An early email from Ean

I just had to share this...

"Have you ever read of any B.F. Skinner's stuff? He invented programmed learning, and he's AWESOME. From wikipedia:

Skinner says that there are five main obstacles to learning:

1. People have a fear of failure.
2. The task is not broken down into small enough steps.
3. There is a lack of directions.
4. There is also a lack of clarity in the directions.
5. Positive reinforcement is lacking.

Skinner suggests that any age-appropriate skill can be taught using five principles to remedy the above problems:

1. Give the learner immediate feedback.
2. Break down the task into small steps.
3. Repeat the directions as many times as possible.
4. Work from the most simple to the most complex tasks.
5. Give positive reinforcement.

This is exactly what we want."

Ean Saberski

Sept 2010