A progression means to move, forward or backwards, but moving nonetheless. I will qualify your teacher, nevermind.
It's unfortunate that you must learn a major scale construction, but learn it. The previous post discussed that. Understanding the previous post, progressions follow:
I V I
I IV V I
I IV I
I ii V I
I iv ii V I (an old do-wop, or Heart and Soul)
I iii iv ii V I
I vii iii iv ii V I (all the chords within a key)
There are few more variations, but these are the basics.
In C:
C G7 C
C F G7 C
C F C
C Dm G7 C
C Am Dm G7 C
C Em Am Dm G7 C
C Bm7b5 Em Am Dm G7 C
Notice Rock or Blues doesn't necessarily follow the rules.
Hope this helps. If anything copy and paste to something for future study.