Effective Learning Service

Accelerated Learning
Contact details:
Effective Learning Service
Tel: 01274 234414 | Email: M.T.Sedgley@bradford.ac.uk | Web: www.bradford.ac.uk/management/els
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Accelerated learning and effective learning are interchangeable ideas.

There are three main elements at the heart of becoming an effective
learner:















This workbook will look at each of these, but will focus on developing
effective learning techniques that connect with your skills and personality.
1. MOTIVATION
Effective learners are
clear and honest with
themselves about their
reasons for learning;
reasons that sustain
them when the going
gets tough.
3. EFFECTIVE
LEARNING
TECHNIQUES

Effective learners have
developed a range of
study techniques that
save time, effort and
connect with their skills
& personalities.
2. REFLECTION
Effective learners think
critically about what
and how they learned,
the ways they could use
the knowledge, and
what they might do to
learn more effectively in
the future.
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Being clear about reasons for choosing a particular learning activity is one
of the key elements in becoming an effective learner. If you are unclear
or unsure of your reasons for starting a particular course of learning, you
may become quickly disillusioned and disinterested in your studies.
There are three main connecting reasons why adults voluntarily
participate in formal training or education:












Specific Goal Oriented Motivation: this is about having clear
external or extrinsic objectives in mind for learning, e.g. to gain a
qualification; learn a specific skill for work purposes.

Social & Activity Oriented Motivation: this is about meeting
others with similar interests in a structured and dynamic way;
learning offers a good chance to meet new people and learn from
each other.

Learning Oriented Motivation: many students are also drawn to
education because they want to study subjects that really interest
them; the intrinsic interest in a subject tends to be the primary
motivator.

The reasons for learning can be mixed, but one reason may dominate
over others, although this can change over time.

What are your reasons for starting the course you are on?

Complete the questionnaire that follows:





1. MOTIVATION
Goal Oriented
Motivation
Social & Activity
Oriented
Motivation

Learning Oriented
Motivation
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MOTIVES FOR STUDY IN HIGHER EDUCATION


Look through the reasons for learning in both columns below, and rank them in
order of importance to you. If an item listed is completely irrelevant to you, ignore
it.

COLUMN ONE


From my university study I want to:
Ranking
Gain an advanced qualification
Achieve a good class or classification of degree
Improve my career opportunities generally
Be able to find a well-paid job
Develop professional business skills
Experience life as a student
Meet & work with a wide range of people
Develop a wider set of life interests
Other reasons (say what they are):


COLUMN TWO

From my university study I want to:
Ranking
Improve my ability to think and reason
Push myself intellectually to the limit
Gain more personal confidence
Become more knowledgeable about life generally
Try out new things
Gain a deep understanding of business subjects
Look at life, people & situations in new & different ways
Develop my ability to solve problems
Other reasons (say what they are):



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What are the four most important things you want from your time at university (usually
the ones you rated 1 & 2 from each column)?

Column 1 Column 2
1



1
2



2


1. So, what do you think you have to do to achieve these four main goals? Write
in the space below. These may be, for example, the main challenges to you or
for you in achieving these goals:




























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There is no one right way to learn.
However, it is worthwhile identifying what study techniques suit your
personality best. Howard Gardners ideas on multiple intelligence, for
example, can offer you a way of developing effective learning techniques
that connect with your intelligence type.
INTELLIGENCE
Intelligence tests have traditionally been constructed around four main
ability areas:
1. Numerical
2. Linguistic
3. Spatial
4. Logical/reasoning (which draws largely from the other three areas)
However, Howard Gardner, Professor of Education, Harvard University,
has argued that we can identify in people at least eight different
intelligences or sets of abilities and personal traits.
Gardners ideas will be explained in more detail later, but first complete
the questionnaire that follows.
There are 80 questions for you to consider in terms of your extent or
strength of engagement with the topic.
You can respond from 1 to 5 to each of them.
1 is the lowest response, usually implying a negative
reaction/no experience/no interest
5 is the highest response, usually implying a very positive
reaction/response or interest
Work fairly quickly through the questions and tick the response that is
closest to your feelings on the question or statement presented.



2. EFFECTIVE LEARNING TECHNIQUES
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Code Question
1 2 3 4 5
M As a child, to what extent did you have
a liking for music/music classes?

K In school, to what extent did you enjoy
sports/gym classes more than other
classes?

L As a child, to what extent did you easily
learn maths, such as addition,
multiplication, etc.?

S As a child, to what extent did you often
build or make things out of available
material?

W To what extent do you enjoy games
involving words, or the sounds of
words?

P To what extent have you had
friendships that have lasted for a long
time?

I To what extent do you have a clear
sense of who you are and want you
want out of life?

N To what extent is it easy for you to
understand and care for animals?

M To what extent can you play a musical
instrument?

K As a teenager, to what extent did you
regularly play sports or engage in gym
activities?

L In school, to what extent did you ever
have a particular interest in maths?

S As a teenager or adult, to what extent
did you enjoy getting involved in art
and/or design?

W To what extent have you ever written,
outside of school, a story, poetry or a
song?

