How did you do on the Wild Turkey Expert quiz? Did you find that you struggled to produce the correct answers?
That's alright! Unless you have years of experience with wild turkeys, it was unlikely that you were going to obtain a high score on that test of expertise.
Here, why don't you try again. This time the quiz will assess your level of expertise in an area you may be more familiar with. Once again, click on the button below to take the quiz. After you are finished, please return and continue with the information presented on this page.
What Characterizes Expertise?
Did you score better on that quiz?
That's because expertise is domain specific. Although you might not be a expert in the domain of wild turkeys, all of you participating in this workshop should have varying degrees of expertise in the domain of athletic injuries. Of course, how well you scored on the quiz was dependent on how much experience you have as an athletic trainer.
Domain specific expertise requires five to ten years, or roughly 10,000 hours, of deliberate practice to develop. The process of expertise development is slow because the tacit accumulation of declarative knowledge (i.e., the "what") and procedural knowledge (i.e., the "how") must occur over a long period of time in order to achieve mastery in a domain.
Deliberate practice includes types of activities that are specifically designed for the goal of current performance improvement. In order to improve performance, tasks are created to overcome an individual's weaknesses and the individual's performance is monitored in such a way that immediate, informative performance feedback can be given to further improve performance. Different from other activities, deliberate practice is not always enjoyable but is absolutely essential for expertise development.
That's because expertise is domain specific. Although you might not be a expert in the domain of wild turkeys, all of you participating in this workshop should have varying degrees of expertise in the domain of athletic injuries. Of course, how well you scored on the quiz was dependent on how much experience you have as an athletic trainer.
Domain specific expertise requires five to ten years, or roughly 10,000 hours, of deliberate practice to develop. The process of expertise development is slow because the tacit accumulation of declarative knowledge (i.e., the "what") and procedural knowledge (i.e., the "how") must occur over a long period of time in order to achieve mastery in a domain.
Deliberate practice includes types of activities that are specifically designed for the goal of current performance improvement. In order to improve performance, tasks are created to overcome an individual's weaknesses and the individual's performance is monitored in such a way that immediate, informative performance feedback can be given to further improve performance. Different from other activities, deliberate practice is not always enjoyable but is absolutely essential for expertise development.
It it also important to note that expertise is independent of an individual's intellectual aptitude. The same is true with regard to talent and ability. For example, with regard to athletic training students, an individual with a high intellectual ability in the classroom may have little clinical expertise. The opposite is also true; a person with little innate talent and/or ability may actually be an expert clinician.
Another known fact about expertise is that the best quality of deliberate practice takes place under a skilled mentor's watchful guidance. The skilled mentor should be capable of developing appropriate expertise goals and monitoring for improvement toward those goals.
For access to a few additional websites on developing expertise, click on How To Become An Expert and The Making Of An Expert. Once you are finished reading these articles, return to this page and continue with the workshop.
Another known fact about expertise is that the best quality of deliberate practice takes place under a skilled mentor's watchful guidance. The skilled mentor should be capable of developing appropriate expertise goals and monitoring for improvement toward those goals.
For access to a few additional websites on developing expertise, click on How To Become An Expert and The Making Of An Expert. Once you are finished reading these articles, return to this page and continue with the workshop.
Take Home Points
- Expertise is domain specific and is not easily transferred across disciplines.
- Expertise is positively correlated with the amount of deliberate practice (i.e., the more an individual practices, the better that the individual gets).
- Both quality and quantity of deliberate practice are important to expertise development.
- An individual's level of expertise can improve regardless of his or her talent and ability.
- Deliberate practice should occur under the guidance of a skilled mentor.
- It is unrealistic to expect novices to become experts overnight because the development of expertise is a process that takes several years to occur.
In other words, "individuals who work the hardest for the longest period of time and have access to skilled mentors usually reach the highest level of skill attainment" (Bruning, Schraw, & Norby, 2011).
What Makes An Expert?
Those of you who are familiar with the television show House, might consider the main character, Dr. Gregory House, and his trusted team of doctors to be good examples of experts within the medical field. Listed below are Glaser and Chi's (1988) seven characteristics of expert performance. Upon reading the list, those of you who are familiar with the show might notice that Dr. House possesses all seven of these characteristics.
The Seven Characteristics Of Experts
1. Experts excel only in their own domain. 2. Experts process information in large units 3. Experts are faster than novices. 4. Experts hold more information in short-term and long-term memory. 5. Experts represent problems at a deeper level. 6. Experts spend more time analyzing a problem. 7. Experts are better monitors of their performance. |
SO What...
Why does any of this matter?
Experts of any one domain are more competent in delivering greater value to clients. For example, the expert writer might deliver a novel that is more in tune with a specific audience than the novice writer. Likewise, the expert surgeon is more capable of delivering a quicker surgery and with greater precision than a novice surgeon. Experts are also typically respected by their peers and help to train other individuals in their domain of expertise.
Clinical preceptors who ensure the development of expert athletic trainers, beginning with pre-licensure student clinical experiences, will provide a work force with more competent clinicians.
Experts of any one domain are more competent in delivering greater value to clients. For example, the expert writer might deliver a novel that is more in tune with a specific audience than the novice writer. Likewise, the expert surgeon is more capable of delivering a quicker surgery and with greater precision than a novice surgeon. Experts are also typically respected by their peers and help to train other individuals in their domain of expertise.
Clinical preceptors who ensure the development of expert athletic trainers, beginning with pre-licensure student clinical experiences, will provide a work force with more competent clinicians.
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