Principle #4 of accelerated learning is to create a joyful, stress-free learning environment. Playing music, organizing the room in small group seating arrangements, placing colorful pictures or kites on the walls, having koosh balls and other kinesthetic objects on the tables, using fragrant colored marking pens for table tent name cards and flip charts, providing food and beverages, with water and bowls of candy on the tables, are all physical ways to create a joyful environment.
A joyful learning environment becomes stress-free when it incorporates a variety of learning activities to meet the needs of different learning styles, ensures that audiovisuals can easily been seen and heard, structures breaks every fifty minutes or so for physical and mental revitalization, follows a curriculum design that sets the learners up to be successful, and maintains a group facilitation approach that is respectful of the learners’ needs and interests.