P To what extent are you good at solving
conflicts at work, home or elsewhere?

I To what extent are you aware of your
feelings and able to control your
moods?

N To what extent have you ever studied
wildlife in your own time, outside of
formal school or college study?

M To what extent do you have a good
voice for singing, either alone or with
others?

K To what extent are you good at things
that require hand/eye coordination, e.g.
juggling?

L To what extent are you curious about
why or how things work?

S To what extent can you design & make
the best use of space around you?

W How effective are you at bargaining or
making a deal with people?

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Code Question
1 2 3 4 5
P To what extent do you feel you easily
understand the feelings, wishes or
needs of others?

I To what extent do you plan and work
hard towards personal goals (home or
work)?

N To what extent are you good at
observing & learning about nature & the
natural world?

M To what extent do you have music on
to aid work, study or relaxation?

K To what extent are you good at doing
precision craft related work with your
hands?

L To what extent are you good at
designing systems for dealing with work
related issues?

S How easily can you work out how to put
together or assemble something, e.g.
self-assembly furniture?

W To what extent, when others disagree,
are you able to easily say what you
think or feel?

P To what extent do you enjoy working
with others in groups or teams?

I To what extent do you know and
understand your own motivations?

N To what extent are you interested in
natural or life sciences?

M To what extent can you identify the
sounds of different musical
instruments?

K To what extent do you remember best
what you have done (compared to seen
or heard?)

L To what extent do you enjoy mental
tests or puzzles?

S To what extent do you have a good
sense of direction?

W To what extent do you learn best by
discussion with others?

P To what extent, for socialising, do you
generally prefer parties/group activity?

I To what extent have you a sense of
your own strengths and weaknesses?

N To what extent do you have a strong &
active interest in environmental
issues?

M To what extent can you remember
tunes or rhythm in music?

K To what extent do you like to think
through problems while engaged in
physical pursuits or exercise?

L To what extent do you like to
categorize, group or organise things?

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Code Question 1 2 3 4 5
S To what extent do you find that films,
slides & videos are particularly
significant in helping you learn?

W To what extent do you enjoy speaking
formally in public?

P To what extent are you an easy person
to get to know?

I To what extent do you get angry or
badly frustrated when you fail or things
go wrong for you?

N To what extent would you enjoy
working in some form of
environment/nature related career?



M To what extent can you easily identify
composers by just listening to the
music?

K To what extent can you concentrate &
sit still for long periods?



L To what extent are you interested in
science or solving science related
problems?

S To what extent are you good at judging
spaces and distances between things?

W To what extent are you good at
explaining things logically to others?

P To what extent would you consider
yourself to be a person who easily takes
good advice from others?

I To what extent do you prefer to think
through your own problems, rather
than seek advice from others?

N To what extent are you informed about
global environmental issues?

M To what extent is music important in
your life?

K To what extent do you prefer physical
leisure activity to non-physical?

L To what extent do you take a
systematic, step-by-step approach to
solving problems?

S To what extent are you creative in a
visual way, e.g. art/photography/design
etc?

W To what extent are you a convincing
speaker?

P To what extent do you consider yourself
to be a sociable person?

I To what extent is thinking problems
out alone more important than talking
them out with others?

N To what extent do you relax and
unwind outdoors?

M To what extent do you discuss or listen
to music in the company of others?


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Code Question 1 2 3 4 5
K To what extent do you enjoy physical
movement as a form of relaxation?

L To what extent do you always look for a
logical explanation of things?

S To what extent are you observant & see
things others do not notice?

W To what extent are you good at verbally
explaining things to other people?

P To what extent can you take the lead in
discussion with groups of people?

I To what extent do you look for unique
or unusual ways to solve personal
problems or achieve personal goals?

N To what extent can you identify the
differences between plants?

M Do you have a strong liking for the
sound of certain instruments or
groups?

K To what extent do you enjoy any form
of travel, even bus and train journeys?

L To what extent are you good at
budgeting with money?

S To what extent can you visualize how
things look from different perspectives?

W To what extent do you enjoy
expressing your ideas in writing?

P To what extent can you make people
feel comfortable and at ease with you
or each other?

I To what extent do you like to do things
by yourself?

N To what extent are you concerned with
environmental issues



Go to the scoring section on the next page.







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SCORING THE QUESTIONNAIRE
First, add up the total score allocated to questions in each of the eight
recurring code categories. The maximum score possible for any of the
eight categories is 50.
Write the total scores for each category in the spaces below.
M

K

L

S

W

P I N

Next, rank your scores, with the highest at the top, in the column below.
Code Ranking

















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The eight intelligence areas identified by Gardner are:
Code Title of Intelligence
W Linguistic
L Mathematical/logical
S Visual/spatial
K (Kinesthetic) Bodily/Physical
M Musical
P Interpersonal
I Intrapersonal
N Environment/nature related

Most of us have some skills and traits in all eight areas, although we tend
to incline more to at least one of the eight areas.














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THE EIGHT INTELLIGENCES:
Remember, most of us will have some aptitude or interest in some
aspects of all of these. But it is likely that you are particularly inclined to
at least one of these eight intelligences.

