AL in Corporate Settings

Meier, D. and Gill, J. (May ,1989). Accelerated learning takes off. Training and Development., 45-48.

Trainers at Bell Atlantic converted two courses to an Accelerated Learning format. As a result, the costs of one course were reduced by 42 percent and the other by 57 percent. The satisfaction of students and trainers greatly improved, as did their job performance.

Meier and Gill (1989) reported that trainees found the learning experience stress-free and enjoyable. The dropout rate for the course dropped from 20% to 5.5%. Because employees were productive sooner, job performances were higher, and because training time was cut in half, training courses at Bell Atlantic now employ the techniques of Accelerated Learning as a standard part of their training programs.

France, D. B. & Jarvis, R. L. (Oct, 1996). Quick starts for new employees: Accelerated-learning techniques in orientation program of Sematech. Training & Development, 50 (10), 47-51.

The Texas-based semiconductor consortium Sematech significantly improved its new employee orientation program through the application of innovative accelerated-learning techniques. The orientation system at the institute required new employees of a member company to collaborate for six months to three years on emerging technologies with employees of other member companies. According to France and Jarvis (1996), the orientation had been confusing, did not foster interaction and was unable to benefit the participants. To change this scenario, Sematech sought to develop a new approach that would allow the initiates to more quickly integrate themselves into the new culture. The training team began to ask themselves what it would take for a new employee to be effective immediately. France and Jarvis reported that new employees have been “consistently enthusiastic about their energetic welcome into the company” (p. 51). In evaluations completed immediately after the training and in one and three month follows-ups, students continued to support the selection of skills and the teaching methodology.

Clevenson, A.B. (1994). Effectiveness of Accelerated Learning as a tool to facilitate a maintenance paradigm shift. Journal of Accelerative Learning and Teaching, 19 (2), 111-140.

Pumps Running is a program that DuPont used to promote a corporate culture change in the maintenance of pumps and other equipment. Clevenson (1994) reported on the effectiveness of DuPont’s implementation of the Pumps Running program in a Learning Lab format using Accelerated Learning methodology. The results were compared to the results of a base case of no Pumps Running exposure and also to the results of a lecture approach. The equipment maintenance history of 30 teams was analyzed. The first group of 19 teams maintained their equipment using a standard approach that was primarily remedial with a small amount of preventative and predictive maintenance. The second group, which comprised two teams, had been exposed to the Pumps Running principles using a conventional approach centered on the lecture method. These teams had seen the value of proactive maintenance and had been provided with the technical knowledge to perform preventative and predictive maintenance. The third group was comprised of the 8 teams that have participated in the Pumps Running Learning Labs.

Although the quantity of teams in each of the scenarios was small, the results were quite notable. For group 1, the group who had not yet had any training, the average learning rate was –3.5%. Group two, the ones who had had traditional training on Pumps Running principles, showed a significant improvement with a learning rate of 7%. The teams who were exposed to the Accelerated Learning based Learning Labs improved their learning rate by 13.8%. . These results translated into a reduction in pump maintenance costs of $100,000 a month.