ACCELERATED LEARNING: WHAT IS ALL THE FUSS ABOUT?

By Brin Best (www.brinbest.com)

IN THE LAST few years there has been a huge upsurge in interest from schools in the educational approach
known as accelerated learning. A number of influential books on the subject have been published, courses have
mushroomed and the major speakers on the topic have become media personalities in their own right. But for
many teachers the topic is still clouded in mystery and many are left wondering if this is just another new
initiative which is currently in fashion, but will soon fade away. This article attempts to explain what all the fuss
is about and consider what accelerated learning has to offer your more able students.

Accelerated learning and acceleration – what’s the difference?

One of the main reasons for confusion among teachers over what accelerated learning is stems from the related
and quite separate issue of acceleration (see definitions below). Accelerated learning – sometimes also called
brain-based or whole-brain learning – is essentially the learning that results from a set of teaching approaches
that takes account of how people learn most effectively. In the last couple of decades large advances have been
made into our understanding of the brain and the process of learning – some people estimate that over 80% of
what we know about the brain comes from research that has been conducted since 1980. The new research has
allowed us to look afresh at the ways that we teach, and consider how relevant these are in light of what we now
know about how people learn most effectively.

Key definitions

Accelerated learning – learning which proceeds at a faster rate, and with deeper understanding, than that
normally expected using conventional teaching methods. In the last few years techniques and approaches have
been developed, taking into account recent knowledge of how the brain works, that allow children to learn more
effectively. Accelerated learning also includes the promotion of a positive learning environment, and ensures
learners are in an appropriate physiological and psychological state to learn. The terms whole-brain learning
and brain-based learning are usually synonymous with accelerated learning.

Acceleration – the process whereby more able children’s education is fast-tracked by placing them in a higher
year group, or entering them early for examinations. It is being recommended by the government as a way of
personalising education for the most able.

The history of accelerated learning in the UK

There have been a number of important milestones in the history of accelerated learning and its practical
application in classrooms in the UK. Between 1950-1980 research was carried out by psychologists into
memory and learning, notably Georgi Lazanov, who applied the results to a method for language learning
called Suggestopaedia. This was the first attempt to apply what later became known as accelerated learning to
learning in a specific area.

In the 1980s two further milestones were reached. 1983 saw the publication of Howard Gardner’s book
Frames of Mind: the theory of multiple intelligences, which revolutionised our understanding of intelligence and
how it relates to learning. In 1985 Colin Rose’s book Accelerated Learning was published, the first popular
book on the subject. Rose put forward a jargon-free account of the principles of accelerated learning based on
the work of Lazanov and others.

In 1996 Alistair Smith’s book Accelerated Learning in the Classroom was published, the first book on the
subject aimed at teachers in the UK. This important work built on the principles outlined in Colin Rose’s work
and other books, and developed a practical approach for the classroom, called the accelerated learning cycle.
Throughout the late 1990s many teachers in UK schools enthusiastically embraced accelerated learning. During
this time a number of new books on the subject appeared which presented the ideas to specific audiences.

In 2001 Creating an Accelerated Learning School was published, an account of how a secondary school in
England, Cramlington Community High School in Northumberland, managed to embed accelerated learning
into every classroom. The school is widely recognised as the most advanced school in the country in its
application of the principles of accelerated learning, and has been highly praised in a recent OFSTED
inspection.

Accelerated learning explained

Although the different proponents of the accelerated learning approach often emphasise specific parts of the
overall model in favour of others, I believe that accelerated learning occurs when at least the following three
elements are all present:

 Learners’ are physically ready to learn – they learn most effectively when they are well nourished
and well hydrated, and when oxygen, light and temperature levels are appropriate. These factors can
profoundly affect brain function.
 Learners’ are psychologically ready to learn – high emotional stress can cause barriers to learning,
so learners must be in a postive emotional state to learn effectively so they can be motivated to engage
with the learning activities.
 Teachers use appropriate teaching techniques – these include making links with what students
already know, developing students’ thinking skills, developing students’ learning to learn skills, using
tools such as mind mapping and logovisual thinking, allowing students to demonstrate what they know
and using metacognitive techniques to review what has been learnt. Teachers need to design learning
activities as part of a logical sequence and take account of different preferred learning styles and
multiple intelligences. They must balance the teaching of subject knowledge with more generic
thinking skills as one cannot take place effectively without the other.

Various publications exist which recommend what you should do in your classroom to ensure accelerated
learning occurs (see ‘Further reading’). Particularly influential in this respect has been Alistair Smith’s
accelerated learning cycle, which has recently been revised from a seven to a four stage model. My own step-
by-step approach to creating an accelerated learning classroom, taken from my Accelerated Learning
Pocketbook, is given below.

Accelerated learning in a nutshell

The most effective learning occurs when all of these elements are combined in your lessons. Simply turning on
music or getting students to drink water or draw mind maps will not result in accelerated learning in itself, and
you must place great emphasis on the actual teaching strategies you use in your lessons.

