Cognitive Stage (Philzana B, Tjarra K and Klarindah H)The first stage of skill learning is the cognitive stage. The fundamental requirement here is that the athlete gains an understanding of the task required.
It is expected that the learner will encounter problems, the number and magnitude of which will depend on the difficulty of the skill. The learner may experience error, awkwardness and some disorientation. Thus, learners must receive continuous feedback or information on their progress. If they experience much difficulty, the skill could possibly be broken into smaller movements for practice. During this stage, the learner should experience some success.
Rates of progress through the cognitive stage vary from one individual to another. Depending on the difficulty of the skill, it could be learned in anything from a few minutes to a much longer period. Some difficult skills may never be mastered by some people.
Associative Learning (Mikaela Z)
Definition: A type of learning principle based on the assumption that ideas and experiences reinforce one another and can be linked to enhance the learning process.
At the associative 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. The athlete can now perfect what is needed to execute the skill regardless of the situation. They also begin to learn how to distinguish responses for open skills.
An associative learner may not perform the skill perfectly but they have an excellent understanding of how to do it. The learner needs to keep repeating the skill and practice until they are satisfied. After a short amount of time, errors become less frequent and the presentation of the skill becomes more advanced.
Autonomous Phase (Ford C)In the Autonomous phase the skill becomes adaption to brains thought process and becomes part of motor memory. It is the third and final phase of learning and if you are in this phase you are referred to as an expert at that skill. When performing the skill requires very little thought and is performed every time almost perfect. Is at an advanced level of skill acquisition and responds automatically with skills appropriate to the situation. You make infrequent errors and can use feedback precisely but rely on internal feedback and you have difficulty in correcting incorrect subroutines.
When we learn, and in this case we are referring to learning movements such as in dance or related dance forms such as step aerobics and sports-oriented skills, we generally move through three different stages. Obviously, how we learn as individuals (i.e. visually, auditory or kinesthetic) will impact our performance. However, this is a discussion regarding the three stages of learning—cognitive, associative and autonomous. It is important to note when learning each new skill, we may transition through one, two or all three stages. It will depend upon our genetic predisposition, our commitment to learning the new skill, our physical limitations/capability, and our previous experiences with similar movements, how well we are being taught/coached and how often we are exposed to the new skill.
Understanding that you may experience three stages of learning each time you learn a new skill, may help you to be more patient with yourself during these transitions and in the end, to know when you have reached the skill level that is unique to you as an individual. There are also two different methods applied during teaching a new skill—the part or the whole approach and which is utilized will be determined based upon the complexity of the movement and the practicality of breaking it down into smaller parts.
For example, a complex choreographed step combination may be broken down into many parts prior to building the combination into the final form. Whereas a single step skill, such as a travel knee, simple by comparison to a combination where many step skills are combined, will tend to be taught by the whole approach.
*For purposes of describing the three stages of learning, we will use a complex choreographed step combination as the model and a beginner step participant. And, as always, prior to beginning any exercise program, please consult your physician.
Cognitive
Regardless of skill level, when a new skill set is presented, there may be mistakes and errors by the participant. A beginner may make many mistakes and errors initially by comparison to the experienced/skilled step participant. The beginner may also remain in the cognitive stage longer than those with more experience as it may take this individual longer to process this new information. However, as the combination is repeated several times, fewer errors may be made and hopefully leads them to the associative stage.
Associative
Just like it sounds, the beginner participant begins to associate a movement/skill with the verbal/visual cues being given by the instructor and this may enable them to react more quickly and efficiently. They may still struggle occasionally to “recall” all aspects of the combination, but their learning process is taking hold and this generally means fewer errors and more success.
Autonomous
Eventually, the goal of this beginner is to make the journey into the autonomous stage where they automatically respond to the cues given by the instructor with few, if any, errors. Being able to perform automatically spells learning success!
Now, the key for this beginner is to continue practicing their basic step skills so that the step skills are automatically understood enabling them to “connect the dots” of the complex choreographed combinations and become a skilled/experienced step participant.
In this post, we explain the three main stages/phases of learning as well as explain how understanding these different phases can help sports coaches and leaders.
Fitts and Posner (1967) studied how people progress when learning a skill and came up with the three phases of learning. When you practice and learn skills, you begin to move through the phases of learning. Sports leaders and coaches can then plan to add further skills and techniques. Enabling athletes to progress and become even more skilled.
Our article on the different methods of training is also worth reading after this post. We also recommend our articles on what are the best apps for sports coaches as well as our downloadable tournament planning templates.
What are the phases of learning?
There are three stages of learning:
- Cognitive Stage of Learning
- Associative Stage of Learning
- Autonomous Stage of Learning
The Cognitive Stage of Learning
The cognitive stage of learning is the first stage of learning when a person is setting out to learn a new skill or technique. This is known as the thinking stage. An example of this could be an athlete learning how to perform a serve in tennis. Firstly, the athlete needs to understand how to take a serve.
During this stage, athletes need feedback from their coaches to understand what they are doing wrong and will need visual images and demonstrations to move forward.
The Associative Stage of Learning
The associative stage of learning is the next phase an athlete goes through when learning a new skill. This is known as the practice phase and athletes begin to learn what errors they are making and will continue to practice how to serve in tennis. During this phase, the athletes will notice they are beginning to make progress.
Athletes will still need demonstrations from their sports coaches however they will begin to relate to the demonstrations you are showing them and will use this image to help them practice. The associative stage of learning is the longest stage of learning before they begin to master the skill.
The Autonomous Stage of Learning
This is the final stage of learning and is when a skill has been overlearned and is now automatically recalled when needed. Athletes can now also begin to concentrate on other tasks. For example, the athlete who was learning how to serve in tennis can now begin to learn how to apply spin to their serve.
The athlete is able to recognise when they are performing the skill incorrectly and should be able to state what went wrong (Kinaesthetic feedback).
By understanding the different phases of learning, sports coaches and leaders should be able to observe which stage of learning their athletes are in and determine their coaching planning as well as monitoring the progress of their athletes/players.
Our meet the coach series provides an insight into the minds of professional sport coaches and why understanding your athletes is so important.
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New to sports coaching? Then you may want to check out our guide to sports coaching. Here you will be able to learn techniques and strategies that will excel your coaching career. Topics include Stages of Learning, Methods of Training and Leadership Styles.
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