The science behind Accelerated Learning: an exploration of the research, theory and results
By Bill Lucas (July 2005 Issue)
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Is fast learning a good thing? Is it better to be slower and deeper? Or does it depend on what you are learning? Is AL based on good science about the way we learn? Is it a blend of neuro and psycho-babble masquerading as a theory of learning? Or is it somewhere in between, with some useful bits and some questionable assertions and propositions? Let’s explore these questions in a little more detail.
What is AL?
Search the Internet for ‘accelerated learning’ and you will find more than three million potential sites to visit. The vast majority of these are publishers, training providers and purveyors of educational or self-improvement resources. There are also journals, societies and ‘institutes’. If you want to you can become accredited as an AL practitioner. In other words, like any good idea, this whole field has been commercialised.
There is no one accepted definition of AL today. I offer this synthesis of the many definitions that I have looked at: ‘Accelerated learning combines aspects of adult learning theory with “brain-based” approaches, in order to achieve faster learning rate.’
Different thinkers also advocate different models of the learning process, many putting emphasis on the engagement and demonstration stages. Let’s explore which aspects of adult learning theory are relevant and what it is about the brain that practitioners of AL think is important. But before we embark on our journey, let me try to tell the story so far.
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