Thinking and learning are corresponding and interdependent processes in every classroom. To improve learning, teachers must be open to new ideas, particularly ideas that locate conditions for maximum learning. This paper presents four overlooked but critical ideas that identify a common area, a GAP experience within which maximum learning is located. The four ideas presented include Vygotsky's (1978) Zone of Proximal Development, Black and Wiliam's (1998) Formative Assessment and the Power of Feedback, Doll's (1993) Impact of Interactions, Perturbations, and Self-Organization, and Csikszentmihalyi's (1990) FLOW Experience. From a brief discussion of each idea a graphic representation summarizes and illustrates the maximum learning present in each GAP. Findings from these ideas are identified and implications for practice are offered to extend the ideas into the classroom and the work of teachers as they strive to maximize student learning.