Developing expertise through training

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Industrial and Commercial Training Developing expertise through training Ian Cornford James Athanasou

Article information: To cite this document: Ian Cornford James Athanasou, (1995),"Developing expertise through training", Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 27 Iss 2 pp. 10 - 18 Permanent link to this document: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00197859510082861 Downloaded on: 25 June 2015, At: 03:07 (PT) References: this document contains references to 15 other documents. To copy this document: [email protected] The fulltext of this document has been downloaded 1311 times since 2006*

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Users who downloaded this article also downloaded: Christine van Winkelen, Richard McDermott, (2010),"Learning expert thinking processes: using KM to structure the development of expertise", Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 14 Iss 4 pp. 557-572 http:// dx.doi.org/10.1108/13673271011059527 Farhad Analoui, (1994),"Training and Development: The Role of Trainers", Journal of Management Development, Vol. 13 Iss 9 pp. 61-72 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/02621719410072107 (2009),"The Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance20091. The Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press 2006. 901 pp., including index, ISBN: 978-0-521-60081-1", Journal of Workplace Learning, Vol. 21 Iss 7 pp. 575-576 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13665620910985559

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The learning organization in review

Industrial and Commercial Training

Alan Mumford

Volume 27 · Number 1 · 1995 · 8–00

Developing expertise is important for every aspect of commerce, industry and the general community. It is the means by which our society has progressed, our organizations have profited, and by which individuals come to express their unique talents. However, to date, there has been little research in Australia into the area of skill acquisition and the ways in which expertise may be developed. The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines an expert as a person having special skill or knowledge. That is quite a reasonable definition but what it does not tell us is how the levels of skill and knowledge are evaluated and how a person comes to be recognized as an expert. Although the fashion in Australia over the last decade has been to recognize anybody who sets up shop, hangs up a consultancy sign and claims to have knowledge as the real McCoy, the genuine expert comes to be recognized by a process diametrically opposed to self-advertisement. Experts in serious professional fields come to be recognized by the reasonably skilled peers with whom they work, generally over extended periods of time involving significant, complex, individual feats or over many instances involving performance on different problems. The word “works” is a key concept in considering experts. The genuine expert is a person who not only knows but also has the ability to apply knowledge, that is, a person who succeeds in making things work. In short, there is a track record here that is established over time and this involves not so much what the individual claims to be able to do but rather what he or she actually does. It is not just that the expert’s background knowledge and skill enable them to be a fearsome spotter of faults. In truth, even the only half-skilled can generally pick a fault. What separates the expert from the merely competent performer is that the expert can also tell you how to fix those faults and get things working once more. While there are lots of people who become competent and even proficient, the expert is somewhat more rare. We do not yet know why more people do not go beyond proficiency to develop expertise but there are a number of implications that stand out and which we will

Developing expertise through training

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Ian Cornford and James Athanasou

The authors Ian Cornford and James Athanasou are at the School of Adult Education, Faculty of Education, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia. Abstract The ways in which expert workers differ from novices is principally in the amount of specific skills that they possess and the ways they have organized their knowledge. Highlights the advantages of aiming for expertise rather than competence. Also outlines the stages in the development of expertise. Provides examples from industry to show that occupational expertise is practical, informal in nature and only rarely, if ever, taught. Discusses implications for on-the-job training in major industries. Shows that expertise is based on case knowledge and problem solving.

Author’s address Author’s name here Address 1 Address 2 Address 3 Address 4 Address 5 e mail: insert here

The article was first presented as a paper to the Industry Training Conference, Melbourne, Australia.

