GESTALT THEORY, SIMPLY SUMMED UP AS THE "WHOLE IS MORE THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS", has provided a strong foundation for cognitive theory prevalent in education today.

The essence of Gestalt theory is that people perceive objects as wholes. When we see a triangle, we view it not as three lines and three angles, but as one thing, a triangle. 

To take this theory one step further, a car is comprised of metal, wheels, glass, etc. Unless these parts are correctly assembled and adjusted to work together, the individual parts are nothing more than scrap.

Although Gestalt theory is most often applied to visual perception, Gestalt scholar Christian von Ehrenfels used a musical example to illustrate the concept. He observed that arrangements of musical notes are also perceived as a whole (a melody) rather than as a series of individual notes. 
                                                                                                                                                                                             

    ex. 1 Click above to hear a melody       ex. 2 Click above to hear the same melody using different notes  

Notice that examples one and two are easily recognized as the same melody, even though they are comprised of different individual notes. On the other hand, example three uses the same exact notes as example one, arranged in a different order. 

ex. 3 Click above to hear the same notes in a different arrangement.

"A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees."

-William Blake
Proverbs of Hell (1790)

There are many applications of this theory to the educational world. One is a very simple, yet effective teaching method known as whole-part-whole. When using this method, the instructor presents an overview of the subject to be learned. He then proceeds to break down the subject into its various component parts. Finally, he presents the entire subject again, emphasizing the way that the relationship between the parts contribute to the whole. 

There are many laws of Gestalt theory that instructional designers should be aware of. Proper adherence to these principles can improve learner perception. Examples of some of these principals can be found in the following EET article:

Brek Hufnus
Department of Educational Technology
San Diego State University