The five stage model of adult learning
Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2015 3:48 pm
http://www.ucdblogs.org/ucdblogs/wp-con ... sition.pdf
The Dreyfus scale is (yet) another model for learning stages. It's useful for understanding where people (including oneself) are on the spectrum of mastery.
(The ERE book has/describes a similar scale---most scales are similar---illustrated with list of six C's)
This is what I've seen as it pertains to [teaching] ERE.
Stage 1 (novice): I often fail to recognize that novices are not really capable of doing anything other than follow a plan which is a context-free set of steps that the novice can follow without having any skill. ERE as I understand it can't really be taught at this level much as calculus can't be taught without some knowledge of addition and multiplication. The 21 day makeover is written for novices. The ERE book is written at a much higher level. This is why all the negative reviews that aren't character assassinations complain about either the lack of reading comprehension (typically along with a demonstrated lack of "writing comprehension") or the book's lack of a plan to follow. Tough luck.
Stage 2 (advanced beginner): This is the advanced frugalite who knows 200 different ways to stretch a dollar. I don't need to give them tactics. They already know them all, but they're not sure which one applies when and where. They absolutely love lists! In terms of plans they're likely following some plan which they received from some expert. The main challenge with these guys is that they're often talking from the top of Mount Stupid. They know just enough to be dangerous to themselves and others if they get over-confident. Most of the holy wars about "this or that method can't possibly work" and "experts have proven that this plan is the best" happen here. Best avoided. Don't debate!
Stage 3 (competence): This is the "I'm trying to choose a plan" stage. Journals are helpful here since that's essentially a set of premade plans. Find someone similar and copy them. Also discuss these plans with others to gain confidence. A lot of bloggers also spend time here. A journal is really but a blog on a forum. The difference between this stage and the previous stage is that if things don't work out, the advanced beginner will blame others (hello hatchet job) whereas the competent person will blame themselves for having chosen to follow the wrong rules or plan. The supply of complainypants dry up at level 3. Level 1 and 2 are full of complainypants.
Stage 4 (proficiency): 4 is to 3 as 2 is to 1. Many different plans have been considered. Many examples and situations have been encountered. Most importantly, the plan/correct behavior has become obvious rather than a deliberate thought process. There's no longer an internal dialogue as to what the right plan should be by weighing pros and cons. This person intuitively knows that some spending is bad, that some food is bad, ... they aren't debating this with themselves. ERE-wise, at this stage people are no longer falling off the wagon. They are not accidentally "splurging". They don't have a WTF?!-category when looking over last month's spending. However, while many plans have been considered, they haven't been experienced. They're still not capable of making their own plans though due to lack of experience with multiple plans. The goal is known intuitively, the rules or tactics/steps are known intuitively, but connecting them doesn't yet work at the level of intuition.
Stage 5 (expertise): Tada! Going from the previous stage to this stage is what the ERE book was written for. Connecting tactics and goals. How to plan a plan or in other words strategy. The important difference between this stage and the previous 4 is that whereas stage 3 and 4 eliminated conscious deliberations on following specific rules, stage 5 eliminated conscious deliberations on picking specific plans. At stage 5 there are no rules and no plans. Those were just teaching tools. You no longer think about it. You just do it and you do it correctly. The mental load in stage 5 wrt the skill is the lowest of all stages.
The Dreyfus scale is (yet) another model for learning stages. It's useful for understanding where people (including oneself) are on the spectrum of mastery.
(The ERE book has/describes a similar scale---most scales are similar---illustrated with list of six C's)
This is what I've seen as it pertains to [teaching] ERE.
Stage 1 (novice): I often fail to recognize that novices are not really capable of doing anything other than follow a plan which is a context-free set of steps that the novice can follow without having any skill. ERE as I understand it can't really be taught at this level much as calculus can't be taught without some knowledge of addition and multiplication. The 21 day makeover is written for novices. The ERE book is written at a much higher level. This is why all the negative reviews that aren't character assassinations complain about either the lack of reading comprehension (typically along with a demonstrated lack of "writing comprehension") or the book's lack of a plan to follow. Tough luck.
Stage 2 (advanced beginner): This is the advanced frugalite who knows 200 different ways to stretch a dollar. I don't need to give them tactics. They already know them all, but they're not sure which one applies when and where. They absolutely love lists! In terms of plans they're likely following some plan which they received from some expert. The main challenge with these guys is that they're often talking from the top of Mount Stupid. They know just enough to be dangerous to themselves and others if they get over-confident. Most of the holy wars about "this or that method can't possibly work" and "experts have proven that this plan is the best" happen here. Best avoided. Don't debate!
Stage 3 (competence): This is the "I'm trying to choose a plan" stage. Journals are helpful here since that's essentially a set of premade plans. Find someone similar and copy them. Also discuss these plans with others to gain confidence. A lot of bloggers also spend time here. A journal is really but a blog on a forum. The difference between this stage and the previous stage is that if things don't work out, the advanced beginner will blame others (hello hatchet job) whereas the competent person will blame themselves for having chosen to follow the wrong rules or plan. The supply of complainypants dry up at level 3. Level 1 and 2 are full of complainypants.
Stage 4 (proficiency): 4 is to 3 as 2 is to 1. Many different plans have been considered. Many examples and situations have been encountered. Most importantly, the plan/correct behavior has become obvious rather than a deliberate thought process. There's no longer an internal dialogue as to what the right plan should be by weighing pros and cons. This person intuitively knows that some spending is bad, that some food is bad, ... they aren't debating this with themselves. ERE-wise, at this stage people are no longer falling off the wagon. They are not accidentally "splurging". They don't have a WTF?!-category when looking over last month's spending. However, while many plans have been considered, they haven't been experienced. They're still not capable of making their own plans though due to lack of experience with multiple plans. The goal is known intuitively, the rules or tactics/steps are known intuitively, but connecting them doesn't yet work at the level of intuition.
Stage 5 (expertise): Tada! Going from the previous stage to this stage is what the ERE book was written for. Connecting tactics and goals. How to plan a plan or in other words strategy. The important difference between this stage and the previous 4 is that whereas stage 3 and 4 eliminated conscious deliberations on following specific rules, stage 5 eliminated conscious deliberations on picking specific plans. At stage 5 there are no rules and no plans. Those were just teaching tools. You no longer think about it. You just do it and you do it correctly. The mental load in stage 5 wrt the skill is the lowest of all stages.