Industrial and Commercial Training Volume 27 · Number 2 · 1995 · pp. 10–18 © MCB University Press · ISSN 0019-7858

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Developing expertise through training

Industrial and Commercial Training

Ian Cornford and James Athanasou

Volume 27 · Number 2 · 1995 · 10–18

be pursuing in this article. What is clear, however, is that the expert is a valuable employee. It is possible that experts have a sort of obsession with a skill or field and that problems are seen as challenges to which the finding of answers is a source of personal and professional satisfaction. Conversely, failure is a source of anguish, even shame, and there is a noticeable tendency to redouble efforts to seek a more satisfactory resolution to problems[1]. Experts are exceptionally desirable as employees. The value of expert employees can be summed up in terms of loyalty as employees through their dedication to efficiency in areas under their responsibility, and in terms of the economic savings in down-time that the expert saves the company, either through speedy repair of faults or in the prevention of these faults occurring in the first place. Savings on consultancy fees, when slightly out of the ordinary problems arise, also come from being able to harness in-house expertise. Less tangible, but no less important, are issues of group morale or company spirit which can be generated around such highly skilled individuals. There can be an important informal educative function resulting from interaction and argument with fellow workers, although the expert can possibly also call a spade a spade and upset fellow workers when identifying their inefficiency.

Occupational expertise is practical, informal in nature and only rarely, if ever, taught. Furthermore, it is based on case and episodic knowledge accumulated over extensive periods of time and involves both positive and negative instances (i.e. correct and incorrect skill application and problem solving). We define case knowledge as being the knowledge that develops from the experience of dealing with a particularly difficult or interesting problem situation, especially the solutions or outcomes. Episodic knowledge we define as being or involving isolated pieces of knowledge or incidents which, when brought together by the alert individual, build up a more coherent picture as with the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. However, with episodic knowledge, unlike with the jigsaw puzzle, there may not be a model or overall picture that the individual has been taught, or is aware of, to facilitate the piecing together of fragments to make sense. How then does expertise develop? Before we tackle that question we need to consider the stages by which expertise develops over time. There appears to be a series of distinct, identifiable stages that commence with being a novice, then move to being an advanced beginner, then on through stages of competence to proficiency and ultimately to expertise as knowledge and skill increase and change both quantitatively and qualitatively. Novices are students or new workers; advanced beginners are in the second or third year of their career; around the third or fourth year they may become competent. The majority of skill learners will probably reach the stage of being competent: a smaller number will become proficient, while a still smaller number of those who are proficient will develop into experts. These stages, which are developed from examining real-life expert functioning and work in the field of artificial intelligence, have some useful explanatory, identifying characteristics. It should be noted that in these stages the qualitative changes over time are as important, if not more important, than the volume of information acquired. (1) Novice. The beginner seeks all purpose rules to guide his/her behaviour. These rules are logical, fairly consistent and the beginner typically is locked into these and unable to deal with situations which require more than the application of rules.

Stages in the development of expertise In examining experts across a wide variety of occupations we have come to notice that expert workers: • have their own specialized area of knowledge; • are quicker in their ability to solve problems successfully; • understand the structure of their field and how areas and individual pieces of information interrelate; • have specific occupational memories with ability to recall complex details from past instances, especially the atypical or error situations; • understand the complexities of a situation; and • are able to apply specific judgement rules to each case[1,2]. 11

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Developing expertise through training

Industrial and Commercial Training

Ian Cornford and James Athanasou

Volume 27 · Number 2 · 1995 · 10–18

(2) Advanced beginner. At this point experience starts to be important. The individual realizes, as knowledge of different situations is accumulated, that the rules, which are of necessity generalizations, do not adequately cover all situations. (3) Competent. The competent worker exercises greater authority by setting priorities and making plans. At this stage they have come to determine what is important and that the order of priority may change with the circumstances. (4) Proficient. In the proficient worker, intuition or “know-how” becomes important. They may no longer consciously think about adjustments. They notice similarities between events. There is more analysis and decision making with more flexible observance of rules. (5) Expert. The expert has an intuitive grasp of situations. Performance is fluid and qualitatively different. The knowledge of experts contains fewer rigid classifications of areas of data with there being a mastery of understanding of the interrelationships and linking between the different areas of knowledge. These stages in the development of expertise can be valuably interpreted in conjunction with Fitts’s[3,4] stages of skill learning (see Table I). Fitts proposed three stages, the first of which is the cognitive stage where the learner comes to grapple with the basic factual understandings, the broad outline, the essential nature of each of the steps and the order in which these must be performed. The second stage in skill learning in Fitts’s theory is the practice fixation stage where the repetition of the skill and involvement with reality of this increases the depth of understanding and also establishes the steps and sequences of skill performance clearly in permanent memory. Fitts’s third stage is the autonomous stage. At this third stage the skill is performed automatically without any need for the performer to monitor consciously the steps and sequences in the skill. Instead this monitoring is done subconsciously in accordance with the mental model that has been constructed through practice. The autonomous stage of skill learning is of tremendous practical importance. Attainment of the autonomous stage of skill learning frees the conscious mind to concentrate on the identification of potential problems and

