Novice to mastery competence continuum
From Ballotpedia
This article does not receive scheduled updates. If you would like to help our coverage grow, consider donating to Ballotpedia. Contact our team to suggest an update.
The novice to mastery competence continuum is just one term of many used to describe a popular approach to learning. In this approach, the learner moves along on a continuum that ranks her level of knowledge from a level of "uninformed" or "novice" to that of a "master" or "expert." The continuum serves as a way to differentiate several skill levels without creating rigid tiers. As it is a commonly-used model, there are many subtle differences among definitions and terms used when discussing the continuum. That said, there are many vital elements of the idea represented in nearly all variations.
Continuum
The underlying philosophy of the competence continuum is that all skills or subjects have their own continuum. Once one becomes aware of a subject or skill, he or she can be considered "placed" on the continuum for that skill. One has the opportunity to then progress along that continuum for as long as training for the relative skill continues. Where the continuum begins and ends depends on the skill in question, but each continuum uses the following four stages:
- Novice: The individual requires teaching and hard instruction.
- Competent: The individual can perform at a basic level but seeks further instruction and refinement.
- Experienced: The individual possesses a high degree of knowledge and seeks help to tackle more and more advanced problems.
- Master/Expert: The individual creates new knowledge and devises new methods of dealing with problems.[1]
Another noteworthy idea involving the competency continuum is the idea of "pushing" knowledge versus "pulling" knowledge. In the beginning of one's progression along a continuum, some theorists have observed that learning is more effective when material is "pushed" onto the novice. As the novice has no preexisting knowledge, he or she requires this new information in order to make meaningful progress along the continuum. In contrast, individuals who have gained much expertise in a skill will find it more useful to conduct research about different techniques or practices, "pulling" information from other sources. For instance, when learning to cook, a novice with very little prior experience requires guidance in order to create properly prepared dishes. An expert will already have a firm grasp of flavors and techniques, and may find it more enriching to take a classic recipe and experiment with it. The expert will have the ability to succeed and develop new skills where the novice may experience difficulty. It is also important to note that different skills can branch into other skills. In these cases, some insist that mastery of all of these "branch" skills is required to increase one's mastery of the broader skill while others say that each skill has its own unique continuum.[1][2]
Examples
According to supporters of the competence continuum, all skills and forms of knowledge can have a continuum of their own. Cooking, for instance, was mentioned above, and provides a clear example of the major stages in the continuum:
- The novice will require supervision and direction in order to avoid hazards of cooking.
- The competent cook will be capable of cooking from several recipes, but may still require direction when working with new techniques or ingredients.
- The experienced cook will know how to avoid the common pitfalls of cooking and will be comfortable using many different pieces of equipment and flavors.
- The master chef will have no limits in the kitchen and will know how to create new recipes or alter others to suit his or her needs. At the very highest level, these experts may have cooking shows and may even act as authority figures for certain types of cuisine.
As cooking relies on various different skills and a knowledge of different pieces of equipment and ingredients, it may become a somewhat convoluted example. A more simplified example may be bike riding:
- The novice requires training wheels and instruction about balancing in order to move forward a few yards.
- The competent rider may use his or her bike for leisure or fun and rarely, if ever, falls.
- The expert rider is comfortable enough to bike for long distances, perhaps for exercise or transportation.
- The master rider bikes competitively, and understands how to push the limits of his or her equipment without injury.
In this example, one can observe that not all individuals will progress to the master level. However, one does not need to achieve that level of mastery in order to be comfortable riding a bike for leisure or transportation. In this way, the continuum model succeeds in its attempts to demonstrate that there can be different levels of learning without a rigid, tier-based system.[1][2]
