Principles of Learning

Below are three universal principles of learning. This means they apply to all human beings.

(1.) Learning is a stratified process

The first principle of learning is that human learning does not take place on a single level, but is a stratified process. This is accepted all over the world as a didactic principle. The way in which school systems throughout the whole world are organized and structured is an acknowledgement of this. One cannot send a child to university first. He must start in the first class and then progress year after year to the higher levels of education. Unless he has mastered a sufficient amount of the knowledge to form a firm enough base on which to build the knowledge of the following year, he will not make progress in the next class.

Another simple and practical example is the fact that one has to learn to count before it becomes possible to learn to add and subtract. Suppose one tried to teach a child who has not yet learned to count, to add and subtract. This would be quite impossible, and no amount of effort would ever succeed in teaching the child addition and subtraction. This shows that counting is a skill that must be mastered before it becomes possible to learn to do calculations.

This means that there is a sequence that is to be observed in teaching. Certain things have to be taught first, before it becomes possible to teach other things.

The main objective of the Edublox programs is to practice and automate the skills that underlie reading, spelling, writing, mathematics and the learning of subject matter.

(2.) A “pyramid of repetition” has to be constructed

The importance of repetition in the learning situation cannot be denied. There is not a single person on this earth who learned to speak a language, learned to swim, skate, play golf, or drive a car, without repetition.

In recent years, neuroscientists have discovered that repetition is important in the “wiring” of a person’s brain, i.e. the forming of connections or synapses between the brain cells. Without these connections, the brain cells are as useless as batteries standing in a row next to a flashlight. Only when the batteries and flashlight are connected, can they make a shining light.

Mere repetition, however, is not the end of the story. A “pyramid of repetition” has to be constructed. This means that a learner must start by repeating a limited amount of material many times over and over. Gradually, less and less repetition will be necessary to master new skills and new knowledge. Without building this “pyramid of repetition” first, later learning will always be time consuming and prone to failure.

Edublox programs practice and automate the foundational skills of reading, spelling, writing and mathematics by systematically creating a “pyramid of repetition.”

(3.) Opportunities for application

The third principle is that there must be opportunities for application. While a person is learning to master the skills that form the basis of reading and mathematics, he should already be given opportunities to apply these skills. This greatly speeds up the process of automation.

An important point is that these three principles should be looked upon as a whole and should not be viewed in isolation.