1. LINGUISTIC INTELLIGENCE:
This is the ability to use language in an advanced
way.
You are likely to be tuned-in to the meanings,
power, rhythms and influence of words, in both
spoken or written forms.
You are likely to be interested and proficient in one
or more of:
Learning languages
Verbal arguments/debating
Crosswords, word puzzles
Letter/report writing
Form filling
Research
Creative writing
Giving clear explanations
Giving instructions
Essay writing
Careers:
There are very few careers, if any, that will not involve the use of words!
However, what is referred to here is an advanced application of this skill in
the work market.
Authors, journalists, poets, politicians and advertisers are obvious
examples of people with advanced linguistic intelligence and who have
decided to apply this skill in a particular way.
Other relevant careers include publishing, library & information services,
teaching, translating, sales, public relations and marketing.



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2. LOGICAL/MATHEMATICAL
INTELLIGENCE:

The ability to reason and calculate, to think things
through in a logical, systematic and quantifiable
manner.

It also involves the ability to detect patterns and
make connections between different phenomena or
activities and to understand relationships between actions.

It involves both inductive and deductive reasoning skills and a critical-
creative approach to problem solving.

You are likely to enjoy the process of analytical thinking expected of you in
higher education, which requires you to submit a theory, model or practice
to rigorous examination.

You are likely to be interested in one or more of:

Budgeting
Accounts
Planning
Calculating
Strategy
Logic
Estimating quantities
Managing/planning time
Mathematics
Statistics
Computing

Careers:

These are the kinds of skills highly developed in economists, accountants
and all accounting related careers, members of the legal profession, plus
engineers, computer programmers and scientists.



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3. VISUAL-SPATIAL INTELLIGENCE:

The ability to visualize a creative result in relation
to physical space and/or animate or inanimate
forms.

It includes the ability to think in
three-dimensional ways and to convert these ideas
into some form of tangible creative form.

It also includes the ability to work with a range
of tools or resources to produce a finished object.

But you also use this skill if you have a good sense of direction and the
relationship of objects to space and distance.
You are likely to be interested in one or more of:
Art & design in all forms, including photography
Visual planning
Creative activities involving material objects
Crafts
Decoration
Body & hair care
Imagery: use of mental imagery for all creative or
observational activities
Careers:
Architects, artists, designers, photographers, beauty therapists,
hairdressers and strategic planners have all decided to apply this skill; but
it is also required of pilots, navigators, professional drivers and surveyors.





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4. BODILY/PHYSICAL INTELLIGENCE
The ability to use and synchronise your body
deftly, skilfully or creatively to make things, or
solve physically related problems; to test
yourself against others physically; or to present
ideas, moods and emotions.

You are likely to be interested in one or more
of:

Sport
Dance
Athletics
Manual & craft work of all kinds
Walking/outdoor pursuits
Remedial physical work, e.g. massage
Careers:
This ability is most obviously displayed in athletic pursuits, dancing, acting,
crafts, building and construction, medical/physical remedial careers and a
wide range of outdoor-manual jobs.


5. MUSICAL INTELLIGENCE
The ability to make or compose music, sing well,
keep rhythm, or understand and appreciate
music.
It can also involved being sensitive to the nuance,
emotion or mood expressed by or related to
sounds.
It can also connect with a particular interest you may have in audio or
audio/visual forms of communication.
Careers:
It is a skill applied obviously by musicians, composers, recording & sound
engineers and others with a related interest in sound and especially music.
Speech and hearing therapists are also likely to have an interest in this
particular intelligence.

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6. INTERPERSONAL (Social) INTELLIGENCE
It is concerned with the capacity and ability to understand the motivations
and actions of others. It is applied in an ability to work effectively with
others, to relate well to other people and help others develop.
This is a vital human intelligence displayed by proficient teachers,
facilitators, therapists, politicians, religious leaders and sales people.

You are likely to be interested in one or more of:

Team work/group work
Leading others
Mentoring others
Managing/supervising others
Helping others with problems
Teaching/training others
and the wide range of socially oriented jobs that connect with this skill.


7. INTRAPERSONAL (Inner) INTELLIGENCE
This involves the ability for self-analysis and reflection,
including honestly assessing one's accomplishments,
reviewing own behaviour and innermost feelings, making
realistic plans and setting clear goals.

You are likely to be interested in one or more of:

Planning your own time
Understanding your own or other peoples feelings & moods
Understanding other peoples motives or behaviour
Setting personal goals
Keeping a personal diary or journal
Creative writing
Looking for wider connections between things that happen
Careers:

This ability is increasingly relevant and necessary in many jobs involving
close interaction, supervision or observation of others, and reflection on
self and the motives of others, and particularly so in the case of
counsellors, psychologists, writers and artists.
Interpersonal and Intrapersonal intelligences are often closely related.
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8. ENVIRONMENTAL INTELLIGENCE
The ability to recognise and categorise flora and fauna
and other features or elements of the natural world.

