The set of techniques described in this section specifically help you learn skills and
behaviors. Let's look at these in summary before going into more detail.
Three-stage skill learning is the normal way of learning most skills. To learn complex
skills, it's usually helpful to break the skill down into parts. This is "part task training."
You can improve your skill learning by deliberately introducing task variation and task
interference into your training, as long as it's "in context." You can also improve retention of
skills via a technique called Overlearning.
Sometimes you need to change an already learned behavior. This is not as easy as it might
seem. You need to follow some specific steps to "shunt" from one response to another. Lastly,
you can heighten your overall performance by modeling and anchoring.
This section covers all these techniques in further detail. Read on to find out more.
Note that if you take on a pre-designed training program for complex skills, it's likely the
course designers incorporated many of these techniques into your lessons. There is usually still
room for you to apply these techniques yourself. If your training program lacks these
techniques, you can benefit from adding these techniques yourself.
An outline of the process of learning of a new skill, including the cognitive stage (a
declarative or verbal representation of rules), the associative stage (turning those
procedures and rules into implicit behaviors), to the autonomous stage (automatic performance
of the skill).
Tips on how to apply this theory with practical examples. When to rely on memory
techniques, and when to reduce that reliance.
How to learn more complex skills using part task training. Provides the basic concepts
behind this technique.
The three general steps to follow when using part task training. Details on how to
decompose the task into manageable subtasks, practice each of those subtasks, and then
recombine the subtasks to perform the overall task.
How to decompose tasks based on complexity or difficulty of the task, as well as the level
of integration with other tasks.
How you can use timing or location to help decompose sequence based tasks. You may also be
able to split it by cognitive processes such as concept learning, perceptual detection, motor
coordination, rule following, and problem solving.
When decomposing tasks is not effective, eg due to timing or overlap.
Describes three approaches for practicing the various components — simplifying,
fractionating, and segmenting. Simplifying describes how to modify or eliminate certain task
demands, fractionating describes separate practice on task components, and segmenting
describes splitting tasks into temporal or spatial components.
Describes four approaches for recombining subtasks into performance of the overall task.
These are pure part, progressive part, repetitive part, and backward chaining.
How tasks and procedures you do are influenced by your mental state at the time, and how
to change your state to provide optimum performance.
Describes two common techniques for managing the state you are in during task
performance — anchoring and modeling.
Anchoring description includes examples of what you can model (confidence, peak
performance, strength, happiness etc), as well as comments on when modeling doesn't work that
well. Includes specific steps for creating an anchor, as well as examples of usage (such as
public speaking, dealing with the opposite sex, overcoming past issues, and before and after
exams. Also includes comments on anchoring during performance, as well as the use of
pre-performance patterns or rituals.
Modeling description includes when and how to use modeling and specific steps (such as
finding an expert, eliciting their strategy, modeling it yourself, testing it etc). Includes
examples of what to elicit and model, including breathing (including rate, volume and pauses),
heart rate, posture, muscular tension, eye movements, voice, body language, general movement,
level and focus of attention, relaxation, awareness, reaction time, mental steps and
processes, etc
Includes a specific example contrasting the state of a student pilot versus an instructor.
