Development of Expertise

Expertise We are very good (perhaps even expert) at many things: - driving - reading - writing - talking What are some other things at which you would like to become an expert? We can begin how to become an expert by first examining how we acquire a skill.

Stages of Skill Acquisition Cognitive stage – develop declarative knowledge of the skill. That is, learn a set of facts – typical problem solving “operators” – and commit them to memory (e.g., chords and where to place you fingers on the frets). There are three stages in the development of a skill: Use of that knowledge is slow because it must be retrieved from memory when confronted with a problem (e.g., going from one chord to another).

Stages of Skill Acquisition (con’t) 1.errors are gradually detected and eliminated (e.g., press evenly on the strings). 2.connections for successful performance are strengthened (i.e., going from chord to chord becomes more coordinated and smooth). Associative stage – two substages to consider: The end result is a procedural representation is developed and we rely less and less on conscious recall of the necessary knowledge to perform the task.

Stages of Skill Acquisition (con’t) The reduction in need for attention allows those resources to be given to higher-level issues or ideas within the domain of activity (e.g., allows you to focus on dynamics, interpretation, etc. of the music). Autonomous stage – the procedure becomes more and more automated, requiring less attentional resources to perform the activity. We also increase the speed and accuracy of application with increased practice, making the performance smooth and errorless (more often than not).

Stages of Skill Acquisition (con’t) The acquisition of a skill follows the power law of learning. While some “forgetting” may occur after a long absence from the skill, considerable savings are observed upon beginning the skill again (i.e., like riding a bike… you never forget). We also increase the speed and accuracy of application with increased practice, making the performance smooth and errorless (more often than not).

Nature of Expertise Considerable research has compared the behavior of experts with the behavior of novices. The following identifies some of the transitions that occur between beginning as a novice and becoming an expert: Proceduralization – initially must “work out” problems (verbally as declarative knowledge) in a slow, somewhat unorganized manner. There will be errors in recall, repetition of information to be certain, etc. With practice the declarative knowledge is converted into procedural knowledge with which critical aspects of the problem are recognized in large pieces or entirely at once. At that point the procedure is enacted.

Nature of Expertise (con’t) Tactical Learning – “tactic” is a method that accomplishes a particular goal [e.g., learning many different computer subroutines]. As practice increases, sequences of actions are learned that solve part (or all) of a problem. Learning to execute such actions is call “tactical learning.” Neural evidence supports the idea that tactical learning is simply recalling solutions that are memorized. PET scans show greater prefrontal activity early in the learning (suggesting considerable on-going organization of information), but more activity in posterior cortical areas (e.g., hippocampus) later in learning, suggesting recall of the actions.

Nature of Expertise (con’t) Strategic Learning – organizing your problem solving. As problems become larger and more complex, you must learn how to organize your problem solving. That is called “strategic learning.” Novices’ organizations tend to not see the interrelationships between components of the problem, whereas experts are able to recognize such interrelationships. Depending on the domain, experts learn optimal organizations (e.g., reasoning forward in physics, breadth-first in computer programming).

Nature of Expertise (con’t) Problem perception – perceiving problems so more effective problem solving procedures will be used. Rather than rely upon the surface features of a problem, experts learn to recognize underlying principles in the problem. Experts have a better ability to synthesize surface characteristics into more generalized principles.

Pattern Learning, Working, and LTM Experts are no more intelligent, nor have better memories, than novices. However, in addition to recognizing underlying principles in a problem, experts have, as a result of considerable experience, memorized a great many “chunks” of information. As a result, experts can maintain a greater amount of information in working memory. Novices must solve novel problems constantly; experts have those solutions committed to memory and have developed the appropriate productions for solution. Therefore, experts can focus more attention on more strategic plans.

The Role of Deliberate Practice 1.learner is motivated to learn, not just perform 2.are given feedback on their performance 3.monitor how well their performance corresponds to the correct performance and where it deviates, and then eliminate the deviations. There is an old saying that “genius is 90% perspiration and 10% inspiration.” Research on experts in their fields supports that view. It is clearly the case of “practice makes perfect.” However, the practice must be “deliberate” practice:

Transfer of Skill Unfortunately, becoming an expert in one area does not help to become an expert in a different area unless there are common facts, tactics, and patterns between the two areas.

Educational Implications For Teaching Skills 1.Componential analysis – examining the skill and identifying the elements necessary to be taught (e.g., in “Director”: insert image, insert sound, set sound timing, etc.). 2.Mastery learning – ensuring students master every component identified in the componential analysis (e.g., make sure they can “select” text before you move on to “copy/cut/paste”). 3.Immediate feedback – provide immediate feedback of student performance In what ways can our knowledge of skill acquisition be applied to education?