STAGES OF LEARNING

I had a conversation with a fellow coach a few weeks ago about Stages of Learning yesterday that I thought could benefit everyone.  

These theories are very important for coaches because they provide you with perspective that frames expectations of the learning your athletes should demonstrate.  This is important for season planning so that you plan the minimum amount of time for your athletes to develop a level of competency for a skill or concept.  It will also help you to make your goal setting realistic.

Research from Fitts and Posner is widely respected so I thought I’d use their language, however the National Coaching Certification Program uses different language.  I believe NCCP uses the language of Introduction, Acquisition, Competency, Performance or something like that.  Again it’s different ways of saying the same thing.  Basically they want you to understand that if you show something to an athlete today, it takes time for them to go through the different stages of learning to get to a point of competency or performance.    I often use the language that “telling is not teaching” and I also believe that “teaching is not learning”.

There are variables that influence the stages of learning, how long it takes to go from one stage to another and duration of time in each stage.  Variables like “volume” (the amount of reps athletes get performing the skill; “frequency” (how many times during a period the athlete is getting the reps); “environement”(does the practice environment reflect the competitive environment; quality (quality of the reps/practice); time; number of athletes; number of coaches; etc.

The Learning Process – Fitts and Posner

Fitts and Posner (1967) suggest that the learning process is sequential and that we move through specific phases as we learn. There are three stages to learning a new skill:

• Cognitive phase - Identification and development of the component parts of the skill - involves formation of a mental picture of the skill
• Associative phase - Linking the component parts into a smooth action - involves practicing the skill and using feedback to perfect the skill
• Autonomous phase - Developing the learned skill so that it becomes automatic - involves little or no conscious thought or attention whilst performing the skill - not all performers reach this stage

Stages of Learning a Sports Skill

The learning of physical skills requires the relevant movements to be assembled, component by component, using feedback to shape and polish them into a smooth action. Rehearsal of the skill must be done regularly and correctly. 

The stages of learning are phases that athletes experience as they progress through skills. As a coach, if you are aware of your athletes' level of readiness, you can be better at skill instruction for their level.

Several models are used describe these learning stages. There is no definitive point at which an athlete transitions into any the phase, but descriptions help coaches know about where athletes are and which level of activities they are able to accomplish.

The two-stage models distinguish only between getting the idea and then progressing from the fundamentals to refining skills. Key points from each model are presented here using the 3-stage approach.  Courtesy of the Sport Advisor.

The Mental Stage: Figuring Out the Skill – Cognitive (Fitts & Posner)

This phase, sometimes referred to as the cognitive stage or the verbal-motor stage, occurs when the beginning athlete is attempting to understand the basic task. Challenges include how to hold the racquet, how to place the feet, and where the boundaries are.

Beginners are not always aware of what they did wrong, nor do they know how to correct errors. They need basic, specific instruction and feedback during this phase.

The Associative Stage: Getting Better – Associative (Fitts & Posner)

At this stage the athlete understands the fundamentals of the skill and is in the process of refining the skill. They experience fewer errors and can detect some of them on their own. Performances are more consistent and learners begin to know what is relevant and what is not.

Here the athlete refines what is needed to accomplish the objective of the skill regardless of the situation. They also begin to learn how to diversify responses for open skills.

The Autonomous Stage: It's Second Nature – Autonomous (Fitts & Posner)

At this point the skill is well learned. The athlete perform the skill automatically without having to focus on execution. There are few errors and athletes can detect and know how to correct them. They can concentrate more on other aspects of the game.

As athletes transition from learning to goal of the skill to perfecting it, coaches can diversify instruction and practice conditions.

For closed skills, practices should be structured to match the conditions of competition. For open skills, the coach must systematically vary the conditions under which the skill is being learned and performed in preparation for competition.

Conscious and Unconscious Learning

Here is another useful way of looking at the 4 stages of learning!

Unconscious Incompetence

The individual does not understand or know how to do something and does not necessarily recognize the deficit. They may deny the usefulness of the skill. The individual must recognise their own incompetence, and the value of the new skill, before moving on to the next stage.  The length of time an individual spends in this stage depends on the strength of the stimulus to learn.

Conscious Incompetence

Though the individual does not understand or know how to do something, he or she does recognize the deficit, as well as the value of a new skill in addressing the deficit. The making of mistakes can be integral to the learning process at this stage.

Conscious Competence

The individual understands or knows how to do something. However, demonstrating the skill or knowledge requires concentration. It may be broken down into steps, and there is heavy conscious involvement in executing the new skill.

Unconscious Competence

The individual has had so much practice with a skill that it has become "second nature" and can be performed easily. As a result, the skill can be performed while executing another task. The individual may be able to teach it to others, depending upon how and when it was learned.