How People learn?
Which are the fundamental principles of adult learning?
How to use these principles to design impactful training programs?
People often refer to the learning curve. There are four steps along the way that are collectively referred to as the Four Stages of Competency. These steps were originally identified by Noel Burch and have become critical to our understanding of the learning process.
I'd like to give you an overview of each stage and share some specific places on the learning curve where instructional designers should pay careful attention.
I'd like to give you an overview of each stage and share some specific places on the learning curve where instructional designers should pay careful attention.
- The first stage is called Unconscious Incompetent. In this stage, learners don't know what they don't know.
It's sometimes called the bliss stage, because learners can appear to be overconfident in their abilities. A great example is learning to drive a car. You don't know exactly what's in store for you until you get behind the wheel and start driving. The time before a new driver starts their hands-on training is the unconscious incompetent stage. - The next stage is called Conscious Incompetent. This is when learners become aware of what they don't know. It's common for learner confidence to drop dramatically when they reach this stage. To use the driver training example, this might the first time someone gets behind the wheel and starts driving.
For me, I learned to drive on a manual transmission, so my conscious incompetent moment happened the very first time I tried to drive and immediately stalled the car. - The third stage is called Conscious Competent. This is when learners can do something at a minimal level, but they feel overly self-conscious about it. This is an uncomfortable feeling for many learners. So, it's not unusual for learner's self-confidence to remain low at this stage even as their ability improves. In the driver training example, conscious competent might be when someone takes their driving test.
It can be a nerve-wrecking experience to try to remember when to signal or how to parallel park while someone is sitting next to you taking notes on a clipboard. - The fourth stage is called Unconscious Competent. Learners at this stage know something well enough that they no longer have to think about it at a conscious level. This stage is marked by high confidence and high ability, so they need very little training at this point. Many drivers reach this stage shortly after earning their licence. Driving a car becomes instinctive and requires very little attention.
- The first is the transition from Unconscious Incompetent to Conscious Incompetent. Learners must make this transition in order to learn, because they can't engage in learning if they don't know what they don't know. As instructional designers, it's important that we create some challenge for learners to help them get through this.
For example, we might give them a hands-on activity where they can try out a new skill. Challenge is essential to learning. We also have to be careful not to make the challenge too difficult.
Facing a tough challenge may cause learners to experience negative emotions such as fear or embarrassment. They may even decide to check out of the learning process entirely if they perceive the challenge to be too great to overcome. - The second place on the learning curve where instructional designers need to pay careful attention is the Conscious Competent Stage. Here, learners build both skills and confidence. But many learners have a strange reaction to the process. They often perceive their lack of mastery as a sign that either the content is ineffective or they themselves are unable to learn.
This makes it important to design training where learners can easily identify their own progress. A good example might be learning to type. Typing courses will often incorporate games and other fun skill building activities to help learners build confidence with skills they already have. If a lesson had just covered the keys on the home row, learners might be asked to complete a timed activity where they only need to use those letters.