You are likely to be significantly interested in one or
more of:

Biology
Ecology
Horticulture/gardening
Wildlife/nature
Environment/conservation
Animals/animal welfare
Careers:
Farmers, botanists, horticulturists, conservationists, biologists,
environmentalists, environment campaigners and animal welfare workers
would all apply this intelligence.



























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CONNECTING YOUR SKILLS TO EFFECTIVE STUDY
TECHNIQUES

It may appear that if you are a student on a formal course there is little
choice about how you learn.

On organised courses you have to attend lectures and seminars at set
times in set places and which can be presented in set ways. The lecturer
will present his or her subject, and the student takes notes, or adds to the
notes supplied by the lecturer.

However, there are a significant number of opportunities to exercise your
independence in the way you study and in particular the way you:

Motivate and organise yourself
Manage your time
Work with others
Engage with private reading
Critically analyse ideas
Plan and write assignments
Revise for examinations

There may be ways to develop effective study techniques that tap into the
intelligence types that you incline to.

The following pages present a range of learning techniques that are in two
sections.

1. Those relevant for everyone all intelligence types (see
page 19)

2. Ideas that may be of particular interest to students in the
relevant intelligence type groups (see pages 20-29)


This is not an exhaustive range of ideas, but are just suggestions to get
you thinking. You may well have ideas of your own based on your own
school, college or work experiences of what approaches to learning work
best for you.

If you have effective learning technique ideas of your own that you would
like to contribute to this booklet, please Email your ideas to Martin
Sedgley, m.t.sedgley@bradford.ac.uk. If used, your idea will be
acknowledged in any future edition of the booklet.

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The following techniques can work well for everyone, irrespective of
intelligence type.

BRAINSTORMING

Brainstorming any topic can be a successful approach to learning,
particularly when looking for solutions to case study problems or
preparing for assignments.

Brainstorming can start by writing down a single word, phrase or full
sentence. You then write down anything that you think of to capture the
ideas the words spark off. You could, for example, write down the
problem or a question at the centre of some paper then just write down
ideas as they occur to you. Brainstorming is particularly effective when
done in a group.

The secret of good brainstorming is to let your mind run loose and not be
afraid to come up with unusual angles and responses; the motto for
group and individual is anything goes: workable ideas often arrive from
starting with seemingly weird or impractical suggestions.

STUDY-BUDDY

Find another student on the same course (a study-buddy) and meet up
regularly to just talk through with each other the main points from a
lecture, seminar or set reading.

You can, for example, share-out your reading with a study-buddy in a jig-
saw approach to learning. Both students agree to read half of a book
chapter. They then meet and tell each other about their own half of the
chapter.

STUDY GROUPS

Similar to study-buddy, but involves a group meeting on a regular basis
and agreeing in advance on an agenda.

You could, for example, agree to review a particular lecture, read a
selected chapter of a set book or work on an essay together etc. You
could get one person in rotation to start off the agreed discussion and use
group brainstorming methods to bring ideas up to the surface.

Have a look now at techniques that can connect with your intelligence type
(between pages 20-29). However, you may find it useful to look at other
sections too, as ideas from other intelligence types may also appeal to you.

GENERIC EFFECTIVE LEARNING TECHNIQUES
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1. LINGUISTIC INTELLIGENCE

If your main skill is in LINGUISTIC areas, you could try these study
techniques that tap into your interest and skill with words:













Example:
Creative thinking in business can be advanced using a five-step approach. These
five key things are summarised by the mnemonic: FARCE

F A R C E
FOUR-WAY
THINKING:

The way to
break out of
rigid thinking is
to look at the
problem from
four different
directions
(front to back;
back to front;
bottom up; &
top down.


ALTERNATIVES:


Always look for
alternatives to the
obvious solution. If
you stop looking,
after finding one
answer that seems
to fit the problem,
you may miss a
much better
solution. So,
brainstorm a
problem to try and
find at least four
alternative
approaches to
solving it.

RE-COMBINE:


Once you have
a range of
alternatives,
you can then
try and
combine these
to get a
number of
creative
solutions to a
problem.

CHOOSE &
CONSEQUENCES:

From these
combined ideas,
what is the best
one? And what
would be the
consequence of
choosing it?

EFFECT:


Then you have
to try it! You
put the idea
into effect,
otherwise all
your hard work
will be wasted.


(Source: Rose, C. (2000) Master it Faster. London: The Industrial
Society)

If you like playing with words, you will probably enjoy
making up mnemonics to help you remember lists of
things.

You use the first letter of each word you need to
remember to make a new word one that triggers
off your memory.
EFFECTIVE LEARNING TECHNIQUES THAT CONNECT
WITH INTELLIGENCE TYPES
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HEAR IT - REPEAT IT REMEMBER IT

In addition to experimenting with words in written forms, you may be
particularly drawn to learning through spoken explanations,
commentaries and tapes.

You are also likely to benefit from reading key sections from books and
articles aloud and by making tapes.

We tend to remember twice as much of what we say aloud than with
what we just read.





Audio Tapes

Listening to audio or watching audio/visual tapes can be an effective
way of learning for students with this intelligence type, particularly
if combined with their own voice notes (see above), or
listened to in the company of other students and discussed
immediately afterwards.




