Grand Challenges Conference Application Next-Generation Educational Software and Next-Generation User Interfaces

Over forty years ago, Jerome Bruner proposed a radically new theory of education, that "...any subject can be taught effectively in some intellectually honest form to any child at any stage of development." [1]. While many have disputed the more extreme claims attached to that hypothesis, it is anadmirable goal, though one difficult to achieve. One way to implement this theory is through the “spiral approach to learning” common to formal education where a learner encounters a topic multiple times throughout her education, each time at an increasing level of sophistication.. Furthermore, at any stage in one’s learning, one should be able to mix and match educational modules at different levels of sophistication within the same general topic area. Simpler modules can serve as overviews to a subject for review or to provide context when the intent is to go more deeply into related topics.