Development of Professional Expertise: Toward Measurement of Expert Performance and Design of Optimal Learning Environments

Exceptionally well researched! Since acquiring the text, I have been drawing on its valued content daily. I am currently undertaking research into the transition and change management methodologies of supporting a nation state from a competency-based capacity building framework towards an sustainable expertise-based culture. This text has proved invaluable.

I've only had time to read 4-5 of the articles in this book, but it's already changed my teaching practice.E. Anders Ericsson and these authors are better than any of the pedagogy sources used in teacher training or professional development.Highly recommended.

This is an interesting book on how expertise is acquired, maintained and improved in the military and professional arenas. It is a collection of works from many contributing authors - all experts in their fields. It is quite detailed and would be useful for educational professionals, psychologists, university students and others that are interested in the training field.It is a must read for educational administrators - who in some districts are bent on using the model of 'medical rounds' to improve educational outcomes. Discussed at length in several section are some of the current difficulties faced in keeping medical professional skills up to scratch- where it is argued that in several key areas of diagnosis their capacity fades over time and the mechanisms of meaningful professional development are not in place.The most interesting sections are on the US military and what it is doing to continually train and prepare its workforce. This is no small task given the complexity and unpredictability of military engagements, and the continual rotation of staff via posting. The National Training Center, and Top Gun are discussed where real life, complex scenarios are used to build operational skills. Constant 'after action reviews' are used as a source of feedback to bring about improvement. the use of modern computer based training is also explored - and this also makes informative reading.The book presents other ways of designing instructional processes to replace or compliment traditional and largely ineffective approaches of "theory and practical sessions' which are seldom interlinked in a meaningful way.

Development of Professional Expertise is perhaps the finest book I've ever read on how to generate great individual and group performances, and I've read more than 400 books on the topic. Indirectly it shows how ineffective traditional talent management really is at many organizations. Using terms like "work-sample testing, engagement simulation, and after-activity reviews," it provides the reader with a toolbox of approaches that can be applied in any type of organization. The variety of authors and case studies provides extraordinary breadth and depth on the topics of objectively measuring performance and ways to improve it. I can't think of a better investment for any business manager who wants to improve performance throughout his or her organization, or part of an organization.My favorite parts of this book were the actual methods for improving performance, which include engagement simulation, cognitive apprenticeship, processing activities, modeling, and problem-based methods. My on-going professional quest is to find ways to improve group performance because I believe groups are the fundamental unit of any organization. No individual creates and delivers value to customers in a vacuum. That value is created and delivered by groups of people. Organizations don't create new products or services. It is groups within those organizations that create the new products and services. Consequently any methods that can be applied to improve group performance are very valuable in my opinion.Even though on page three, it says, "The primary focus of this book is on individual performance," I still believe these methods for improving performance can be applied to groups as well even though it may require some tweaking of the methods.An additional strength of the book is the breadth of examples and authors. This theme of developing professional expertise was looked at from the eyes of more than 30 authors, all of whom seem to know the content of their chapters very well. This enriched the overall perspective that the reader gained from the book. It would be impossible for any one person to have that much breadth of knowledge and experience.

Excellent read and when you get to rentention of the valuable lessons, you will not be or think the same as before..Expert Performance Approach!

This is not a how-to book.Its a collection of scientific articles. As such it is a very interesting peek into what goes on in this area of research - from military to medical training and skill-assessment, from life-like training scenarios to computer based training.One concrete thing I did learn was, that there is a value in grit - as opposed to a once popular myth.

great read for those looking at a specific angle of expertise.