1. Ensure your students are in the correct physical state to learn (proper hydration and nourishment are
important, as are room temperature and oxygen levels)
2. Use carefully chosen music to aid learning
3. Take account of your students’ emotional state
4. Create a supportive environment for learning but make activities challenging
5. Develop good working relationships with your students and use praise frequently
6. Plan inclusive learning activities that respect the full range of preferred learning styles and
intelligences, and are accessible to all students
7. Include the following sequence in lessons:

Part 1: put the learning in context

Part 2: starter

Part 3: main teaching and learning

 Part 4: plenary

8. Build in brain breaks for light physical activity

9. Use a variety of teaching methods, including thinking skills and visual tools to develop higher order
skills
10. Make learning skills such as mind-mapping and memory techniques part of your lesson
11. Encourage students to review their own learning and progress and set personal goals
12. Evaluate your lesson in consultation with your students

Accelerated learning results from effective teaching

It should be noted that many of these accelerated learning methods are unlikely to be ‘new’ to most teachers.
The best teachers have, of course, used many of these methods for years, without the need to give them any
special name. For these teachers, who have used their own professional judgement and experience to design
highly effective learning experiences, such techniques are simply effective teaching methods – some would say
‘common sense’. The accelerated learning approach adds weight to what we already do in the classroom by
suggesting a more comprehensive and systematic way to teach, using the most recent knowledge of how people
learn most effectively. But for most teachers it is a matter of building on what they already do rather than
starting again from scratch.

But do the techniques really work?

It must be stated from the outset that no comprehensive scientific studies exist that prove that the accelerated
techniques described above work for all students in all situations. However, the educational research world is an
extremely complicated place, where different researchers often do not agree about the methods to be used to test
the approaches, never mind whether the results themselves are statistically significant.

What the world of education psychology can tell us, however, is that many of the individual elements of the
accelerated learning approach do have a foundation in research studies which have had very positive effects on
learners. One example is work of the Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education (CASE) project, which
used thinking skills to help improve students’ understanding and test scores in science. An especially impressive
feature of this work was that students in the CASE lessons gained higher exam grades in maths and English than
their peers in non CASE lessons, as well as better scores in science.

Systematic studies comparing the results of standard teaching methods versus the accelerated learning methods
have not yet been carried out. My own research studies are attempting to address some of these issues. Despite
the lack of robust quantitative data showing the effects of the suite of accelerated learning techniques, there are
many powerful testimonies from schools in the UK which are hard to ignore. From both the primary and
secondary sector, from the leafy suburbs to tough inner city schools, the response from teachers has been
overwhelming. Many headteachers feel that the introduction of the principles of accelerated learning into their
schools has been the single most important factor in improving student attainment.

John Spendliffe Technology College in Alford, Lincolnshire, is one school that falls into this category.
Headteacher Paul Kitson credits accelerated learning as a key factor in the dramatic improvement in his school’s
SAT and GCSE results. Following attendance at a course led by Alistair Smith in 2000, he introduced a range of
measures to improve teaching and learning and a year later the school came out of Ofsted’s ‘Serious
Weaknessess’ category. SATs went from 34% in the core in 1998 to 59% in 2004, whereas GCSE results rose
from 23% A*-C in 1999 to over 33% in 2004. And overall student attendance improved from 87% in 2004 to
92.8% in 2004.

What can accelerated learning offer more able students?

My reading of the academic literature and my work with schools up and down the country convinces me that the
accelerated learning methods offer a genuine advance for teachers wishing to maximise learning. The benefits
for more able students could be profound, though the techniques are not designed specifically for able students.
In particular, I feel the methods could help more able students to:
  Become more engaged and motivated in their learning
 Be challenged by activities which are appropriate to their level and learning style
 Construct meaning by building on what they already know

Teachers wishing to take advantage of the accelerated learning methods should first reflect on the extent to
which they already use the principles in their lessons. They should then consider what steps need to be taken to
embrace more of the accelerated learning principles. If you are serious about using the methods in your
classroom the next step should be to invest in one of the books starred below, and to work in partnership with
others in your school to introduce more of the techniques into your lessons.

Further reading

*Best, B.J. (2003) The Accelerated Learning Pocketbook. Teachers’ Pocketbooks.

Best, B.J., Blake, A. and Varney, J. (2005). Making Meaning: learning through logovisual thinking. Chris
Kington Publishing.

Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L. and Cocking, R. R. eds (2000) How People Learn: brain, mind, experience and
school. National Academy Press.

Gardner, H. (1993) Frames of Mind: the theory of multiple intelligences. Bloomsbury.

Rose, C. (1985) Accelerated Learning. Accelerated Learning Systems Ltd.

Smith, A. (1998) Accelerated Learning in Practice. Network Educational Press.

Smith, A. (2002) The Brain’s Behind it: new knowledge about the brain and learning. Network Educational
Press.

*Smith, A. and Call, N. (1999) The Alps Approach: accelerated learning in primary schools. Network
Educational Press

*Smith, A., Wise, D. and Lovatt, M. (2003) Accelerated Learning: a user’s guide. Network Educational Press.

Wise, D. and Lovatt, M. (2001) Creating an Accelerated Learning School. Network Educational Press.

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