the solution while there is still a subconscious monitoring of ongoing performance. Taken together, the novice-expert stages in development and the stages in skill learning would have the novice situated very much at the cognitive stage of skill learning with probably some movement into the practice fixation stage evident (Figure 1). The advanced beginner is at the cognitive stage but also very much advanced into the practice fixation stage. The competent performer would appear to be fully into the practice fixation stage, while the proficient individual is at the practice fixation stage and also partially into the process of developing automatic skill performance. The expert will have achieved the autonomous level which produces the characteristic intuitive-type solutions and reactions to problems. It is recognized that these stage in both the novice-expert continuum and the stages in skill development are artificial divisions. It would be expected that there would be some overlap between the stages, particularly where a number of skills or subskills are being learned at the same time. Given the nature of individual differences, which become very evident in skill learning, it would be expected that the amount of time that individuals spend at a particular stage will vary greatly from individual to individual. The attainment of a level of expertise in highly skilled professions will generally not be attained before a minimum of five years in that speciality and there is ample evidence that ten years may be typically the norm.

Expertise versus competence Currently in Australia we are seeing a great deal of attention being directed towards establishing competence as a goal for training. In industry and training situations where clearly defined training goals have been lacking previously, this movement to competencebased training will be an advance. Where the establishment of clear goals has already been an integral and widely accepted fundamental for successful training, the benefits may be few and even counter-productive. Why counter-productive? Our chief objection lies in the fact that competence based training does not set high enough goals. In terms of the stages of skill learning which have been advanced in this presentation, competence is only a midway stage of attainment in 12

Developing expertise through training

Industrial and Commercial Training

Ian Cornford and James Athanasou

Volume 27 · Number 2 · 1995 · 10–18

Table I Stages of developing expertise and skill acquisition

Novice • a stage for gaining experience • responses are relatively inflexible • rules and procedures govern performance • skills are “context free” • have trouble interpreting events

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Advanced beginner • similarities across contexts are recognized • episodic knowledge is built up • knowledge about when to ignore rules is developed • no sense of what is important

Cognitive • trainees have to develop an overall plan • trainees analyse tasks • trainees verbalize about what is learned • what to expect and what to do is emphasized • procedures are described • information is provided about errors

Competence • make conscious choices about what they are going • to do • set priorities and decide on plans Practice phase • determine what is and what is not important • establishment of correct patterns of behaviour • know what to attend to and what to ignore • by practice • more personally in control • errors gradually eliminated • feel more responsibility for what happens • more vivid memories of their successes and failures Proficient • intuition and know-how become important • no longer think about adjustments • recognize similarities between events • able to predict events more precisely • intuitive but options are still analysed Expert • intuitive grasp of a situation • reduce variation in a situation • choose to process less of what they encounter • performance is fluid and effortless • seems to know what to do at the right time • involved in the task in a different way • not consciously choosing what to do • personal references and evaluations in performance

Autonomous phase • gradually increasing speed of performance • performance increases beyond the point where • errors can be ordinarily detected • increasing resistance to stress • increasing resistance to interference from other • activities • available capacity to perform a secondary • simultaneous task • larger and larger units of behaviour are • programmed

