Principle 3. Knowledge has a structure of parts and relations between the parts.

Thinking “around the V” takes us up and down the parts of the V. We can begin anywhere. A good place to begin is with one's world view. The world view is a name for one's stable system of beliefs and behaviors. It is what you are comfortable with in your living experience, how you set about events, what you know how to do, and how confident you are that you do really know something important and useful. Your awareness of your keenest interests, what you pay attention to, and how you anticipate future possibilities are very important. Your world view will not change very much, or very fast, but it can change and grow with new experiences of new meanings. As you learn to appreciate the power the V has to help you get a grip on things, you will change. You will begin to get smart in new ways.

Meaning must be grasped before deliberate learning can occur. It is not enough to know what the topic is about, one must understand why and how new information is related to what is already known. The V diagram is one tool that can be used to enable learners to focus on educative events to build upon existing knowledge.