What is the serious version of "dabble"?

At Merriam Webster, the word dabble is defined as follows:

to work without any deep involvement, or to take part in an activity in a way that is not serious, as in

I just dabble in art.

I'm writing a blog post about the general process of mastering skills in life. Two of the steps are: 1) observation of the skill to learn its finer details, and 2) repetition by copying seniors in the field in order to get said details burned into the nervous system.

I first thought of calling these two steps combined as "the dabble phase". In other words, you "dabble" around as you learn the ins and outs of your chosen skill.

According to the definition above, however, dabble does not encompass this meaning very well. What I need is a word or phrase that describes a slow but serious effort to learn.

More simply, I need a word which means to take part in an activity in way that is systematic and serious. In other words, I need a definition which is really the opposite of the definition for dabble.

Solution 1:

To take part in an activity in way that is systematic and serious

You could call such a phase the "immersion phase."

Google definition

noun

1. the action of immersing someone or something in a liquid.

2. deep mental involvement.

See also, immerse

Google definition

verb

involve oneself deeply in a particular activity or interest.

The word suggests a deep involvement in the activity and a deep mental focus for the activity.

It is commonly used to describe a method of teaching foreign languages to students where the students are constantly exposed to the language they are learning.

Here is the use of the word to describe a med-school course at Vanderbilt university:

During a portion of the immersion phase, students will participate in a three- to six-month mentored research experience, tailored around each student’s particular research and clinical interests. The longitudinal curricular elements of Foundations of Health Care Delivery and Learning Communities will remain integral to student development during the Immersion Phase.