Plain English Meaning
Teaching a topic bit by bit without ever showing the student how the bits join up to form the full picture.
Full Definition
An instructional approach in which information is presented in small, isolated fragments without showing how the parts fit into the larger whole. The student receives individual facts or steps but is not given the framework needed to connect them into a complete, usable understanding of the subject.
Context Anchor
Seen in aviation instructor training when discussing how students learn and why lessons should connect individual facts, steps, and skills into a usable whole.
Derivation
From the older English word 'piecemeal,' meaning 'one piece at a time.' The '-meal' part comes from an Old English word meaning 'a measure' or 'a portion.' So 'piecemeal' literally describes giving something out in small portions rather than as a whole — which is exactly the teaching weakness this term names.
Why Pilots Care
Students taught this way accumulate confusion, lose the big picture of flying, and are more likely to drop out of training.
Analogy
It is like being handed puzzle pieces without seeing the picture on the box. The pieces may all be correct, but the may not know how they fit together.