The 4 Stages of Learning
The four stages of learning is an influential model in popular psychology that describes the mental and behavioural states involved in the process of learning.
The source of this model is unclear, though the earliest sources seem to be the following:
Teaching For Learning (1969) by Martin M. Broadwell.
The Dynamics of Life Skills Coaching (1973) by Paul R. Curtiss and Phillip W. Warren.
Noel Burch of Gordon Training International in the 1970s.
The model focuses on two aspects of the learner:
Consciousness
Competence
According to these aspects, the learner passes through four stages when encountering a new skill:
Unconscious Incompetence
Conscious Incompetence
Conscious Competence
Unconscious Competence
In other words, whenever we are presented with a new skill, we typically begin unaware of our inability to perform that skill. Once we try to perform it, we soon realize that we are incompetent. If we persist despite any feelings of inadequacy, we reach a stage of competence that we are aware of. And if we still persist in practicing that skill, it eventually becomes automated and our attention is made free to focus on something else.
The purpose of this model, it seems, is to manage our expectations when learning a new skill. It means recognizing how we feel at each stage of the learning process so that we "stick with it" and manage our emotional ups and downs.
This is a useful model for coaching because it anticipates two problems:
Loss of motivation during the conscious incompetence stage.
Loss of discipline during the conscious competence stage.
By using the appropriate encouragement at each stage, a coach may more effectively guide a learner to the unconscious competence stage of a particular skill.
Reference
En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Four stages of competence - Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_stages_of_competence> [Accessed 30 September 2022].
Mindtools.com. 2022. The Conscious Competence Ladder: Developing Awareness of Your Skill Levels. [online] Available at: <https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newISS_96.htm#:~:text=Key%20Points-,Noel%20Burch%2C%20an%20employee%20with%20Gordon%20Training%20International%2C%20developed%20the,Unconsciously%20unskilled.> [Accessed 30 September 2022].
