15 March 1979
I. Definitions:
1. Learning: Change in the neural mechanisms of the human body which result from the natural processes of reaction to environment, and which change the response of the person to the environment.
2. Teaching: Deliberate imposition of an artifactual environmental factor intended to change the responses of a target population to its environment.
3. Curriculum: An artifactual environmental factor designed to produce a desired change in the responses of a target population to its environment.
4. Curricular intervention= teaching: All teaching involves curriculum.
5. Education: A general concept which sums the learning and teaching related to a desired behavioral outcome in a given population.
III. Postulates:
1. Learning is a spiritual function made possible only by divine intervention.
2. Human learning requires no human teaching if sufficient divine intervention (divine teaching) takes place.
3. Divine teaching supplements human teaching only where necessary for human learning.
4. Morality maximizes divine teaching in a person’s life and the efficiency of human teaching. Immorality minimizes divine teaching in a person’s life and diminishes the efficiency of human teaching.
III. Principles of Human Learning and Teaching:
1. The number of learning instances necessary to adequate behavior is inversely proportional to the emotional interest involved.
2. Fear inhibits learning of all things except those related to the avoidance of the object of the fear.
3. Human teacher productivity is limited by the following factors:
- a. Teacher learning
- b. Teacher ability to communicate
- c. Adequacy of the curricular artifact employed
- d. Time and resources available to the teacher
- e. Homogeneity of the target population
- f. Student interest
4. The average human population can tolerate a novelty factor of no more than 20% in a learning situation.
5. The most important teacher variable is character.
6. The characteristics of delivery systems govern the effectiveness and efficiency of human learning.
7. Improvements of teacher performance affects learning minimally.
8. Change of learner values affects learning maximally.
9. Teaching innovations usually fail when they pass from the hands of the inventor.
10. Human learning productivity is limited by the following factors:
- a. Previous learning
- b. Present emotional state
- c. Time and resources available (including teachers and curriculum)
- d. Spiritual state
- e. Desire
11. Review after 24 hours, 7 days, 30 days: remember forever.