09/19/2019
Learning, Teaching & Instructing. -
Every class I tell my students- “Please keep in mind that I practice this choreo 70+ times before I teach it!” (70 is a bit of an exaggeration, but the number is always in the double digits)
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Here is a video I took a while back of ‘what I look’ like when I FIRST try and learn a song.
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So I thought I would dive into the stages of learning (we examined this in PTA school- when assisting a patient to learn a new skill)
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The COGNITIVE stage: “what to do” -this is the stage where there is a lot of trial and error, the learner is making mistakes, requires a lot of cueing (verbal, visual -feedback) gathering information is huge, while performance is inconsistent. -
The ASSOCIATIVE stage: “how to do it”- this is when the learner is able to observe some of (maybe sometimes predict) the mistakes being made- (I think back to batting practice when I could ‘feel’ the contact and know that it was NOT a solid hit) Performance is becoming more consistent in this stage. -
The AUTONOMOUS stage: “do it” Think about when you perform something and it becomes natural. (hence automatic) As a learner, you are not spending much time with the fundamentals- you KNOW you are making mistakes AND YOU know HOW to correct them. (ie. “My grip was too tight on the bat, and too high…)
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Keep in mind this video was taken in 2019 (I have been instructing group fitness for 9 years)
so although I’m JUST learning THIS song,
I have honed in on the processes that I TAKE in which I learn choreo the best-
so I’m between stage 1-2 in this video. -
If you are trying something new-> a NEW job, learning to sew, learning to walk (shout out to all my 1 year old followers! I SEE YOU baby!) learning to listen, learning a new way of documenting at your job, learning to milk a cow or how to use a rototiller.
COME ON I COULD GO ON ALL DAY!
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Keep these stages IN MIND-
JUST starting something new is difficult, and CONTINUING to do something (practice) is as well-
so KEEP these stages in mind.
Keep the ‘messy middle’ in mind-
You don’t go from stage one to three without stage two-
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What are you currently learning and what stage do you think you’re in with it!?
