How to Take Charge of Your Learning

I was recently watching a video by Dr. John Berardi on nutrition and he talks about the four stages of learning. Although his discussion was focused on nutrition, the four learning stages mentioned transcend all subjects and can be applied to learn any skill. Most people find it difficult to learn because of the natural negative feedback one receives from "not doing it right" or "never being able to get this". Interestingly, these feelings of incompetency and frustration are part of the four steps of learning. Knowing these four steps will help you persevere and succeed in learning your desired skill. So without further ado:

The Four Stages of Learning

1. Not Knowing and Unaware - Blissful ignorance before learning begins. "The individual neither understands or knows how to do something, nor recognizes the deficit or has a desire to address it." (Wikipedia) Ex: A person is unaware that they are holding and using chopsticks the wrong way.
2. Not Knowing and Aware - "Though the individual does not understand or know how to do something, he or she does recognize the deficit, without yet addressing it."(Wikipedia). This is where most of the aforementioned frustration over being incompetent occurs. This is probably the most difficult step for most to overcome. Ex: The person has observed others holding chopsticks or came across some chopstick directions (common on the back of chopstick wrappers at Chinese restaurants) and realizes that his/her way of holding chopsticks is wrong.
3. Knowing and Aware - "The individual understands or knows how to do something. However, demonstrating the skill or knowledge requires a great deal of consciousness or concentration." (Wikipedia). Ex: The person learns the correct way to hold the chopstick but he/she will not hold it the right way unless he is consciously trying to hold it correctly.
   
4. Knowing and Unaware - Something is truly learned once it becomes natural to us. "The individual has had so much practice with a skill that it becomes 'second nature' and can be performed easily (often without concentrating too deeply). He or she can also teach it to others." (Wikipedia). There is full internalization of the skill but the exact moment of achieving this step is hard to pinpoint. Competency occurs but we don't know how it occurs. Ex: After much practice, the person now naturally holds and uses chopsticks the correct way every time he/she picks up a pair of chopsticks. That person doesn't think about holding the chopsticks the right way and just does it. When others comment about his/her skill, he/she doesn't even realize that he/she is holding it correctly or incorrectly. When observing others, he/she can usually point out if others are holding their chopsticks correctly and teach them if they are not.
   

Above is a diagram from Luc Galoppin's management consulting blog. It sums up the four steps to progress from being incompetent to being competent in a nice visual manner. One is not really competent until they reach the fourth and final stage. Usually the final stage occurs unexpectedly. One day things will "just click" and make sense and it is difficult to attribute it to any defining moment. Many people get stuck in stage 2 or stage 3 because these stages cause the most resistance thus requiring the most amount of work. During these stages, it is easy for people to get bogged down in collecting the right information and knowledge and forgetting to actually practice the skill they are trying to learn. Achieving competency is a journey that does have an end. The most important thing is to start walking. Like Nike's famous slogan "Just Do It" - Don't just think about being competent in something, go out and do it. If you want to jump higher, don't just read books about jumping higher, go out and practice jumping. If you want to learn how to speak Russian, sign up for a Russian language class. Be proactive about being competent, no one else is going to make you more competent but yourself.

Recommended Reading: Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development by David A. Kolb and Workplace Learning & Development: Delivering Competitive Advantage for your Organization by Jackie Clifford