VOICE NOTES

Using a voice-recorder/Dictaphone to summarise the key ideas verbally can
work well for some students, as it can help them concentrate on the
reading and summarise in their own words what they have read.

The tapes can also be replayed in many situations away from the library or
allocated reading areas, e.g. listen while you exercise, drive or travel on
public transport.

Listening to your own voice summarising notes you have made in your own
words is a powerful aid to memory and can be a particularly effective tool for
revision.

HEAR IT - REPEAT IT VISUALISE IT- REMEMBER IT BETTER

When you read something, try repeating the key parts of it aloud. Then try and
get a visual picture of the topic in your head. Then try making notes. The
combination of your auditory and visual senses can help in the process of
remembering and recall.
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2. LOGICAL/MATHEMATICAL INTELLIGENCE


You will have an inclination to be logical, analytical and in developing
systems to help you learn.

The three systems that follow may prove useful to help you critically
analyse any new theory, idea or practice that you encounter on your
course:

1. The 5W & 1H approach
2. The AEIOU approach
3. The Four-Way Thinking Approach



This is a technique taught to journalists, and works well for students who
want to develop the skills of critical analysis. It works by asking
interrogative questions of any new idea:


WHO?
Who: might benefit/be disadvantaged/is or is not
involved/developed the idea? Etc.

WHAT?
What: are we taking for granted/assumptions are
we making/ is implied that may not be true/ is
missing/ is the background to this idea/is the
wider significance/ are the advantages and
negatives of the idea? Etc.

WHERE?
Where: can it be applied/would it not be
applicable/else could it be relevant? Etc.

WHY?
Why: has this idea been developed/been
introduced/should we pay any attention to it? Etc.

WHEN?
When: is the idea applicable/not
applicable/reasonable or unreasonable to
apply/should we start or stop? Etc.

HOW?
How: will the idea work in practice/be
introduced/are people likely to react/will the idea
be evaluated/we know or recognise success? Etc.


THE 5W & 1H TECHNIQUE

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This is a variation on the first system:

A: Are any ASSUMPTIONS being made?

Has anything been taken for granted or left out of the picture? Has the
author or lecturer used an isolated example to make a generalised
sweeping conclusion?

E: What is the EVIDENCE for this?

Can you trust the source? Is it really evidence that is being presented
or just opinion? What other explanations could there be? If you are
convinced, what else follows from the explanation?

I: Can I think of a good ILLUSTRATION or example of this?

Does this fit any other topic, category or class of things I am familiar with.
Can I think of an example from everyday life, or the past, that connects
with the topic/subject?

O: What OPINIONS or conclusions can I draw personally from this?
Are these justified, and why, or why not?

U: What are the UNIQUE points in all this?

What are the key and new ideas emerging from this subject? Are there
new points? Or is this something that has just been re-packaged and
presented as new and original?













THE AEIOU SYSTEM FOR ANALYSING NEW IDEAS:

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The Four-way Thinking approach looks at problem solving from four
perspectives:


FRONT-TO BACK THINKING

This approach starts with the
situation or problem and works
systematically toward a solution or
explanation.

This usually involves a DANCE
approach:

D: Defining the problem or situation

A: Alternatives generating lots of
alternative situations/solutions

N: Narrowing down the alternatives

C: Choosing one & checking out the
consequences

E: Effect: putting ideas into effect


TOP-DOWN THINKING

This way of thinking takes an overview
position and imagines you are looking
at a situation in a detached way, from
above like a fly on the wall - and
ready to see other peoples viewpoints,
and particularly those who may be
directly involved as participants.

This is a particularly good position to
take if you are personally committed to
a particular argument or practice, as it
forces you to be more objective.

Good questions to ask:

How would a detached observer
see this idea/practice/problem
etc?
Are there other underlying
issues to consider?


BACK-TO-FRONT THINKING

With this approach you start with the
desired solution and work backwards to
envisage how it might come about in
the future.

Questions to ask include:

What is standing in the way of
the solution I want?
Whats the simplest way of
removing these obstacles?


BOTTOM-UP THINKING

This way of thinking turns a problem or
situation upside down and asks or
poses different questions, or looks at a
situation in a completely different way.

Two shoe salesmen were sent to an
overseas country to assess potential
sales opportunities. One reported back:
no opportunities here no one wears
shoes.

The other reported back, Great
opportunities here no one wears
shoes!




(All three systems adapted from: Rose, C. 2000 Master It Faster: How to Learn
Faster, Make Good Decisions and Think Creatively. London: The Industrial
Society.)
FOUR-WAY THINKING
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3. VISUAL/SPATIAL INTELLIGENCE

One effective learning technique that draws on this intelligence is make
your notes more visual.

This form of note taking allows you to see the way clusters of ideas, e.g.
about expansion of communication systems, connect and offers a quick
overview of one topic.


































