A valuable learning concept is the Advanced Learning Model (ALM). This is a great method to interpret what we know and what we don’t know. The model defines the 4 stages of learning a skill:
1. Unconscious incompetence – this is prior to learning anything at all about a skill. You don’t even know what you don’t know. You may not even have known that this was a skill.
2. Conscious incompetence – you now know what you don’t know (to some degree), but you are still incompetent at applying this skill.
3. Conscious competence – you are competent at applying this new skill, but you have to think about it do so.
4. Unconscious competence – you are now an expert at this skill and you can apply the knowledge with very little effort. You do not need to think about it in order to apply it. This can likely only happen with experience and repetition. You are an expert.
The best analogy or example for applying this model to a common skill is driving a car. Level 1 is the child who has no idea what is really involved in driving a car. Level 2 is the teenager taking driver’s education. He now realizes what he doesn’t know and how difficult it can be. Level 3 is the young adult who has passed the tests and has his license. He has knowledge, but no experience. He still has not seen all the difficult situations that might arise, but he is capable. Level 4 is the adult who has been driving for many years and is very comfortable behind the wheel. Not much thought is required for this person to drive from here to there, until he begins driving in an unfamiliar area, in which case he becomes a level 3 learner again, due to the introduction of a new variable.
Very similar to poker. We can be at level 3 or 4 in our most familiar games. But when we change stakes, play a tougher crowd, or change some other key element, we automatically drop from being at level 3 or 4 to now being at level 2 or 3. That is just the way it is. We have new things to learn and adjust to, until we can now play at the the expert level again.
Good luck and God bless.
