Definition
An instructional approach in which new knowledge and skills are taught by adding each new element on top of previously learned material, so that every step rests on what the student has already mastered.
Plain English
Teach simple things first, make sure the student has them, then add the next piece. Each lesson builds on the last, like stacking blocks.
Context Anchor
Seen in flight training plans, lesson outlines, and instructor discussions about how a course should move from simple tasks to more demanding ones.
Derivation
The phrase comes from the image of a child stacking building blocks. Each block needs a solid one underneath, or the tower falls. Applied to teaching, it means each new skill needs a solid foundation of earlier skills, or learning collapses.
Why Pilots Care
It keeps training safe and effective by ensuring students never attempt maneuvers or decisions for which they lack the supporting skills.
Analogy
It is like building a wall: if the lower blocks are loose, the higher blocks will not sit securely. Training works the same way when later skills depend on earlier ones.
Intuition Check
Do not read this as just “making progress.” In this context, it means making progress in a specific order, where each new step depends on the earlier step being understood and usable.
Example Sentence 1
The instructor used a building block progression, starting with straight and level flight before moving on to climbs, descents, and turns.
Example Sentence 2
Using building block progression, the student first mastered straight-and-level flight and only then moved on to climbs and descents.