About Nutheorie
Responsible & effective learning
“To provide an understandable, effective, but also fun course for our students and prepare them responsibly for the theory exam. Something that was still missing in the route to a driving license, but had a big demand."
The course we offer is incredibly effective because we utilize a modern, scientifically-backed teaching method. Our passionate instructors bring in a healthy dose of humor, ensuring the course day is fun for our students. We speak the language of young people, which is why our course works so well.
How does it work?
When students choose a full online theory course, they get unlimited access to the online theory package for a certain period.
This package includes a full video course, an expanded e-book, hundreds of practice questions, and plenty of exams similar to those of the CBR. With this package, students can independently, effectively, and responsibly prepare for the CBR exam.
By doing so, they fully master the theory and increase their chances of passing the CBR theory exam in one go.
We use methods that clarify the material and add an attractive twist. This way, you learn the theory in the most fun and effective way!
Check out the "The power of a good theory course" page if you're curious about how exactly the course works so effectively.
How does NuTheorie contribute to road safety?
We’ve helped more than 270,000 students pass their theory, and the popularity of our online theory course continues to grow each day because candidates simply experience this as a pleasant way to study. Instead of flipping through thick books or spending weeks in a classroom, many opt for a course that not only helps them pass but also truly speaks to them.
That’s why our course has more than 37,000 reviews on Google Reviews and 19,000 positive reviews on Facebook with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars. We also earn a score of 9.7/10 on Feedback Company based on 8,300 reviews. Additionally, studies with data from CBR from 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 show that we have had the highest pass rate for six consecutive years among all car theory providers in the Netherlands. The result over these six years is 83.4%, far surpassing the national average of 43.9%.
Our methods are both responsible and effective. We ensure that our students can safely hit the road and that their new knowledge will stay with them forever. This way, we contribute to improving road safety in the Netherlands!
How it all started
NuTheorie was founded by friends with a clear mission and ambition, and you can see it in every aspect of their work: the joy with which they start each day, the passion they pour into perfecting every detail, and the pride that radiates from them with every success, big and small.
The founding partners of NuTheorie have known each other since their university days. They studied at Erasmus University, full of ideas about what they wanted to do with the rest of their lives. However, teaching driving lessons wasn't part of the plan. But there was one thing they agreed on: they would explore the world. And so, they did. They went on a year-long trip that they will never forget. But eventually, they had to return home.
Now what?
Broke but inspired, the men returned to the Netherlands and faced reality. It was time to apply for jobs while figuring out what they wanted to do with their careers. Eventually, one of them decided to take a driving instructor course while job hunting. There, he spoke with driving instructors who repeatedly said that many of their students struggled to pass the theory exam (it was quite normal for someone to take it seven times). They wanted to change that.
"There needed to be a change in the path to getting a driver's license, and we made sure that happened.”
This is how the idea was born to combine their academic backgrounds and specializations and teach theory in a way that would truly appeal to young people. Without a doubt, they called upon their trusted university friends, each with their own specialty. Together with them, and with backgrounds in psychology and communication, they created a modern, effective course based on scientific research: NuTheorie 1.0.
It started with 5 students, referred by driving instructors, all of whom passed on their first attempt. These students spoke highly of the teaching method and immediately recommended the course to their friends. There was no hesitation among the old friends, so they dived in headfirst, not knowing where it would lead. With a significant loan from one of the founders' fathers, who had blind trust in their vision, they got to work.
And so, the class grew from 5 to 10, from 10 to 20, and one class of 20 became multiple classes at various locations, until they simply couldn't take on any more students... unless they expanded. And they did.
"We aim for quality, and you can see that reflected in everything we do. That's why we've grown so fast."
The founding partners were in the classroom every day, working more than 80-hour workweeks, often even over 100 hours per week! They consciously chose to grow healthily and bring in the right people with the right training to teach. This led to a focus on constantly reinvesting, quality, and professional development in all aspects of the business.
Over time, more instructors joined, they started a customer service department, and founded a company that has now grown to nearly 50 employees, 24 course locations throughout the Netherlands, hundreds of hours of course material, and hundreds of thousands of happy customers with their theory in hand.
The customer is always at the heart of everything they do, and quality is non-negotiable. It is also the bond and motivation between these natural entrepreneurs that has made their products and company a success. Now, a whole team is hard at work to remain an authority in the driving school world when it comes to education and to become influential in other areas of the industry as well.
Our mission
"We believe that education can be different. That’s where we stand for"
At NuTheorie, we believe in an innovative form of education. We stand for a new and fun way of teaching that makes an impact on the target audience. Having fun while studying is important to us. Our motto is: laugh - learn - succeed!
"Our students pass with flying colors thanks to our modern teaching methods."
The course we offer is highly effective because we use a modern and scientifically supported teaching method. Our enthusiastic instructors add a good dose of humor, making the course day enjoyable for our students. We speak the language of young people, and that’s why our course is so effective.
"Our goal is to contribute to road safety by teaching students the theory in a responsible way."
