Stages of Learning

Cognitive (Preparation) Phase

At the cognitive stage the learner develops knowledge of what the skill involves.  The learner will have to focus strongly on the subroutines of the skill when performing and will struggle with decision making aspects, therefore will find it difficult to apply the skill successfully in a game situation or a more game like practice.  If they perform in a full game they will often make incorrect decisions about types of shot to play because they are focusing entirely on technique. 

Practices for learners at the cognitive stage should be kept simple to allow then to achieve a high level of success.  Types of practice such as shadow practises and self feed repetition drills are suitable as they take out decision making factors and allow the performer to focus on small parts to groove their technique and learn the subroutines of the shot.  Lots of repetition is essential to get the body used to the action and learn through muscle memory.  The performer will require lots of external feedback (such as verbal feedback from coaches or partners) and reinforcement about their technique development.

Associative (Practice) Stage

When the performer starts to perform the skill with a degree of fluency and co-ordination they should move on to more demanding practices to refine the skill. They will automatically do some of the subroutines without having to think about it but may still need to focus to improve one or two aspects.  They will start to show better decision making under pressure because they are to focusing other factors.  There will still be occasions when they select incorrect options as they still have to focus on their technique to some degree, for example they might play an overhead clear, even if their opponent is back court because they have not taken in all the relevant information with regards to shot selection.

The types of practice used should become more demanding and more gamelike.  Practices such as partner feed repetition drills or target practice repetition drills and conditioned games are ideal to allow the performer to practise in a more challenging context.  This will bring in some more decision making aspects to their performance, for example, when to use the shot they are practising in a game situation. 

The performer will still rely on external feedback such as verbal but will start to become more aware of internal feedback, such as kinaesthetic awareness.  They will have more awareness about the success of their performance than someone at the cognitive stage.  As they move towards the advanced stage of associative stage and towards the automatic, the performer looks to refine their technique.

Autonomous (Automatic) Stage

A performer at the autonomous stage will perform the skill with a large degree of fluency and co-ordination and will show economy of effort.  They will do the skill without thinking, which will allow them to focus on other aspects of the game and make correct decisions.  Since they do not have to focus on technique they will concentrate on things like the position of their opponent on court and consider this with regards shot selection.  They may also be able to plan 2 or 3 shots ahead in a rally in terms of where they want their opponent to move on court.

They should practise in demanding and gamelike situations, such as pressure drills, sequence drills, conditioned and full court games to allow them to focus on decision making aspects and get used to performing the skill under pressure.

A player at the autonomous stage will be able to process large amounts of internal feedback about their performance and will use knowledge of results and be less reliant on verbal feedback from partners or coaches.