up:: [[Learning and Knowledge Management]] and [[Thinking MOC]] tags:: #on/learning # Levels of Understanding I like to approach topic in terms of both intellectual input and output. On the input side, we have the conscience competence model. ##### Unconscious incompetence The individual does not understand or know how to do something and does not necessarily recognize the deficit. They may deny the usefulness of the skill. The individual must recognize their own incompetence, and the value of the new skill, before moving on to the next stage. The length of time an individual spends in this stage depends on the strength of the stimulus to learn ##### Conscious incompetence Though the individual does not understand or know how to do something, they recognize the deficit, as well as the value of a new skill in addressing the deficit. The making of mistakes can be integral to the learning process at this stage. ##### Conscious competence The individual understands or knows how to do something. It may be broken down into steps, and there is heavy conscious involvement in executing the new skill. However, demonstrating the skill or knowledge requires concentration, and if it is broken, they lapse into incompetence. ##### Unconscious competence The individual has had so much practice with a skill that it has become "second nature" and can be performed easily. As a result, the skill can be performed while executing another task. The individual may be able to teach it to others, depending upon how and when it was learned. As we move up in levels of intellectual input, we also enable different [[Levels of Reading]]. #### In terms of intellectual output This is a remark that I've seen in passing on a YouTube comment, unfortunately the source is lost but I remember the gist of it. That there are levels of instruction communication. ##### Able to discuss something using everyday language. The most basic form of output, where the person vaguely describes a concept but do not have a working knowledge of the subject. The use the simple language here is a demonstration in lack of domain expertise, unlike in advanced understanding, where simple language is also used in context. ##### Able to discuss something using jargon, with other experts. This is the basic level of domain expertise, minimally requiring [[#Conscious incompetence]], the person knows of keywords in the domain, but require the recipient to have a same or deeper level of understanding to navigate the conversation. ##### Able to explain something using jargon, to novices. The ability to explain is more advanced than discussion, requiring at least [[#Conscious competence]]. However, the person is mostly able to reiterate the subject in the manner they initially learned from, hence use of jargons and definitions. ##### Able to explain something using everyday language, to novices. Arguably the point of mastery, where the understanding of a subject is thorough. The person is able to adapt to the level of the recipient and the situation to use simple language and relevant metaphors. This level requires [[#Unconscious competence]], and [[Levels of Reading#Syntopical Reading|Syntopical Reading]] of the subject matter. Sources: [Four stages of competence - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_stages_of_competence) [The Mastery Scale. How to measure growth … | by Nate Schloesser | Bootcamp](https://bootcamp.uxdesign.cc/the-mastery-scale-777a324b8219)