We want to teach our students the car theory in a responsible way and help them pass on the first try. In doing so, we also contribute to road safety, and we're proud of that! Learning in such an effective way, like at NuTheorie, has become the new standard. What seems difficult becomes easy, saving you time and trips to the CBR. We’ve got you!
The power of good theory education
Thick books are a thing of the past, but studying and learning are still essential. Numerous studies show that young people today learn best through modern methods, such as visualization. Think of images, videos, GIFs, and video games. However, old-fashioned memory aids still work: mnemonics, practice questions, and a lot of repetition are effective classics in learning. In online courses, an engaging tone and a healthy dose of humor also help in conveying information. With these tools, the student can get the most out of a course, ensuring that everything is not only well understood but also sticks in the memory.
Visual study material
Nowadays, many people are put off by large chunks of text, not just young people. According to the Social Science Research Network (1), about 65% of the population prefers to learn visually through things like infographics and other media forms. Pictures or photos have been used for years to illustrate information, but now we also have access to videos, GIFs, and animations that, for example, capture the attention of our candidates during Nutheorie's course. Strangely, however, little use is made of this in modern education.
- Although only 10% of high school students learn best auditorily, 80% of lessons are delivered orally. – University of Illinois Extension, 2009
- 90% of all information we take in is visual. – Hyerle, 2000
- Visual aids in the classroom can lead to a 400% improvement in learning. – 3M Corporation, 2001
- The human brain only needs ¼ second to process a symbol and associate meaning with it, while it takes 6 seconds to read 20-25 words. – Thorpe, S., Fize, D., & Marlot, C. (1996)
- People can remember the content of 2,500 images with 90% accuracy 72 hours after looking at them for only 10 seconds. A year later, they can still recall these images about 63% of the time. In comparison: Only 10% of students can retain the material from a traditional lecture after 72 hours. After a year, almost nothing remains. – Crockett, 2010
In other words, the visual aids in our theory courses ensure that the material is absorbed faster, is clearer, and is remembered longer. Highly recommended!
Repetition
The reason we remember information better when it is repeated a few times is not just because we see it more often; a study by Professors Anderson and Schooler of Carnegie Mellon University (2) shows that we instinctively assume that things that have happened multiple times in the past are likely to occur frequently in the future. As a result, our brains work extra hard to store this information for when it will be useful again. Through selective repetition, the most important information is "highlighted" in our minds, making it easier to retrieve.
German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus (3) is known for his theory on the learning and forgetting curve. This theory suggests that if material is not repeated or practiced, all knowledge fades away. To prevent this, Ebbinghaus recommends not repeating everything at once, but instead spreading out the repetition over time, better known as "spaced repetition." Linguist Paul Limsleur (4) adds that this is best done when you still remember about 60% of the material.
That’s why with the Nutheorie video course, the students get access to all chapters for the whole duration of their preferred package, so they can go through the content and repeat it in manageable chunks. Within the course itself, the most important points are repeated several times, helping the students memorising them.
Mnemonics
Since childhood, we’ve been using mnemonics to better understand life. Knuckles tell us the number of days in a month, our left thumb and index finger form an L, and of course, DROL: Dicht Rechts, Open Links (Close Right, Open Left). Hungarian-American psychologist Csikszentmihalyi, the man behind the positive psychology movement and the concept of "flow," is a big proponent of mnemonics. He even uses a "Mama Appelsap" sentence for the pronunciation of his own name: "Chick-sent-me-high." You'll never forget that!
This type of wordplay, along with acronyms and other mnemonics, is very effective in remembering unfamiliar terms, lists of words, or even the order of things. For example, think of TV-TAS for the Wadden Islands or “X is nothing” for the traffic sign prohibiting standing still. New information is also easier to remember through rhymes or songs. This doesn’t need to be Shakespeare or Billie Eilish-level; just put a clear concept to a catchy beat and you’ll definitely remember it. Years after the course, Nutheorie students will still rap in the shower: “Baby turned around, airbag off. Baby turned around airbag off. Baby turned around...”
Learning Through Questions
When students only need to listen to an explanation, their attitude quickly becomes passive, but when questions are asked, they start thinking critically. "I think I know the answer. Could this be it? Or is that more logical?" Questions require the student to develop a deeper understanding of the material to even think about an answer.
Classical Greek philosopher Socrates (5) used questioning as an educational method to allow his students to find the answers themselves. The concept of the Socratic dialogue is still used today, from parents teaching their children to think for themselves to teachers not wanting to spoon-feed their pupils. Now, "what do you think the meaning of life is?" is a different matter from "when should you indicate direction at a roundabout?" but it still works. This is evident in Nutheorie’s course, which is based on questions with explanations built around them. This way, students also know what to expect on the actual exam. The philosophy, however, we leave to the Greeks.
Humor
Humor not only grabs attention but can also increase interest in a subject. According to Dr. Daniel Berlyne (6), an expert in experimental and exploratory psychology, anything that breaks expectations or surprises people leads to physical and mental excitement. With this, you can easily turn an inattentive student into an attentive one, quickly improving their performance.
