Definition
The two highest levels in the four-step learning hierarchy used in aviation instruction (rote, understanding, application, correlation). Application is the level at which a learner can actually perform what has been taught, using the knowledge or skill in the situation it was designed for. Correlation is the level at which the learner can connect what has been learned to other knowledge and situations, recognizing how it applies in new or unfamiliar contexts.
Plain English
Application means the student can do it. Correlation means the student can also see how it fits with everything else they know and use it in new situations they haven't seen before.
Context Anchor
Seen in the Aviation Instructor’s Handbook when describing how instructors assess whether a student truly understands and can use what they have learned.
Derivation
Application comes from the Latin applicare, meaning to attach or put to use. Correlation comes from the Latin com- (together) and relatio (a relating), meaning to bring things into relation with each other. The names describe exactly what each level requires: putting knowledge to use, then relating it to other knowledge.
Why Pilots Care
Training that reaches these levels produces pilots who can handle real cockpit demands and adapt knowledge to changing conditions rather than simply repeating memorized procedures.
Intuition Check
Application does not mean a form or a software app here; it means using knowledge in a task. Correlation does not mean a loose similarity; it means making a useful connection between what was learned and another situation.
Example Sentence 1
The instructor noted that the student had reached the application level on short-field landings but had not yet shown correlation, since he could not explain how the same energy-management principles applied to a soft-field approach.
Example Sentence 2
At the correlation level, the pilot connected lessons from mountain flying to safely manage density altitude effects during a high-elevation takeoff.