Source: [1,3]

the skill learning process. If we do not wish to produce people who are overskilled, a goal pitched at such a level may be appropriate. However, there are probably few involved in serious industrial training who have insights into the abilities characteristic of those at different stages of skill acquisition who would not agree that the objective for training should be aimed, at the least, at proficiency and preferably expert levels. The competence stage does not include autonomaticity of performance which will free conscious short-term memory for problem

solving. Yet there are many in the competence movement who would describe their objective as fostering problem solving. These competence advocates’ lack of expertise and understanding of the processes in skill learning would appear to be set to defeat their own stated objectives. We assume that the chief goal for training should be for the best, and hence the only real goals should be minimally proficiency and optimally expertise, so our discussions and recommendations are now focused on efforts to stimulate the development of expertise. 13

Developing expertise through training

Industrial and Commercial Training

Ian Cornford and James Athanasou

Volume 27 · Number 2 · 1995 · 10–18

time is spent on the job. Clearly the vast majority of experiences occur outside formal classroom instruction. Miller and Gildea[5] showed that a 17-year-old has learned some 5,000 words, which works out at an average of 13 new words or concepts per day. Very few formal courses could hope to teach an equivalent amount of new material. It is argued that approaches in which expertise is developed through experience and case knowledge related to specific, real-life examples are superior learning methods because these approaches: • establish clear purposes and motivation for learning; • place learning within a specific context which reduces problems of transfer; • confer an accurate impression of the skills and levels of difficulties involved; • enhance the acquisition of problem solving; • enable trainees to develop and apply theory in response to the conceptual gap or deficiency experienced; • are suitable for trainees who learn more successfully through direct experience; • enable more effective instruction for mixed ability groups where the application of information provides fast feedback to the trainer on the effectiveness of instruction.

Figure 1 Stages of skill acquisition and levels of expertise Stages of skill acquisition Autonomous Practice fixation Cognitive Novice Advanced Competent Proficient beginner

Expert

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Training and learning The purpose of the present article is to provide a framework for trainers. In doing this we will first consider the nature of teaching and learning as it is presently conceived, along with the inadequacies of the existing system. We will then make explicit our concept of successful learning before turning directly to the role of the trainer in developing expertise. Training and learning in Western societies have developed around the framework of classroom instruction supplemented or complemented by on-the-job training. In this process trainees are introduced to concepts and expected to relate these to the outside world of work. Observations indicate that there are real problems of transfer of theory and skills learned in the class workshop to equipment in the workplace which often differs significantly from that in service in the class setting. The most effective learning is that which is not context free but occurs within a specific, natural workplace where there are clearly visible models of application involving theory, skills and attitudes. Trainees are introduced to abstract concepts in the classroom and are expected to relate these to the outside world. Yet classroom learning accounts for only a minor proportion of total experience. Approximately 13 per cent of an 18-year-old adolescent’s time is spent in school. Only 864 hours of a fitting and machining apprentice’s time over four years is spent in a technical college, with approximately 6,500 hours spent on the job over this period. A particularly successful experiment with apprentices in work training and organization is occurring at the Botany ICI plant in Sydney in the electrical maintenance area. Here 14 per cent of time is spent in technical college classes and 86 per cent of

Conditions for effective learning For effective learning to occur with apprentices or other workers we assume that the following conditions are being met: • there are satisfactory trainer-trainee relations; • trainees are exposed to levels of difficulty commensurate with their understanding; • opportunities are provided for practice to ensure that information is retained; • opportunities are provided for practice beyond a mere demonstration of competence or mastery level; • motivational comments and feedback are regularly supplied by trainers; • trainees are exposed to exceptional cases/situations with examples of incorrect skill application and errors in process application available as negative examples.

The role and status of the trainer The role of the trainer in effective on-the-job training in the workplace is to structure the 14

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Developing expertise through training

Industrial and Commercial Training

Ian Cornford and James Athanasou

Volume 27 · Number 2 · 1995 · 10–18

learning experiences and activities that are encountered by the trainee so that optimal understanding and acquisition of information takes place. We assume that the trainer: • can maintain good, sympathetic interpersonal relationships with trainees; • can communicate clearly and provide constructive feedback; • demonstrates mastery of a range of teaching skills; • reveals mastery of the theory and skills being taught; • can motivate trainees; • has a keen understanding of the nature of individual differences and is capable of translating this into different teaching techniques and levels of explanation for individual trainees; • is aware of the limitations and possibilities of the learner at different stages of the skill learning process.

formal instruction and training do not automatically produce competent performance. As a result it is often argued that this training is only a preparation and the “only way to learn” and solve problems is through experience on the job. What often happens is that the theoretical knowledge is stored in memory as facts[9]. Problem solving in real situations then draws on some of these facts until eventually rules are generated and fine-tuned with practice. These fine-tuned problem-solving routines may be described as episodes which are available through experience (see Figure 2).

Most experts are good at one particular area only. It is probable that most trainers in industry, sport or other areas may not be identified as expert or currently peak performers in the area in which they are teaching. However, if they are to maintain professional credibility, almost certainly they will need to be at a level of proficiency in the speciality area. From a teaching-learning perspective, unless trainers have reached the proficient level of skill learning, they are unlikely to be able to provide the explanations and feedback necessary or organize the optimal sequence of learning events to which novice trainees need to be exposed. Where the expertise of trainers needs to lie is in the area of teaching or training as distinct from expertise in the field in which they are teaching. Experts in a field may not have the patience or understanding of the limitations of novice learners necessary to promote the most effective learning[6,7]. There is a growing body of research evidence into the nature of teaching expertise (see[1,8]), with there being evidence that expert teachers develop separate goals and plans of action for individual learners to try to ensure that each individual reaches their potential (see[8]).

Examples from industry It is often assumed that the completion of a course or training programme has prepared someone to perform adequately on the job. However, a common observation is that 15

Occupational expertise is practical First, let us say that we do not distinguish between cognitive expertise (or thinking) and psychomotor expertise (i.e. manual expertise). The stages of learning of both cognitive and psychomotor skills are probably identical (see[7,9]); both rely on non-formal learning from situations. This occupational expertise has to be acquired by developing mental plans or schemas which relate to a particular job. People build up highly specialized knowledge about an operation, about a company, about equipment or solving particular problems. However, where these skills are considered to be highly specialized in one context, they may not transfer from situation to situation very well. That is why some technicians are able to locate unusual and complex faults in familiar types of equipment relatively easily but may have difficulty with a common diagnosis on other types of equipment. This

Figure 2 Occupational expertise process Theoretical knowledge

Stored in memory

Plans, rules generated through practical problem solving, and observation

Rules are stored in memory as episodes Occupational expertise Specific knowledge Knowledge of procedures Organization of facts Complex representations Strategic problem solving Recognition of patterns Autonomous behaviour

Expertise

Developing expertise through training

Industrial and Commercial Training

Ian Cornford and James Athanasou

Volume 27 · Number 2 · 1995 · 10–18

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expertise is a response to a situation and the expert is someone who has learned from experience. It does not mean that they were expert or “good” at the start of their career. The expert stores the solution and uses it again; the expert learns from his/her mistakes; the expert tends to portray what they are solving in familiar elements. These elements describe the operations to be performed and allow the expert to find an optimal solution under conditions of uncertainty[10].

Figure 3 Some components of expertise and skills Expertise

Schema 1

Stored program 1

Occupational expertise is informal in nature The development of expertise in commerce and industry is a highly personal experience. People with the same qualifications, the same formal on-the-job training, and the same number of years’ work experience can often demonstrate vastly different levels of expertise in their work. We do not believe that this is related to IQ measurements but to what we call “learning ability”.

Sub-routine 1

Element 1

Stored program 2

Sub-routine 2

Element 2

Schema 2

Stored program 3

Sub-routine 3

Element 3

within us switches from sub-routine to sub-routine. The way to bring about expertise is to structure the development of skills. It is necessary to develop longer programmes of training to ensure the establishment of basic skills. It may not be enough just to teach the one or two days theory of, say, using a computer package, or even to provide some practice. Skill acquisition to a level of autonomaticity and expertise may require very considerable practice. Kottke et al.[11, p. 571] cite studies which indicate that three million cigars may need to be made by women cigar makers, that between 1.5 and three million pearls may have to be handled by pearly bead handlers, and that 1.4 million football passes may be necessary before an individual becomes highly skilled in a particular area. Where a subskill like walking has been established, through three million steps as a child to age six, it may then take only 0.8 million steps in basic army training over six weeks to reach autonomaticity and a high standard for the skill of marching. What we are suggesting is that it may require several thousand practices before one routine is securely established as a mental model or schema. It may then take several thousand sub-routines to execute one particular skill, and so forth. A word of caution is in order here. It is vital that the skill that is to be practised is correct. Although the correcting of incorrect skills once they have been ground in through practice is largely ignored in the literature, it is a major practical problem in some skill learning areas, especially music and sport coaching. Incorrect methods or tech-

Implications for training In examining experts across a wide variety of occupations we have come to notice that their actions are related to some final purpose, their excellent memory for case histories and their ability to sift through irrelevant knowledge. Occupational expertise is rarely if ever taught It is probably the case that in most occupations skills have not been developed to the point where behaviours are autonomous. Some exceptions might be critical occupations such as senior commercial pilots, some military training, medical specialties such as radiology or pathology. Even here though there would be outstanding performers who would be considered expert pilots, pathologists, etc. by their peers. In most occupations it seems to be sufficient to rely on “experience” to assist the process of skill acquisition. However, experts can be trained. The development of expertise can be likened to developing sub-routines of behaviour until they become automatic. Finally, these are grouped in clusters, stored in memory and are able to be organized through executive functions (see Figure 3). In this way problem solving and responding tends to become automatic as the executive programming 16

Schema 3

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Developing expertise through training

Industrial and Commercial Training

Ian Cornford and James Athanasou

Volume 27 · Number 2 · 1995 · 10–18

niques are difficult to eradicate and change once firmly established. A goal of training may need to be the development of substantial, lengthy and wellsupervised practice programmes in order to ensure that trainees move substantially towards the establishment of autonomous levels of performance. By the same token, it must be emphasized that high levels of skilled performance are not attainable by all who set out to learn a skill. Not everyone is capable of becoming expert or even proficient[12], although we believe that most individuals have the talent to achieve to a degree in a particular area. Some factors which need to be given consideration as trainees move through the stages of skill acquisition might be: (1) Modelling of the skill by a competent performer. (2) Silent observation of the total skill by the trainee. (3) Breakdown of the skill into its components by the trainer. (4) Clear establishment of standards of expertise in keeping with the novice trainee’s understanding. Increased familiarity with the skill will lead to increased understanding of ever finer details and the need for accuracy, etc. (5) Identification of the individual components and their correct sequence by the trainee. (6) Reinforcement through practice with feedback from the trainer. (7) Emphasis on accuracy in early stages of learning rather than speed. Speed can be built up after the correct form and sequence of skills are established. (8) Opportunities to view the performance of other trainees and to critique their performance (group activities are very useful here). (9) Build-up of more complex skills through the combination of sub-routines. (10) Practice at problem solving as skills become more firmly established. (11) Motivation for improved personal performance and motivation towards the development of expertise should occur at all stages in skill training.

be obvious to the outsider. This process of becoming expert in a field means that the person wants to know all there is to know about it; that they want to to be the best in their field. Therefore skilled performance involves purposive goals and the desire to be expert. Many young trainees learn everything they possibly can about pop music idols and the type of music of their choice. They will devote many hours to perfecting their skills at skateboard riding. In short they become experts in a particular area. This desire for and actual development of expertise does not develop in a vacuum. Adolescents and adults become expert in hobbies in part because being expert brings personal satisfaction and recognition from friends. Industry needs to recognize both the social and reward factors underlying these efforts in hobby areas. Employers need to create a work environment where expertise is valued and brings its reward. The advent of enterprise bargaining may see the opportunity for the reward of expertise and above average performance through extra payment for the work performed. The current general practice in industry to promote individuals into management jobs away from the area where the proficiency is demonstrated into areas where other skills are required needs to be rethought. Careful consideration needs to be given to an individual’s strengths and the longer-term needs of the company, as such promotions may prevent the longer-term development of autonomaticity and expertise and result in the creation of only a mediocre lower-level manager.

