and sequence, words, analytic and linear thought and actions and verbal expression. The right hemisphere is artistic and creative, and focuses on casual, informal, intuitive, holistic, and nonverbal emotional thought.

Individuals have innate preferences for processing information from a left-brain perspective or from a right-brain perspective. Regardless of preference, your whole brain is involved in learning and functions best when both hemispheres are engaged. Traditional training that focuses on lecture and writing activities engages only the left hemisphere; 50% of the audience is under-stimulated and no one is learning optimally because only half the brain is engaged.

Use holistic, big picture challenges as well as Brain Gym™ exercises, music, color, creative problem solving activities, and increased physical activity to engage the right hemisphere and help provide the balance needed for optimal learning. Music (without words or word associations) is an especially powerful way to engage the right hemisphere.

Shifts Between External and Internal Processing: Support natural brain functions regarding shifts between external and internal processing. Our brains cycle from external events to internal stored memories and present interests about every 60 minutes. This natural process allows us to make connections between new information and what we already know. This shifting focus is critical to maintaining understanding, updating long-term memories and strengthening neural networks.

Work with this natural process by providing a break every 60 to 75 minutes. In addition to accommodating this natural shift, frequent breaks provide more beginnings and endings. Research has shown that people remember content near beginnings and endings more readily than middle content, so frequent breaks help participants learn and remember more and experience less stress and fatigue.

Characteristic 3: Non-Conscious Perception

Provide an input-rich environment that maximizes non-conscious perception and fully immerses the learner in an educational experience. The brain processes wholes and parts and makes meaning out of external and internal data on a conscious and non-conscious level continuously and simultaneously. Over 99% of the external and internal data processed by the brain at any given moment is non-conscious. Your brain absolutely thrives in high quality, high volume, and input-rich environments. What is perceived non-consciously supports learning.

Include lots of content rich posters, props, equipment, mobiles, models, etc., to help participants learn non-consciously as well as consciously. Since participants' brains are going to be processing a whole lot of data through non-conscious peripheral perception anyway, use the periphery—the walls, floor, and ceiling—to engage all the senses in the learning! Music, story and metaphor, color, movement, tactile involvement (touching and making things), and talking among participants also enriches the environment and increases peripheral learning.

Characteristc 4: Every Brain is Unique

Recognize and accommodate the fact that every brain is unique. Accelerated Learning approaches the learning experience as a holistic system that involves the entire learner. This includes physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual from the perspective of intrinsic motivation and joy in learning.

Learning Styles: We never question the fact that we have different glove sizes, shirtsleeve lengths or shoe sizes. Yet we expect our brains to learn in the same ways. Research in education and psychology has clearly documented that we have different preferences for how we take in information. Some people (60% - 70%) are visual learners, others are auditory (12% - 18%) learners, and the rest (18% - 30%) are kinesthetic learners. In addition, some prefer left-brain processing and others right-brain processing, some are externally focused while others are internally focused. All these learning style factors need to be considered in instructional design.

Multiple Intelligences: Just as we all learn differently, we also express what we know differently; learning and expressing what we learn are closely linked. We have come to recognize that intelligence is much broader than what is indicated in traditional IQ tests. Intelligence is multifaceted. Dr. Howard Gardner of Harvard University introduced eight different intelligences and proposed a ninth. [See Client Education for detailed information on Multiple Intelligences.] Daniel Goleman introduced us to Emotional Intelligence and Dr. Lawrence Sherman proposes Olfactory-Gustatory and Touch intelligences.

What does all this mean for training? Since an integral part of learning is making meaning and creating patterns from the new data, we must provide opportunities for learners to experiment and express what they know in more than one way.

In addition to logical, sequential, word-based visual learning, provide opportunities to engage the right brain and Visual-Spatial intelligence through images and creative exercises. Engage external processing, Inter-personal and Emotional intelligences through role-play and team problem solving. Allow for internal processing and Intra-personal intelligence through journal writing and time for notes on personal meaning and uses for the new learning.

Meet Existential intelligence needs through opportunities to ask and answer questions related to why we are here, what's the purpose of learning this content, what will happen when we finish the learning, etc.

Engage Musical intelligence by creating a song or rap that presents the content. And let people MOVE! Movement and tactile stimulation (Touch) enhance learning for everyone and is especially important for Kinesthetic learners and those with strong Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence. Engage Olfactory-Gustatory intelligence through integrated themes related to restaurants, food, flowers in a garden, etc. You can also use aromas—lemon, peppermint, cinnamon, and clove in particular—to stimulate concentration and learning. Citrus and peppermint hard candies on the tables are great ways to stimulate taste and support learning.

Characteristc 5: Active Learning

Provide the opportunity for active learning and processing through talking and feedback from peers. Active learning means that the learners are in charge at least 70% of the time. The instructor's participation is limited to 30%, and is heaviest in the beginning of the program when the groundwork of safety, trust, and freedom to learn are established.

Two Kinds of Memory: We have two kinds of memory: spatial and rote. When facts are embedded in natural, spatial memory, they are easier to understand and remember. Active learning engages the natural spatial memory routes of the right brain thus greatly supporting long-term memory!

Group Learning: Isolation of any sort is very stressful and inhibits learning. When participants are expected to listen quietly to a lecture, ask questions only during brief, defined moments ("Any questions?"), and "get it" only through hearing and seeing (no movement, talking, problem-solving or opportunity for reflection), their ability to learn is limited; they are isolated from the experiences and understandings of others and themselves.

In addition to time for Intra-personal reflection and connection, design learning to provide many opportunities for participants to talk, solve problems together, and get feedback from each other. Small group discussions allow learners to test understandings and formulate questions without fear of embarrassment or "failure." As the "trainer" your feedback has "right or wrong" connotations where peer feedback does not. Be attentive (but unobtrusive) listeners and be alert to misunderstandings that can be clarified in large group discussions.

Conclusion

By applying what we know about how the brain learns to how we design and deliver training, we free participants to learn using all their senses, learn from each other, and link new information with what they already know. Learning is fun, easy and success is absolutely assured when you provide a safe environment that allows the human brain to be itself and fully utilize its own potential.