Four stages of competence
In psychology, the four stages of competence, or the "conscious competence" learning model, relates to the psychological states involved in the process of progressing from incompetence to competence in a skill. History. Management trainer Martin M. Broadwell described the model as "the four levels of teaching" in February 1969. Paul R. Curtiss and Phillip W. Warren mentioned the model in their 1973 book "The Dynamics of Life Skills Coaching". The model was used at Gordon Training International by its employee Noel Burch in the 1970s; there it was called the "four stages for learning any new  skill". Later the model was frequently attributed to Abraham Maslow, incorrectly since the model does not appear in his major works. Overview. The four stages suggest that individuals are initially unaware of how little they know, or unconscious of their incompetence. As they recognize their incompetence, they consciously acquire a skill, then consciously use it. Eventually, the skill can be utilized without it being consciously thought through: the individual is said to have then acquired unconscious competence. Several elements, including helping someone "know what they don't know" or recognize a blind spot, can be compared to some elements of  a Johari window, although Johari deals with self-awareness, while the four stages of competence deals with learning stages. Stages. The four stages are: Further reading. A few examples among many peer-reviewed articles that mention the four stages: