Brain-Friendly Learning is not about techniques and gimmicks. It is far more than just putting on baroque music, or playing fun games. It's a movement rather than just a method; a movement to recover the real joy of learning that combines both sizzle and substance to every part of your training. This resource provides a blueprint for a new generation of accelerated learning methods. At its heart are five key principles:

• Keep it real
• Facilitate the flow
• Honour uniqueness
• Make it rich and multi-sensory
• State is everything (well almost).

There is a clear explanation of the theory behind Brain-Friendly Learning from the inside out; the concepts and learning models you need to underpin your approach, along with a journey through the most complex structure in the universe - your amazing brain. You'll also discover a concise guide to brain-friendly training design along with tools that you can pick and adapt to help you create new training events or make-over existing ones.

This resource is packed with activities for the trainer or facilitator. Some are designed to help you understand a particular concept in more detail; others are designed to apply the concept to learning events which you are facilitating. You will have attended or facilitated (some) training sessions that engaged you, motivated you and left you with new insights and new techniques that you were just burning to try. At the time, you may not have been able to define what it was about these events that made them so special. This resource helps you to understand exactly what the mystery ingredient is and shows you how to use the whole encyclopedia of techniques that turn training into Brain-Friendly Learning.

Contents: Introduction. Part One Principles of Brain-Friendly Learning: How to use Part One of the manual; Brain-friendly learning from the outside in; Brain-friendly learning from the inside out - your amazing brain!; Keep it real!; Facilitate creation not consumption; Honour uniqueness; Make it rich and multisensory; State is everything (well … almost). Part Two Brain-Friendly Design: An overview of the design process; The five principles and design. Part Three Tools for Brain-Friendly Learning: Mind Map® overview of brain-friendly tools. Tools for keeping it real: Compelling goals; Set up and set down; Real projects; Real-life learning activities; Rave review sessions; A warm welcome pack; Energizing endings. Tools for facilitating creation: Mindblowing Mind Maps®; Contracting for success; Keep the ball in the learner's court; Creation not consumption; The power of questions; Associative learning; Crystal-clear instructions; First and last gets remembered; Chunking; Integration smorgasbord; The Disney strategy; The flexible facilitator; Brain-friendly beliefs about learning; Trapping your beliefs; Generative learning. Tools for honouring uniqueness: Two modes of processing; Different angles - 4-MAT; Multiple intelligences; Inspiring and engaging all the intelligences; Developing your own intelligences; Meta-programmes. Tools for making it rich and multisensory: An environment that says 'you matter'; Dressing the learning environment; Multichannel VHF; Magical metaphors; Stories and anecdotes; Unconscious learning; Mnemonics; Rhythm and rhyme; Humour; Breaks. Tools for managing state: Positive expectations; Rapport; Flow; Let's get physical; Brain gym; Music; Nourishing the brain; Anchoring; Existing anchors; Installing your own anchors; Learning from criticism strategy; Changing the state of the group; Sizzling states at your fingertips! References; Further resources.

About the Author: Kimberley Hare is the Managing Director of Kaizen Training Limited, and a pioneering visionary for change and learning. Her focus is on helping individuals, teams and organizations to create the future they want, and to enjoy the journey. Kimberley's passion is to combine sizzle with substance to bring Brain-Friendly Learning to life in business.

Larry Reynolds is a business consultant and facilitator with Kaizen Training Limited. He helps to create successful, sustainable organizations where people love to work. Larry enjoys finding the right balance in his life between family, learning, work and playing the piano.

Reviews: ‘It fired my imagination. It set me thinking. If your aim is to enable learners to explore, integrate and make sense of knowledge or skills that will help them in their work – and for you all to have fun in the process – then the contents of this resource will put you well on the way. The outcome for me was that I felt empowered, imaginative and very enthusiastic.’ People Management

‘This is an incredible book that provides a wealth of well-researched, up-to-date material with which trainers can transform their approaches to groups in order to make learning a reality. There are some very stimulating chapters in the book…The explanations are very clear, well spaced out and full with unobtrusive but text enhancing pictures, diagrams, quotations and references. Unusual ideas are put forward in the chapters dealing with rhythm and rhyme, mnemonics, stories, anecdotes and humour. This book needs to be on the desk of every trainer and manager in the country. It is a wonderful up-to-date resource that would help to enliven any collective gathering such as a board meeting or conference as well as within the rooms of a trainer. Kimberley Hare and Larry Reynolds have certainly brought brain-friendly learnging to life in this excellent publication.’ CRONER – Management Training Briefing

‘If you want to make your programmes more learner-friendly, you should, withour hesitation, have a look at this book.’ Training Journal

‘…this is an interesting, readable and thought-provoking publication which has value for new and experienced trainers, facilitators and learning designers…the manual is bursting with ideas and intriguing perceptions – try it.’ Diane Bailey, www.trainingzone.co.uk

'There is a clear emplanation of the theory behind Brain-Friendly Learning from the inside out...This resource helps you to understand exactly what the mystery ingredient is and shows you how to use the whole encyclopedia of techniques that turn training into Brain-Friendly Learning.' Taining Provider Connect

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Full contents list

State is everything (well ... almost)