Seven Guiding Principles of Accelerated Learning
The following Seven Guiding Principles of Accelerated Learning are the based on The Accelerated Learning Handbook by Dave Meier. These principles were derived from detailed studies of the human mind and how it acquires knowledge. These principles are intended to be used to create impactful learning that engages both the whole brain as well as the conscious and unconscious mind.
To correctly implement accelerated learning techniques it is essential to understand the basic principles.
Seven Guiding Principles of Accelerated Learning
- Learning involves the whole mind and body
- Learning is creation, not consumption
- Collaboration aids learning
- Learning takes place on many levels simultaneously
- Learning comes from doing the work itself (with feedback)
- Positive emotions greatly improve learning
- The image brain absorbs information instantly and automatically
Links
Accelerated Learning Delivery Methods
Accelerated Learning Environment
Seven Guiding Principles of Accelerated Learning Explained
Learning Involves the Whole Mind and Body
Learning is not just in the “head”.
Good learning involves the whole mind and body with all its emotions, senses and receptors.
Traditional instruction focus on the conscious, rational, left-brained, and verbal, but ignores the other senses.
Learning should involve physicality of person, with all the senses, receptors and emotions that go with it.
Learning is Creation, Not Consumption
Knowledge is not something a learner absorbs, but rather something a learner creates.
Learning happens when a learner integrates new knowledge and skill into his or her existing structure of self.
Learning is the creation of new meanings, new neural networks, and new patterns of electro/chemical interactions within his or her brain/body system.
Collaboration Aids Learning
Good learning has a social base.
We often learn more by interacting with others than we learn by any other means.
Competition between learners slows learning, while cooperation among learners speeds it up.
A collaborative learning community is always better for learning than a collection of isolated individuals.
Learning Takes Place on Many Levels Simultaneously
Learning is not a matter of absorbing one thing at a time in linear fashion, but rather absorbing many things at once.
Good learning engages people on many levels simultaneously (conscious and Para-conscious, mental and physical).
It uses all the brain/body system’s receptors, senses and paths it can.
The brain, after all, is not a sequential, but a parallel processor and thrives when it is challenged to do many things at once.
Learning comes from doing the work itself (With feedback)
People learn best in context.
Things learned in isolation are hard to remember and quick to evaporate.
Real and concrete information is better than hypothetical and abstract concepts – provided there is time for total immersion, feedback, reflection and re-immersion.
We learn to do by doing – we learn how to swim by swimming, and we learn to sing by singing.
Positive Emotions Greatly Improve Learning
Feelings determine both the quality and quantity of one’s learning.
Negative feelings inhibit learning, whereas positive feelings accelerate it.
Learning that is joyful, relaxed and engaging is more effective, than when it is dull, dreary and stressful.
The image brain absorbs information instantly and automatically
Concrete images are much easier to grasp and retain than are verbal abstractions.
The human nervous system is more of an image processor than a word processor.
Translating verbal abstractions into concrete images will make them easier to remember.
Reference:
Meier, Dave: The Accelerated Learning Handbook: A Creative Guide to Designing and Delivering Faster, More Effective Training Programs, McGraw-Hill New York, 2000
