What is Accelerated Learning?

You see colorful posters on the walls. Music is playing. You find participants working in groups, playing memory or a board game to learn the materials of their content area. Or, perhaps, participants are developing a skit, creating learning activities to teach other groups, putting together magazine cut-outs to make a collage to demonstrate good customer service.
You are in a learning program using Accelerated Learning, and Accelerated Learning is more than just the inclusion of music and the arts, more than playing learning games that are effective and fun, even more than designing learning to appeal to all learning styles. It is a method that begins with the premise that each person is capable of much, much more than they think is possible. AL assumes that our own limiting beliefs about ourselves, our abilities and learning itself often get in the way of our learning potential. In an AL classroom, the facilitator creates multiple opportunities for individual and group experiences that enable participants to move beyond those limiting beliefs and tap into their inner wisdom, their hidden potential. The facilitator, the learning environment and the design of the learning process are key determining factors in the success of learning and the development of the capacity to learn.

The Facilitator

AL teachers or trainers act at all times as facilitators of learning. They create and support positive group dynamics and give attention to individuals and their needs. IAL places great importance on the personal development of the AL facilitator to become the kind of person who can create a learning space in which each person thrives. AL facilitators are comfortable with ambiguity, and can “read” the group and make good decisions about what is important at any given time in the learning process. They are people who are open to learning potential, and who open up possibilities. They challenge, coach, inspire and guide.
AL facilitators change roles easily to support learning. They can be actors/actresses on stage, great story-tellers and entertainers, and then, as easily take a step back and hand over the stage to the learners, support them in discovering their own answers, guide them in developing new questions and help them mastering the learning through experimentation and carefully orchestrated practice sessions.
To guide the learning process successfully, AL facilitators are trained to see, hear, and feel more of what is happening in the group. They develop sensory acuity or heightened observation skills and can use language and positive suggestion to support learning and development. In fact, the AL facilitator is so important that the training to become an IAL certified facilitator places equal importance on personal mastery and growth and to the development of the skills to use the tools of AL effectively.

The Learning Environment

The facilitator creates and maintains a safe and stimulating learning environment. In an AL learning program, the space looks and feels different than in more traditional classrooms. Lighting, seating arrangements, wall space, and the materials used are all chosen or designed to create an environment that is aesthetically pleasing, interaction rich, and appealing to all learning styles. Participants see the important content on the walls. Music supports learning and retention. Movement and interaction with one another and the content is encouraged. The physical and emotional environment provide safety and invite learners to experiment and grow.

The Learning Design

Accelerated Learning design appeals to all learning and processing styles. The AL cycle offers a template to design and facilitate that provides a framework for success. It enables facilitators to adjust their design to accommodate what is happening in the learning environment. The Accelerated Learning design is an open system that provides enough of the right kind of structure to give guidance and ensure success time and time again. You will find many different AL cycles using various names for the key elements. All of them include the preparation of the learner for the learning, activities that motivate and engage learners emotionally and mentally, the teaching of new content or processes in a way that involves learners through simulations, experiments, concert readings or other creative presentation forms. In the practice phases, you will find game-like activities that support participants in mastering the material from more facilitator supported to more learner-directed. To bring closure to the learning, you will find activities to allow learners to integrate the learning into their lives, to reflect on the learning and its relevance to them, and to celebrate success.
In the preparation stages, the AL design involves finding out what the limiting beliefs or suggestions of learners might be, and then carefully creating activities and an environment that de-suggests or helps learner move beyond their limiting mental models and expand their perspectives. During the learning process, the aware facilitator revises the design as needed, and creates possibilities to support the creation of new and empowering beliefs and mindsets.