The benefits of short, sharp learning and why we swear by it

We hear you.

As a training provider, we understand all too well the painfully unappealing idea of being tied to a chair all day while being talked at. And, sometimes, the physical and emotional sacrifices we have to make to enhance our career prospects.

Well, we’ve listened.

We are all about creating an innovative learning experience and crafting education that’s suited to you, the busy professional.

So we’ve adapted; short, sharp learning, or the more renowned term - Accelerated Learning - and we swear by its impact.

It’s optimising your time for the maximum amount of learning in practical, bite-sized chunks.

Our short, sharp learning model won’t clog your schedule, bore you to tears or allow you to miss out on life’s golden moments.

What are the fundamentals of Accelerated Learning?

Accelerated Learning is the most advanced teaching and learning method in use today and based on research, it’s proven to increase learning effectiveness while saving time and money.

The Accelerated Learning was founded by Colin Rose in 1983. He developed a strong belief that all learners differ in their basic academic ability, but can all be taught how to be a better learner through multi-sensory instruction.

Accelerated Learning is the process of moving learners through a dynamic educational program at a rapid pace. This learning technique uses strategies that are designed to closely align to the learner’s abilities and interest, rather than being restricted to traditional teaching and learning methods.

This is what makes Accelerated Learning so effective; it’s based on the way we naturally learn.

Traditional teaching and learning methods (directive lecture-style instruction) leaves much to be desired for the learner where time can be wasted and untapped potential is lost. Accelerated Learning blows these methods out of the water; it chucks information into small digestible segments that actively involve the person in the learning using cues designed to immerse the learner in the experience.

Why we’ve decided to adapt short, sharp learning

We understand you’re busy and don’t often have a lot of time to spare for training. We also understand you need to keep your skills sharp or fill a skill gap quickly so you can get on with your job.

Here are just a few of the many benefits of short, sharp learning:

• Minimal time training. It’s 120 minutes on your lunch break that won’t throw your schedule out and put unnecessary pressure on you.
• Zero brain burn out. The bite-sized chunks of skill-building knowledge are specifically designed to be easier for your brain to digest and process.
• Maximum impact with quality learning material that’s relevant to your skill-building needs.
• It’s a fraction of the cost of a full qualification, with the same results.
• It puts you back in charge of your experience.
• The skills you learn can be applied to your job, immediately.

We swear by it because it’s:

• Informative. We use practical examples that make the learning relateable and easy to understand.
• Interactive. We encourage learners to ask questions, be curious and explore where the learning will take them.
• Engaging. We make sure to engage multi-sensory techniques to activate all areas of the brain to unlock potential and lock down the knowledge.

We caught up with one of our Upskill & Learn Series facilitators, Melinda Varley, to get her insight into the first series on leadership.

Melinda says she is a big believer in the short, sharp learning methodology as it offers the goal orientated professional practical and involved ways to learn. Having developed the leadership series for Upskill & Learn, Melinda knows all too well what busy professionals are looking for in professional development opportunities.

"The 120-minute workshop format was specifically designed for the busy professional seeking to develop their leadership skills. The workshops provide the opportunity to focus for a short period of time on aspects that are most useful to them in their workplace and leadership through meaningful learning experiences.

It is increasingly difficult in resource-constrained, busy work environments to take one or two days out of work for professional development. Taking two hours out of a work day is much easier to justify with the learning provided in a short and sharp format. It’s a better way to spend your lunch break learning rather than eating and working at your desk."

The Upskill & Learn: Leadership Series covers key areas of management and leadership present in any business environment, in bite-sized learning that can easily be built into a learner’s leadership toolkit.

"Learners will be hands-on in the workshops and come away with an action plan involving tips and techniques that they can immediately implement as part of their leadership and management style."

During the series, learners will also have the opportunity to network with other busy professionals, sharing their experiences and expertise with each other.

"I’ve designed the series where the focus is not purely on theory but rather on opportunities to share experiences, learn from others in similar roles and collaborate on targeted activities that will cement learning."

Melinda hopes there will be ‘light bulb’ moments where learners will learn more about their own leadership and management style and how to apply new skills that will improve their ability to lead. Further, she hopes the techniques will help learners cope more effectively with real-life situations that they may be experiencing or will experience on their leadership journey.

Upskill & Learn: Leadership Series is now open for registrations; visit our website for more details.

Session 1: Supporting staff through change
Session 2: Using Emotional Intelligence to improve your leadership
Session 3: Increasing your productivity
Session 4: Coaching a high performing team
Session 5: Authentic performance feedback
Session 6: Strategies for resilience and stress management

Melinda Varley

Melinda is an experienced business professional, qualified accountant, trainer and coach who has owned and managed a number of successful businesses and has worked for more than 20 years in the Australian Public Service, not-for-profit and private enterprises. She brings her passion and extensive expertise in leadership skill building to the Upskill & Learn: Leadership Series.

Are you interested in short, sharp learning for your organisation, business or personal skill-building needs? Talk to us today for customised training solutions on 6207 4441 or email us.