Great Overview of Accelerated Learning and Suggestology

Recently I was at a spectacular Train The Trainer Program given by Peak Potentials. Check it out if you want to take your learning about presenting, marketing, and speaking to the next level. Tell them Joel Martin (395229) sent you. After 15+ years as a trainer traveling around the world facilitiating breakthrough results for groups of all ages in the public and private sector, I learned once again that there is always plenty to learn when one has a commitment to make dreams come true. (By the way, next I plan on attending Les Brown’s Speaker Summit in July in San Diego.)

While there at TT1, about 450 of us heard over and over and __________ about accelerated learning and suggestology. So being the curious ever ready to learn person that I am, I goggled the terms.

I am including a sample from a really clear article that I found online . There were many companies selling programs but this writer had a teaching commitment. Love that. Good or good.

Accelerated Learning by Bobbi DePorter

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. 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.

And more…

Learning teaching frame follows as an example. This frame was developed by Learning Forum, a company specializing in Accelerated Learning programs for students, educators and business people through its SuperCamp and Quantum Learning programs.

Quantum Learning Frame Enroll: Hook the students with an intriguing opening statement and global picture of the lesson. Pique their curiosity. Give them a glimpse of what is to come without revealing too much. Enrolling students establishes rapport and ignites a desire to explore.

Experience: Give students an experience or activity that demonstrates the lesson. Create a need to know. An experience creates curiosity and emotional engagement. It allows students to tap into prior knowledge and make connections, adding meaning and relevance to the content.

Label: Drop the “data” in at the moment of peak interest and discuss its relevance to students’ lives. Explaining the lesson after the experience capitalizes on the student’s natural desire to label, sequence and define new learning.

Demonstrate: Provide opportunities for students to translate and apply their new knowledge to other situations. Giving students additional activities demonstrates to them what they know, and builds confidence.

Review: Cement it in the students’ minds. Review strengthens the neural connections, increasing retention.

Celebrate: Celebrate your students’ success. Celebration brings closure by honoring effort, diligence and success. The Quantum Learning teaching frame ensures that the lesson is taught on several different levels. Enrolling the students first piques their curiosity, creates excitement and raises expectations - all positive emotions. Allowing them to experience the lesson through a game or activity engages the student, making the lesson more concrete and more fun.

At the end of the activity, students may have more questions then they began with - this is the teacher’s cue to “label” the information, explaining and debriefing what was just learned. A demonstration helps students connect their experience with the new learning, and a quick review cements it in their memories.

Finally, the class celebrates their success - with high-fives, saying words of acknowledgment, playing upbeat music, or giving a class cheer. Though the students may not know it, the entire lesson was a carefully orchestrated Accelerated Learning experience.

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