It is a well known fact that the development of any skill passes through four stages. Let me illustrate:
1. 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.
2. 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.
… and then apparently there’s another two stages, but I have never got beyond conscious incompetence. I’m really good at that, as regular readers of the blog will know.