A short history of the future
report based on predictions by
5,000+ organisations on what
world would look like in 2050
US economic policies could be
more destructive of world peace
& cohesion than terrorism
Individual choices will become
more important; role of Internet
more prominent in serving
individual lifestyle choices; role
of women will become more
significant in the workplace
We will gain more control
over our bodies;
particularly our brains;
gain more access to
legalised drugs to improve
memory/enhance pleasure;
longevity will increase to
100+ years
Microchip implants in
our brains will develop
our abilities to
communicate with others
and
we will be able to store
aspects of our selves, e.g.
memories, in databanks
Communication systems will
encourage more electronic
communications, e.g. 3-D systems,
between people on an everyday
basis
This will escalate the
trend to home working,
which in turn will
encourage development
of community life; may
reduce numbers of
houses for sale or rent
(less mobility)
Service sector work will
expand; movement away
from work in large
companies; employers
will need to make jobs
more attractive to retain
key staff
Analysis: Some ideas seem very
feasible, as you can see the trend
already, e.g. home working;.
However, brain implants not
sure, but technology is rapidly
advancing, so it could be possible
in 50 years time - but who would
want a brain implant, even then!
Source: Mercer, D. (2003) A Short History of the
Future. Enterprise (Reed) Dec 2002/Jan2003, issue
42, pp.28-31
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4. BODILY/PHYSICAL INTELLIGENCE

You will probably find it hard to sit and concentrate for long periods, and
you prefer to be doing things physically. To stop getting bored you need
to make your learning as active as possible.









Read for a Short Period: you are likely to absorb more information if
you read for short concentrated bursts of time, and make your reading
as active as possible. Try this approach:











Learn on the Move: take advantage of any journey (bus, train etc) to
read or review books or notes. Part of the problem for you may be that
you dislike sitting still in one spot to study for too long (no visual
stimulus). If you study while you travel, you can read for a while,
observe the passing scene for a while, then return to your reading.
This can stop you getting bored.

Learn While You Exercise: try and record lecture notes, or verbally
summarise what you read. This in itself is a physical activity, but you
can then play back your recordings on a personal walkman as you
exercise.

Case studies or role-play: help you to explore a subject or skill in a
practical way. Case studies may feature on your course anyway, but
wherever possible, in your own time try and convert theoretical ideas
into case study or even role-play situations. These help a subject come
alive and move theoretical ideas into a real world scenario.





Why, said the dodo, the best way to explain it is to
do it!
(Alice in Wonderland)
Decide
what you
want to
read, e.g.
one
chapter
Read for no more than
30-40 minutes but
take notes of what you
read. Summarise what
you read in your own
words
STOP
after 30-
40
minutes
& take a
break
Start the process
again, and keep
this going over a
pre-determined
period, e.g. 3 hrs.
University of Bradford, School of Management, Accelerated Learning
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5. MUSICAL INTELLIGENCE

There is some evidence that playing background music, especially quiet
classical music, can help some people learn. Baroque music appears to be
particularly conducive as it can help you attain a state of relaxed
alertness, known as the alpha state, which is beneficial to effective
study.

The Accelerated Learning techniques of Bulgarian educator Georgi
Lozonov rely heavily on incorporating music into learning
experiences of students. Music is often played to create a
welcoming environment as students enter a class and as
soft background music to improve focus of attention
during quiet study times or to stimulate creative
thinking. It is believed that the melodic and rhythmic
patterns of the music can ease the task of
remembering. Music is believed to stimulate the
emotional centre of our brains.

Emotions are linked to memory, so playing some pleasant background
music can be an effective strategy for recall. The associations of reading
are linked to a relaxed state induced by the music and this can help you
remember and recall the reading topic in the longer term.

There is evidence too, that participation in music making can aid memory
and recall:




















For more information on the role of music in encouraging effective
learning, go to the Internet site:
www.newhorizons.org/strategies/front_strategies.html (& see articles in
Arts in Education section of this site).

One line of research finds evidence that music training beefs up brain
circuitry. For example, a larger area in the section of the brain that
brings music and speech into conscious experience, the auditory cortex,
is responsive to piano tones in adult music fans compared with non-
musicians. In addition, certain brain structures also are larger in
musicians. This suggests that music training can influence brain
organization and ability. In fact, researchers actively are studying
whether the brain changes observed in musicians enhance mental
functions, including many not associated with music. While research is
still in its early stages, some studies already suggest that this might be
the case. For example, musically-trained adults perform better on word
memory tests than other adults.

(source: The Society for Neuroscience, 2004 [online]
http://apu.sfn.org/content/Publications/BrainBriefings/music_training_and_brain.
htm (accessed 3/08/2004)
University of Bradford, School of Management, Accelerated Learning
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6. INTERPERSONAL (Social) INTELLIGENCE

One of the best ways for people with Interpersonal Intelligence to
learn, is to teach or at least explain to others what you have learned.
When you have to explain to someone else what you have learned, you
start to think hard and seriously about it.

Talking to other people about a subject requires you to try and organise
your thoughts on the subject into a logical sequence.

You also have to take into account the other peoples knowledge or
experience, which makes you refine the way you perceive and present the
subject.

Although group work will be an important feature of your course, it is also
a good idea to join an informal study group, or link up with another
student on a study buddy basis.