Conclusions In this brief article we have only sketched an outline of skill-acquisition learning leading to the development of expertise. The development of practical expertise in training relies on case knowledge and practice at problem solving. For most occupations we hypothesize that overall competence will take approximately three years, that it would be unlikely that mastery of complex skills will be achieved under 5,000 hours and, for multivariate situations, that over 100,000 diverse problems will need to have been encountered. These conclusions are based on research from fields like the trades, teaching, chess and radiology.

Attitudes The final point might be controversial. It relates to the fact that expertise involves internalizing standards of excellence. This may not 17

Developing expertise through training

Industrial and Commercial Training

Ian Cornford and James Athanasou

Volume 27 · Number 2 · 1995 · 10–18

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Specific values can be computed for each skill and occupational group. In summary, expertise is rarely taught, but structured training can act as a catalyst for its development. Nevertheless, considerable periods of time will be required for skill acquisition in order to produce levels of autonomaticity and expert performance and this needs to be recognized realistically. The challenge for trainers is to foster such skill acquisition in commerce and industry. Moreover, such expertise needs to be supported and valued in the organization. In doing this not only will the organization profit but also there will be important benefits for individuals as well as contributions to the community as a whole.

6 Schön, D., The Reflective Practitioner, Basic Books, New York, NY, 1983. 7 Shuell, T.J., “Phases of meaningful learning”, Review of Educational Research, Vol. 60 No. 4, 1990, pp. 53147. 8 Westerman, D.A., “Expert and novice decision making”, Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 42 No. 4, 1991, pp. 292-305. 9 Anderson, J.R., “Acquisition of cognitive skill”, Psychological Review, Vol. 89 No. 4, 1984, pp. 369406. 10 Adelson, B., “When novices surpass experts: the difficulty of a task may increase with expertise”, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, Vol. 10 No. 3, 1984, pp. 48395. 11 Kottke, F.J., Halpern, D., Easton, J.K.M., Ozel, A.T. and Burrill, C.A., “Training of coordination”, Archives of Physical Medicine Rehabilitation, Vol. 59 No. 12, 1978, pp. 567-72.

References

12 Cornford, I., “Making links between theory and practice: skill learning and some implications for teacher education”, paper presented at the Australian Teacher Education Association 22nd Annual Conference, Ballina, NSW, June 1992.

1 Berliner, D., “The development of expertise in pedagogy”, Charles W. Hunt Memorial Lecture for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, New Orleans, LA, February 1988. 2 Yekovich, F.R., Thompson, M.A. and Walker, C.H., “Generation and verification of inferences by experts and trained nonexperts”, American Educational Research Journal, Vol. 28 No. 1, 1991, pp. 189-209.

Further reading

3 Fitts, P.M., “Perceptual skill learning”, in Melton, A.W. (Ed.), Categories of Skill Learning, Academic Press, New York, NY, 1964.

Benner, P., From Novice to Expert, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1984. Dreyfus, H.L. and Dreyfus, S.E., Mind over Machine, The Free Press, New York, NY, 1986.

4 Fitts, P.M., “Factors in complex training”, in Kuhlen, G. (Ed.), Studies in Educational Psychology, Blaisdell Publishing Company, Waltham, MA, 1986.

Swanson, H.L., O’Connor, J.E. and Cooney, J.B., “An information processing analysis of expert and novice teachers’ problem solving”, American Educational Research Journal, Vol. 27 No. 3, 1990, pp. 533-56.

5 Miller. G.A. and Gildea, P.M., “How children learn words”, Scientific American, Vol. 257 No. 3, 1987, pp. 94-9.

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