Accelerated Learning

Accelerated Learning



Accelerated Learning

Rationale

Many people think of Accelerated Learning as any activity that speeds up the learning process. Such things as studying in groups and occasional activities may increase learning, but as valuable as these teaching tools may be, true Accelerated Learning methodology is much more than that. Accelerated Learning is a systematic approach to teaching the whole person, containing specific core elements that, when used together, empower students to learn faster, more effectively and joyfully. To occasionally turn on a baroque tape or hang a few posters is to use but a few elements of the whole process. To get the most from Accelerated Learning you need to know how and when to use each element and understand the theory behind it.

Strategies

Developed in the 1970s, Accelerated Learning is based on the work of Dr. Georgi Lozanov, a professor of psychiatry and psychotherapy from Bulgaria now living in Austria. His early program, which focused on teaching a foreign language, included relaxation, visual arts and music. Students learned from one hundred to one thousand new vocabulary words a day with ninety-eight percent retention or better. He called his new method "Suggestology," based on the theory that suggestions can and do affect the outcome of learning.

According to Lozanov, Suggestology is an organized way of augmenting natural learning. It builds on those methods that allow us to learn most effectively and efficiently, emulating some of the ways we learned as a young child. Suggestology recaptures that natural learning process and accelerates the understanding and retention of content.

Today's Accelerated Learning is multifaceted, encompassing a wide variety of methods and techniques. An effective Accelerated Learning program may include new findings in multiple intelligences, learning styles, neurosciences and cognitive psychology. But to be true to Dr. Lozanov's original intent, it must take into account the basic beliefs, theories, assumptions and core elements of Suggestology:

Beliefs/Theories

1. Learning is dual-planned or paraconscious - we learn through both our conscious and subconscious mind. Suggestion is a powerful technique for tapping into the normally unused "reserves of the mind" to help the student learn faster and easier.

2. Everything makes a suggestion, either consciously or subconsciously. A student may be consciously listening to the teacher; subconsciously, his mind is aware of peripherals, the teacher's mood, tone and noises in the room.

3. There is no single stimulus. The very way we receive, or rather, perceive information is in a context.

4. Everything is constantly being processed, including symbols, rituals and associations.

5. There is no neutral: only positive or negative. Teachers need to make a concerted effort to create as many "positives" as possible, paying careful attention to creating a comfortable, safe and fun learning environment.

Assumptions

Teachers are the single most important factor.

Teachers must model and be congruent with the expected learning of the student.

Prestige of the teacher and method are important-learning is enhanced when the student has a positive belief in the teacher.

Beliefs in general are a crucial factor.

Teachers must believe in the virtually limitless capacity of the ...