Take advantage of any opportunity to get together with other students to
discuss the weeks work in an informal way.



7. INTRAPERSONAL (Inner) INTELLIGENCE

It is likely that you do not usually have a problem in learning things that
interest you. It is also likely that you will become absorbed in reading and
researching topics that really appeal to you. The problem for you is likely
to be in concentrating on subjects that you perceive initially as irrelevant
or meaningless.

MAKING CONNECTIONS

If you find yourself in this situation, you need to create an interest in any
subject you perceive as boring.

The way forward, if you are in this situation, is to try and find a
connection between the subject and your own life, and to explore the
subject at a personal level.

Ways you can do this:

You will learn better and make any subject more interesting if you
ask yourself: How can I use this idea? What personal significance
can I find in this for me?

Reflect on why you find some subjects or learning situations
difficult. You will probably find this connects with past negative
experiences. Once you are closer to understanding the reasons,
you can begin to change the way you perceive it. If you have
University of Bradford, School of Management, Accelerated Learning
Effective Learning Service 29
negative memories from the past of a particular subject, you may
still feel negatively about it today. But you can change the way you
perceive the situation you do not have to feel bad about it now.
The past is the past, now is now.

Think about the reasons behind the development of the idea, theory
or practice why did it appear on the scene; whats the history
behind it?

If you had to summarise the main points of a particular theory, idea
or practice for a group of people who knew nothing of the subject,
what would you say. How would you do it?

Personalise the subject by putting yourself into an imaginary
situation where you have to put yourself into the mind of someone
passionate about a subject you initially find boring. Why do they
find it so interesting?

Alternatively, ask the lecturer why they find the subject so
interesting and get them to share some of their interest or even
passion- about the subject with you.



8. ENVIRONMENTAL INTELLIGENCE

It is likely that you will be concerned about the impact or effect of any
particular subject (including business studies) on the world and people
who live in it. Colin Rose and Malcolm Nichol in their book Accelerated
Learning for the 21
st
Century encourage you to run an ecological check
on any relevant topic, and ask the following questions:

What are the environmental implications of what you are learning?

Has it any implications for conservation of resources?

Will it help or hinder social fairness? Does it have anything to say
on solving any of the major problems of our times?

Does it help to understand the mind of individuals or their social
behaviour?

Does it exploit anyone or anything else?

Does it guide you to any action or social purpose?


Source: Rose, C. & Nicholl, M.J. (1997) Accelerated Learning For the 21
st
Century. New York: Dell
Publishing Group.



University of Bradford, School of Management, Accelerated Learning
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Summary:

For all students (whatever your particular intelligence type):

You will become a more effective learner when you actively engage all four
senses of:




Seeing





Hearing




Saying


Doing


and you do it in a way that suits your skills and personality best.
University of Bradford, School of Management, Accelerated Learning
Effective Learning Service 31

Most of us learn from our experiences and we try not to repeat a
particular mistake.

However, we do repeat mistakes, or we repeat things that worked well in
one context, only to discover that they do not work well in another!

The reason this happens is that we do not spend enough time analysing
why something went wrong or went well.

If we are accountable to others, e.g. at work, and things go badly wrong,
then we are more likely to get involved in some form of post-mortem of
what went wrong and why.

However, there are many times in our lives when things go wrong for us
in minor ways but when we only give cursory attention to the causes of
the problem.

We are also unlikely to pay too much attention to exactly why something
went really well for us and how we might replicate this success to a range
of different contexts.

You can become a much more effective learner if you spend time
analysing your learning in both a macro and micro way:

MACRO MICRO

Your overall progress on a particular
course:

Your feelings about the course:
the lecturers, other students &
your progress overall

Things you find difficult & why

Changes in your attitude or
motivation

Ways you learn best

How different areas of your
course connect

How your studies can be
applied to practical situations
What you learned from a particular
module or specific class, lecture or
workshop. This can be done in three
stages:

1. Reviewing the experience:
what happened; how you felt
about that particular
experience; how other people
felt about the same
experience?

2. Concluding from the
experience: what you learned
or gained from the experience?

3. Applying the experience:
how can you use or apply the
knowledge?


3. REFLECTING ON LEARNING
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LEARNING JOURNALS

Learning journals are an excellent way of reviewing what, how, why you
learned; how you felt about what you learned; and what you can do with
the knowledge in the future.

All you need is a notebook and to think about the issues raised at both the
macro and micro levels of learning (see previous page). You also need to
make time to write down your responses on a regular basis.

WHY BOTHER?

Keeping a learning journal is an extra effort for you in a busy schedule.
So why bother?

The act of writing things down will help you to clarify your thoughts and
emotions and help you to focus on your progress. It forces you to analyse
your feelings about a particular experience:

I didnt like the lecture WHY? Was it the Lecturer I didnt like or
the topic-or both?

The group is not working well together- WHATS HAPPENING?

I really enjoyed that project WHY THIS PROJECT?

It was an interesting topic WHY? WHAT MADE IT SO?

Learning journals only really work if you move away from just describing
what happened to analysing what happened and how you felt about what
was happening. The reason for analysing your feelings is that feelings can
affect actions, which can affect outcomes.

