| During the past couple of months, I have been | | | | and process information. |
| privileged and overjoyed to have spent some | | | | This means that what they are learning can be |
| time with my Brother and sister-in-law's beautiful | | | | encoded in multiple ways, making it more rapidly |
| 6 month old baby. It is truly amazing to behold | | | | and effectively part of them. |
| how she learns and develops. | | | | Therefore, engage more of your senses in the |
| While most of us are holding down jobs and/or | | | | act of consciously learning. Always consider how |
| raising children, and generally leading busy lives, | | | | you can incorporate more of the senses into |
| learning things faster would be a very welcome | | | | even formal learning using more visual, more |
| skill to acquire. Wouldn't you agree? | | | | auditory and more kinaesthetic stimulus. For |
| If you want to know how to accelerate your | | | | instance, you could make notes, construct models |
| ability to learn, it is useful to engage in a little | | | | and literally walk things through (kinaesthetic), |
| modelling of the most amazing learning machines | | | | create mind-maps, colourful visuals and use |
| in the world: Babies, toddlers and children. Seeing | | | | coloured pens (visual), or play music by Baroque |
| my niece developing so fast made me think. | | | | composers such as Bach or Vivaldi, which has |
| When we were children we learnt a phenomenal | | | | been shown to enhance concentration and learning |
| amount in a very short time, not just information | | | | (auditory). |
| and knowledge but also social skills, body-mind | | | | Step Five: Your efforts are frequently praised or |
| co-ordination and much, much more. So how did | | | | rewarded. |
| we do this? | | | | Very young children usually get plenty of praise |
| I want to show you how to identify the right | | | | for trying to do things, as well as for actually |
| conditions for learning, so that you can once more | | | | achieving them. You know when everyone |
| be free to learn as effectively as you did when | | | | delights at them doing something. Even if there |
| you were a small child. | | | | comes a time when the grown-ups start to take |
| So how did you manage it all those years ago? | | | | their skills for granted, there has usually been a |
| The first five years of your life represent the | | | | good grounding of positive encouragement for |
| most amazing accelerated learning programme | | | | first efforts at sitting, crawling, and standing, |
| ever developed. Not all of this is necessarily | | | | talking and walking. With luck, a foundation has |
| "good", of course, in terms of its usefulness later | | | | been laid, which can become the basis of |
| in life but certainly small children learn thoroughly | | | | self-encouragement in their willingness to take on |
| and with every part of themselves. They learn | | | | the risk of trying new things. |
| without labelling what they are doing as learning. | | | | Today, find ways to praise and reward yourself. |
| They begin to map out their world through the | | | | Use encouraging internal dialogue. Break your goal |
| fullest use of all their senses every waking | | | | down into stages and give yourself treats for |
| moment. This is truly total immersion learning. | | | | accomplishing each stage. |
| Everyone starts out as a fast learner. I mean | | | | Step Six: Free yourself of success and failure |
| everyone. | | | | notions. |
| 8 Steps To Fast Learning: | | | | The early learning child or baby has not yet learnt |
| Step One: You have to want to learn. | | | | to think in terms of "success" and "failure" - so |
| When we are little, life is fascinating because | | | | they are not easily daunted when something does |
| everything is utterly new to us. We don't yet | | | | not work out. In fact, being frustrated is more |
| have experiences or filters that tell us some | | | | likely to make them want to try again. |
| things are more important or more worthwhile | | | | Very small children mostly do not get labelled as |
| than others. Everything is new, everything gives | | | | failures when they try something that does not |
| us more to absorb. | | | | work. Children's first words, or first steps, are too |
| Learning is highly meaningful for a number of | | | | exciting and too major for most adults to |
| reasons: because it is interesting, because it | | | | discount them as not good enough. A new walker |
| relates to some immediate goal, because it is | | | | who falls is likely to be encouraged to try again. |
| rewarded, because it helps us to model someone | | | | Be kind about your mistakes and limitations. |
| who is important to us, because it gives us more | | | | People who endlessly criticise themselves tend to |
| autonomy, power or means of self-expression - | | | | become disheartened. Those who forgive errors |
| and because we are curious and just want to | | | | and lapses make much better progress. |
| know. | | | | Step Seven: Pace Yourself. |
| All these reasons give us important incentives to | | | | When they lose interest, or get tired, babies |
| learn fast and learn well. The process of learning is | | | | simply switch to something else or fall asleep. |
| something the learner actively wants to do. | | | | They have not yet learnt to pressurise |
| So, make sure you are motivated - have a good | | | | themselves unduly or to make unreasonable |
| reason for anything that you want to learn, and | | | | demands of themselves. |
| know what it is. | | | | Pace yourself- do not drive yourself too hard. |
| Step Two: Engage In The Moment. | | | | Even when you are doing well - perhaps especially |
| Very small children pay a lot of attention to what | | | | when you are doing well - have a break. And do |
| is going on around them and what they are doing. | | | | not move the goalposts because you achieved |
| They are not thinking about how today compares | | | | something sooner or more easily than you |
| with yesterday or looking for references of | | | | expected. |
| similar experiences. Those concepts come later in | | | | Step Eight: Digest and process. |
| life. | | | | The early learner sleeps long and deep, which |
| They are not distracting themselves. They can | | | | gives the unconscious mind time to process what |
| and do get distracted, but then they are totally | | | | has been learnt, and the body time to recover |
| immersed in the distraction. Attention is 100 per | | | | from exertion and build its strength. |
| cent. They focus and are concentrated. | | | | Sleep is a major ingredient in successful learning, it |
| So, catch wandering thoughts. It may well help to | | | | allows the body to rest and repair itself after |
| write down things that require action later, so that | | | | exertion. Mental exertion requires energy and |
| you do not have to carry them alongside what | | | | stamina, so any kind of learning is potentially tiring. |
| you are currently doing. Having done so, bring | | | | Learning is processed and stored unconsciously - |
| yourself back to the here-and-now. | | | | which is why we relatively soon forget the actual |
| Step Three: Be immersed in the learning | | | | processes that are involved in even complex skills |
| experience. | | | | like walking, talking or reading. And sleep is a time |
| At those young ages, learning is done in a highly | | | | when the unconscious part of the mind is very |
| associated state which produces high neurological | | | | active in processing new material and making |
| and physiological engagement and enables the | | | | connections. |
| learner to make huge strides very rapidly. | | | | Respect your body's need for rest. Give yourself |
| Choose your timing, and your setting, and your | | | | enough sleep time to process what you have |
| state to give yourself the best chance of | | | | learnt. |
| becoming immersed. Cultivate the art of being | | | | So, now we have seen the criteria for that kind |
| fully associated in your experience. So really tune | | | | of fast learning that babies and toddlers do. Think |
| in, be aware of what you are seeing, hearing and | | | | of ways that you can apply these seven simple |
| feeling. This leads nicely on to our next step... | | | | steps to your own learning processes whenever |
| Step Four: Use all your senses when learning. | | | | and wherever they may be. Have some fun with |
| Children do not think about how they learn, or | | | | this. |
| should learn. All their senses are on-line to pick up | | | | |