Our learning framework
Learn at your own pace, one skill at a time.
Most schools move a whole class forward once a year, ready or not. The Universal Learning Framework moves each learner forward when they show they have mastered a skill. It works the same way for a five-year-old, a teenager and an adult.
You advance by showing what you understand, one skill at a time. The calendar sets how often we check in, not how fast you can go.
What we learned from twelve school systems
We studied the national curricula of India, China and ten developed economies. Each one does something better than the rest. The framework keeps those strengths. It is not tied to any one country's system or exams.
India
Learning starts at age 3, and reading and number sense come before everything else.
China
Fewer topics, taught deeply, in a carefully ordered sequence.
Singapore
Each subject at the learner's own level, instead of one stream for everything.
Finland
Thinking skills run across every subject, and teachers are trusted.
Australia
Progress can be described as a continuum instead of by school year.
British Columbia
Every unit says what to know, what to do and what to understand.
South Korea
Learners can build their own path through credits.
Germany
Hands-on and vocational learning deserve equal standing.
United States
Learners who are ready can move ahead early.
England
Clear expectations help, but specializing too early narrows learners.
Japan
Character and community are part of the curriculum.
Estonia
Early digital fluency and a light core produce strong results.
Nine strands
Everything worth learning sits in one of nine strands. You can be further along in one strand than another, and that is expected. Core strands come with extra support if you fall behind.
- LAN
Language & CommunicationCore
Home language, then more languages: reading, writing, speaking and listening.
- MAT
Mathematics & Quantitative ReasoningCore
Number, algebra, geometry and statistics, up to advanced mathematics.
- SCI
Science & InquiryCore
Physical, life and earth sciences, learned through experiments.
- CDA
Computing, Data & AI
Computational thinking, programming, data, and how AI works and where it fails.
- HUM
Humanities & Society
History, geography, civics and economics, from local to global.
- ART
Arts & Expression
Visual arts, music, drama, dance and design.
- BOD
Body, Health & Well-beingCore
Movement, nutrition, mental health and safety.
- MAK
Making, Work & Enterprise
Crafts, trades, personal finance and starting things.
- WIS
Self, Ethics & WisdomCore
Metacognition, ethics, philosophy and judgment, assessed through Shastrartha.
How progress works
Skills are the steps
Each skill, which we call a node, takes one to four weeks. It says what you will know, what you will be able to do, and the big idea you will understand. Some skills need others first; as soon as those are done, the next ones open up.
CDA.L4.variables
Variables as knobs
- Know
- variable, value, assignment
- Do
- change one variable at a time and watch the effect; hit a target by tuning a single knob
- Understand
- A variable is a control you can turn; turning two at once hides which one mattered.
You show it, several ways
A skill counts as mastered when you reach 85% on each kind of evidence it asks for. One good test score is not enough.
- Quick checkShort questions on the basics, at least 85% right.
- New problemSolve a problem you haven't seen before.
- Lab workPredict, run and observe an experiment.
- Explain itTeach the idea back and answer follow-up questions.
- Recall checkA short check a few weeks later, to show it lasted.
- ShastrarthaDefend and test a position in a structured dialogue.
The recall check comes 21 days after mastery. If it slips, the skill opens again so you can strengthen it; your lab work still counts. Only PrajnAI marks a skill as mastered, so your record means the same thing everywhere.
Where we are today: PrajnAI checks lab work, new problems and quick checks now. Explain-it, Shastrartha and recall checks are being built, so no skill can be fully mastered yet.
Three rules we are building in
A floor
If you fall more than a level behind in a core strand, you get extra help within weeks, not at the end of the year.
No ceiling
If you are ahead, you keep going, all the way into university and professional work.
Breadth
No strand runs more than three levels ahead of your weakest core strand, so you stay well rounded.
The wisdom strand
Wisdom, tested through Shastrartha (structured debate)
Quizzes can't measure wisdom. For the wisdom strand we use Shastrartha, the Indian tradition of structured debate (tarka-vitarka, reasoned argument and counter-argument). We follow vāda, debate to find the truth, and score the quality of your thinking, never which side you take.
- 1
Prashna · The Question
An open question, matched to your level. For example: “Is a wrong prediction a failure?”
- 2
Pūrvapakṣa · The Other View
You state the view you disagree with, as fairly and strongly as you can.
- 3
Uttarapakṣa · Your Position
You give your own position, with reasons and examples.
- 4
Tarka · The Challenge
Your questioner tests it with counterexamples and “what if” cases.
- 5
Siddhānta · Where You Land
You say where you now stand, and what changed your mind, if anything.
Wisdom skills ask for shastrartha, explain it, recall check. The rubric looks at a clear claim, good reasons, real examples, fairness to the other side, sound reasoning, answering the actual objection, openness to changing your mind, and a conclusion that follows.
Levels, for reference
Levels run from Foundations (F1–F3) through L1–L12, then Advanced with no upper limit. They describe where a typical learner might be; they never hold anyone back. This table helps parents compare with school years they already know.
| Level | Typical age | India | United States | England | China |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1–F3 | 3–5 | Balvatika | Pre-K, K | Nursery, Reception | Kindergarten |
| L1–L2 | 6–7 | Class 1–2 | Grade 1–2 | Year 2–3 | Grade 1–2 |
| L3–L5 | 8–10 | Class 3–5 | Grade 3–5 | Year 4–6 | Grade 3–5 |
| L6–L8 | 11–13 | Class 6–8 | Grade 6–8 | Year 7–9 | Grade 6 – Junior 2 |
| L9–L10 | 14–15 | Class 9–10 | Grade 9–10 | Year 10–11 | Junior 3 – Senior 1 |
| L11–L12 | 16–17 | Class 11–12 | Grade 11–12 | Year 12–13 | Senior 2–3 |
For every age and every learner
Where we are headed:
- Adults and returning learners start wherever a short placement puts them, and never repeat what they already know.
- Every way of learning: each skill offers more than one way to learn it and to show it.
- Your own language for explaining and debating your ideas.
- Offline first: labs already run on your device and sync when you are back online.
Code & Reason is the first course built on the framework.