A learning journal does not have to be a burden or a chore. You can keep
it simple, with just three headings in your notebook:














An extract from a learning journal is on the next page.

What went
well?
What could
have gone
better?
Did my
feelings affect
the outcome in
any way?
University of Bradford, School of Management, Accelerated Learning
Effective Learning Service 33
Extract from a learning journal

This is an extract from a learning journal kept by a MBA student for
submission as part of the Personal Development Planning (PDP) module.



Working on my presentation skills made me realise that I tend to
become complacent after Ive settled into a role, mainly because I
enjoy being busy and dealing with problems rather than routine
matters. I remember completing Honey & Mumfords Learning
Style Questionnaire, which revealed a strong preference for being
an activist.
This probably also relates to my lack of preparation for
presentations. Thinking about this skill has also led me to think
about how I function as a manager more generally the
problem-solving role mentioned above is not necessarily the
best. As a result, I attended a time management workshop and
decided to address this as another skill area, discussed below.
Keeping a learning journal seemed like a chore at first not an
activist behaviour but with hindsight I can see that it made me
stop and think. It is a practice I will continue with, even if I dont
use it very often or Im reflecting mentally rather than in writing.
Finding opportunities to develop my skills has made me think
more purposefully and creatively. I have also realised that it is
an excellent way of building relationships with colleagues. Asking
for feedback has encouraged others to be more open in return, so
I have become more skilled in critical appraisal and giving
feedback.
The PDP process has made me feel more in control and able to
work out my own priorities and resources. I think much more
about important progress tasks so Im less likely to get caught
out as I did with my poor presentation. As a result, Im a bit
calmer and more effective as a manager; my colleagues have
commented on this. Im also more aware of their development
needs.
University of Bradford, School of Management, Accelerated Learning
Effective Learning Service 34

ADDITIONAL READING ON THIS TOPIC:

If this approach to learning has interested you, you can learn more about
accelerated learning from the following books:

Buzan, T. & Buzan, B. (2001) The Mind Map Book, London: BBC Worldwide Ltd.

Cottrell, S. (2003) The Study Skills Handbook, Basingstoke: Palgrave Study
Guides (in particular see pages 49-87).

Cottrell, S (2003) Skills for Success: the Personal Development Planning
Handbook, Basingstoke: Palgrave Study Guides.

Rose, C. (2000) Master it Faster: how to learn faster, make good decisions and
think creatively, London: The Industrial Society.

Rose, C. & Nicholl, M.J. (1997) Accelerated Learning for the 21
st
Century, New
York: Dell Publishing Group.

FURTHER GENERAL & RECOMMENDED READING

These are all the titles in booklets in the Effective Learning series:

1. Return to Part-time Study
2. Return to Full-time Study
3. The First Semester
4. Time Management
5. Accelerated Learning
6. 20 Tips for Effective Learning
7. Six Steps to Effective Reading
8. Effective Note Making
9. Effective Writing
10.Essay Writing (1) stages of essay writing
11.Essay Writing (2) planning and structuring your essays
12.Essay Writing (3) finding your own voice in essays
13.Essay Writing (4) ten ways to liven your essays
14. References and Bibliographies
15. Report Writing
16. Pass Your Exams
17. Your Assignment Results and how to improve them
18. Presentations
19. Group Work
20. Introduction to Research and Research Methods
21. Foundations of Good Research
22. Writing Your Management Project Report or Dissertation




University of Bradford, School of Management, Accelerated Learning
Effective Learning Service 35
You can download any of these from the School of Management
Homepages: Resources Effective Learning link, or contact the
Effective Learning Service, tel. 4320 (internal), Email:
M.T.Sedgley@Bradford.ac.uk, or visit room 0.11 Yvette Jacobson Building
at the School of Management.

In the School of Management and J.B. Priestley libraries, there is a study
skills section at D371.30281

RECOMMENDED TEXT BOOKS

Cottrell, S. (2003) The Study Skills Handbook, London: Palgrave.
(This book contains lots of bite-sized chunks of advice and information
presented in a lively and visually interesting way. This is an excellent
general study skills guide for all undergraduate or postgraduate students).

Giles, K. and Hedge, N. (1998) The Managers Good Study Guide,
Milton Keynes: Open University Press. (This is a study skills guide written
for business studies students and contains advice and information
presented in a clear, readable and subject-specific way).


SOME USEFUL INTERNET SITES:

www.support4learning.org.uk/education/key_skills.htm a good
all-round site for study skills advice and information.

www.bized.ac.uk/ a study support site for business studies students.












If you have any queries please contact Martin Sedgley, Effective
Learning Advisor, University of Bradford School of Management.
Telephone: 01274 234320
Email: M.T.Sedgley@Bradford.ac.uk.

This booklet was written by Colin Neville and must not be
reproduced without permission. Last amended February 2006.
Effective Learning Service
20 Tips for
Effective Learning
Contact details:
Effective Learning Service
Tel: 01274 234414 | Email: M.T.Sedgley@bradford.ac.uk | Web: www.bradford.ac.uk/management/els
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