PIAF - the skills journey

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, I shared with you a simple four-phase model for the design of workplace learning interventions:

• Preparation: Helping the learner to prepare for a productive learning experience.
• Input: Providing the formal element which hopefully will inspire the learner and act as a catalyst for changes in behaviour and on-going skills development.
• Application: Providing opportunities for the learner to test out new ideas and skills in the work environment.
• Follow-up: Helping the learner to continue their learning journey using on-demand content, coaching and support from peers.

In this post, I intend to demonstrate how the four phases could be applied to the development of skills, whether motor (driving a car, lifting a heavy object, using a mouse), interpersonal (dealing with customer complaints, providing feedback, negotiating) or cognitive (troubleshooting a computer fault, solving an equation, developing a strategic plan). All skills have one important thing in common, which is that they will not develop without lots of practice, ideally with helpful feedback.

You will see an outline for the skills journey below, mapped to the four phases and also to that old favourite - the model which sees the learner move from unconscious incompetence to unconscious competence:

• Unconscious incompetence: Ignorance is bliss. Skilled performance looks so easy when applied effortlessly by experts - surely it can't be that hard.
• Conscious incompetence: So then you have a go. 'Oh dear, this is much harder than I thought. There's so much to think about at the same time - I don't know whether I'll be able to manage this.' Unfortunately, that is the stage at which many learning interventions finish - the learner is in a worse emotional state than when they started. Ideally the Input phase would not leave the learner in such an uncomfortable position; they should be along the way to �
• Conscious competence: You continue to practise, with lots of constructive feedback. In time you will begin to believe you can really do this, even if it takes a lot of conscious effort.
• Unconscious competence: In time and with enough practice a skill will become unconscious - you will be able to perform it without effort. Eventually you will wonder what the fuss was all about - this is so easy it almost seems intuitive.

I must admit I've been wary of this four-step approach - the play on words seems too good to be true. However, it does conform quite well to the realities of skills development, so I'm happy to use it here.

You will see from this table that I have also mapped the shift from courses to resources, although in reality the distinction will be much less clear-cut.

Tomorrow I'll demonstrate how PIAF might apply when the aim is to explore ideas rather than develop skills.

Next: The ideas adventure

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