However, humor shouldn’t just be randomly thrown in; it needs to connect to the lesson material and not distract the student. Dr. Avner Ziv in his study The Humor Effect: Differential Processing and Privileged Retrieval agrees with this. Dr. Ziv is a professor of Psychology and Education at Tel Aviv University and wrote Personality and Sense of Humor. According to Ziv’s research (8), the best method is to first explain the material seriously, then illustrate it humorously, and finally, clearly repeat it again.
We are proud of the many positive Google and Facebook reviews, many of which praise the humor of our course presenters. This allows students to enjoy the course, even though the topic might not always be the most exciting. With a perfect balance of serious explanation and a healthy dose of humor, our enthusiastic speakers presenting the course help our candidates succeed and laugh.
Practice Material
A study from Washington University (9) shows that practice tests help store information in long-term memory. Students who took a practice test after studying the material performed significantly better than those who only reread the information.
By answering practice questions, students can assess where their strengths and weaknesses lie and where they need to pay more attention. If things go well, they feel confident, but if they struggle, it’s better to face the challenge now rather than later. That’s why Nutheorie offers hundreds of practice questions, complete with scores and explanations. Go over them a few times, and the CBR exam will be a piece of cake.
The 4 V’s
Body language is important. Tone is important. These elements are so instinctive that even people who are blind from birth cover their eyes when they hear something they don’t like, even if they've never seen anyone else do it. Conversely, people born deaf scream when they’re angry, frustrated, or sad, even if they’ve never heard a scream. Just as instinctively as we create our own tone and body language, we interpret those of others. We immediately sense whether someone is interesting, friendly, intelligent, or powerful, and whether we want to hear their story. No one wants to listen to a stiff, monotone presenter who drones on for hours. At the same time, we can also be turned off by excessive variation; presenting in an engaging way is an art. According to a study published by the Stanford Graduate School of Business (10), which analyzed 100,000 presentations attentively, this art comes down to 4 V’s: verbalization, vocalization, visualization, and vitality. This means that our speech, tone, body language, and passion are the keys to delivering an engaging presentation. Our choice of words and sentence structure should be appropriate for the audience. Avoid jargon and don’t talk as if you were writing; keep it simple and concise but powerful. The volume, speed, and flow of our speech should vary, as each change grabs the listener’s attention again. Strong facial expressions (don’t look too angry) and large gestures create an image of authority. Lastly, the speaker’s passion and enthusiasm must come through repeatedly. The student is hearing the speaker’s message for the first time and needs to be engaged. Yes, even in driving theory. Especially in driving theory.
The presenters at Nutheorie undergo appropriate, ongoing training, so they fully master these 4 V’s. Students stay engaged because of the connection they establish with the speaker, and the videos can be watched for hours without getting boring. It’s the knowledge these presenters master and need to convey, but it’s their communication skills that make it not just possible, but a success.
By utilizing all of the above methods and tools, the team behind Nutheorie offers engaging, funny, clear, and effective courses to learn car theory from Trailer to Crosswalk. Say goodbye to the old boring book and say hello to this new way of educating!
Citations
- Bradford, William C. “Reaching the Visual Learner: Teaching Property Through Art.” The Law Teacher, vol. Vol.11, 2011. Social Science Research Network, https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=587201.
- Anderson, John R., and Lael J. Schooler. “Reflections of the Environment in Memory.” Association for Psychological Science, vol. Vol. 2 Issue 6, 1991, https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1467-9280.1991.tb00174.x.
- Ausubel, David P., and Mohamed Youssef. “The Effect of Spaced Repetition on Meaningful Retention.” The Journal of General Psychology, vol. Vol. 73, 1963, https://doi.org/10.1080/00221309.1965.9711263.
- Limsleur, Paul. “A Memory Schedule.” The Modern Language Journal, vol. Vol. 51 No. 2, 1967, https://doi.org/10.2307/321812.
- The Thinker's Guide To Socratic Questioning. Roman & Littlefield, 2016, https://books.google.nl/books?hl=nl&lr=&id=ADWbDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA2&dq=socratic+questioning&ots=1jD-GQwM69&sig=oZn2--uvG9xfrM0GH2tOViLu9Ms&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=socratic%20questioning&f=false.
- Ford, Thomas E., et al. “The Psychology of Humor: Basic Research and Translation.” Translational Issues in Psychological Science, vol. 2016, Vol. 2, No. 1, 1–3, 2016. Researchgate, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299475839_The_Psychology_of_Humor_Basic_Research_and_Translation.
- Stambor, Zak. “How laughing leads to learning.” American Psychological Association, vol. Vol. 37 No. 7, 2006, https://www.apa.org/monitor/jun06/learning.
- Ziv, Avner. “Teaching and learning with humor: Experiment and replication.” The Journal of Experimental Education, vol. Vol. 57 No.1, 1988, pp. 4-15, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00220973.1988.10806492.
- Roediger, Henry L., and Jeffrey D. Karpicke. “Test-Enhanced Learning: Taking Memory Tests Improves Long-Term Retention.” Psychological Science in the Public Interest, vol. Vol. 17 Issue 3, 2006. Sage Journals, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01693.x.
- Abrahams, Matt. “A Big Data Approach to Public Speaking.” Stanford Graduate School of Business, 2016, https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/big-data-approach-public-speaking.