Complex domains require cognitive work for which current approaches to training may be ill-suited. To improve training for cognitive work, Klein and Baxter have proposed Cognitive Transformation Theory (CTT), a learning theory that... more
Complex domains require cognitive work for which current approaches to training may be ill-suited. To improve training for cognitive work, Klein and Baxter have proposed Cognitive Transformation Theory (CTT), a learning theory that characterizes sensemaking processes as essential to the development of expertise. The objectives of this research were to compare CTT with the instructional strategies of two expert air traffic control instructors to evaluate the relevance of CTT’s four teaching practices, propose refinements to CTT, and identify potential instructional strategies to serve as guidance for the application of CTT. Data were collected using cognitive task analysis methods, including course observation, artifact examination, and knowledge elicitation with two instructors and seven of their students. Data were coded using categories derived from theory and patterns emergent within the data. Results suggest that many of the instructional strategies used were consistent with the teaching practices of CTT and that learning was aligned with the active sensemaking claims of CTT. An integrated set of instructional strategies and a few refinements to CTT are advanced to further its application to training in complex domains. Although this set of strategies may benefit current training practices, further research is needed to evaluate their effectiveness.
Adaptive expertise allows individuals to perform at a high level in the face of changing job tasks and work methods, setting it apart from routine expertise. Given the increased need for flexibility in the workplace, adaptive expertise is... more
Adaptive expertise allows individuals to perform at a high level in the face of changing job tasks and work methods, setting it apart from routine expertise. Given the increased need for flexibility in the workplace, adaptive expertise is increasingly important for today's graduates and professionals. This review investigates which individual and environmental factors distinguish adaptive expertise from routine expertise and thus provides insights into how to facilitate adaptive expertise and its development. Key differences between routine and adaptive expertise are related to knowledge representation, cognitive and analogical problem solving abilities, and past experiences. Learning and working environments, which give individuals the responsibility to develop their own solution strategy and have supportive superiors benefit adaptive expertise. The results of our review also indicate that there is little consensus on the degree of adaptation adaptive expertise provides and the characteristics of a novel situation.
The purpose of this study is to analyse the development of two apprentices' adaptive expertise in fingerprint examination across a two-year training program. The apprentices were selected from a large number of candidates to be trained at... more
The purpose of this study is to analyse the development of two apprentices' adaptive expertise in fingerprint examination across a two-year training program. The apprentices were selected from a large number of candidates to be trained at the Forensic Laboratory of the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation. The problem addressed was how the newcomers' professional vision needed for examining fingerprints developed, what kinds of agentic efforts for improving performance did they engage in when analysing successively more challenging fingerprints, and how did they themselves reflect on their developing professional performance. The study relied on multiple bodies of data consisting of a large number of fingerprints examined by the apprentices, repeated interviews, and their extensive learning diaries. The analysis revealed various challenges and obstacles of acquiring the professional vision and skills of fingerprint examination, such as identifying relevant minutiae in poor-quality fingerprints, carrying out searches through the Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), and interpreting results. Although the apprentices cultivated self-reflective competencies, the professional practices appropriated also mirrored some of the maladaptive working habits of the experienced examiners with whom they were working. Through the training process, both of the apprentices gained professional competencies comparable with those of experienced examiners. The apprentices' ways of reflecting on their evolving professional performance differed, and there was no straightforward relation between their self-reflections and levels of performance.
Individuals with adaptive expertise possess the skills to deal with novel problems. Whereas this concept has been around since the mid-1980s, no instrument exists that provides a good operationalization of the theoretical construct. This... more
Individuals with adaptive expertise possess the skills to deal with novel problems. Whereas this concept has been around since the mid-1980s, no instrument exists that provides a good operationalization of the theoretical construct. This inhibits the further development of research on adaptive expertise and the evaluation of employees’ adaptive expertise levels. Adaptive expertise has been unanimously described as a composition of domain-specific and innovative skills. Some researchers argue that metacognitive skills are also crucial. This study aimed to establish whether an instrument measuring adaptive expertise is composed of these three dimensions. In addition, it was tested whether such an instrument is influenced by task variety and work experience, as previously reported in literature. A sample of 383 professionals and graduates were used to test the Adaptive Expertise Inventory. Through exploratory factor analysis (EFA), (E/CFA), and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), the quality of the instrument was evaluated. Good model fit was achieved. The final instrument consisted of two dimensions—i.e., domain-specific and innovative skills—with five items each. Regression analysis showed that not work experience, but task variety is related to level of adaptive expertise. The Adaptive Expertise Inventory proved to be a valid instrument for measuring adaptive expertise.
"Developing fluency and flexibility in mathematics is a key goal of upper primary schooling, however, while fluency can be developed with practice, designing activities that support the development of flexibility is more difficult.... more
"Developing fluency and flexibility in mathematics is a key goal of upper primary schooling, however, while fluency can be developed with practice, designing activities that support the development of
flexibility is more difficult. Drawing on concepts of adaptive expertise, we developed a task for a multitouch classroom, NumberNet, that aimed to support both fluency and flexibility. Results from a quasi-experimental study of 86 students (44 using NumberNet, 42 using a paper-based comparison activity) indicated that all students increased in fluency after completing these activities, while students who used NumberNet also increased in flexibility. Video analysis of the NumberNet groups indicate that the opportunity to collaborate, and learn from other groups' expressions, may have supported this increase in flexibility. The final phase of the task suggests future possibilities for engaging students in mathematical discourse to further support the development of mathematical adaptive expertise."
Open access at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959475212000850/
Abstract Since the 1980s, when the field of second language writing (SLW) began to establish itself as a discipline in its own right, much has been learned about SL writers and their writing. However, there has been relatively little... more
Abstract Since the 1980s, when the field of second language writing (SLW) began to establish itself as a discipline in its own right, much has been learned about SL writers and their writing. However, there has been relatively little focus on teachers of SLW, including their experiences with teacher agency. In the study reported here, we focus on a group that is even less examined: graduate teaching assistants assigned to teach writing courses in English as a Second Language (ESL) programs. More specifically, we look at three international graduate teaching assistants and their teacher agency, which we explored through their participation in a small professional learning community and in relationship to their quest to develop expertise as SLW teachers. Our findings illustrate how understanding of teacher agency can be enhanced by making connections between expertise and agency, particularly adaptive expertise.
Second Life should make it possible for students to experience events first-hand rather than simply learn about them secondarily. We designed an interactive task in Second Life that involves moving an avatar through a maze made of a... more
Second Life should make it possible for students to experience events first-hand rather than simply learn about them secondarily. We designed an interactive task in Second Life
that involves moving an avatar through a maze made of a series of rooms. Students were prompted to operate in an efficiency mode by being told to learn how to get through the
maze as quickly as possible. Subsequently, the students are helped to realize that they did not deeply understand how the rooms work. The maze was specifically designed to provide
participants the opportunity to relate their experiences to a set of classic studies in the learning literature. The purpose of this study was to verify that we could help people experience differences between “efficiency” and “innovation” modes of operating using a MUVE. In future studies we will investigate the hypothesis that telling people about different dimensions of adaptive expertise can be helpful, but letting them virtually
experience these dimensions for themselves should be even more effective.
