作为熟练操行的全球工程伦理

作为负责任的团体,工程职业者在伦理的指导下,向他们所在的社群提供持久服务。全球化要求工程师有意识地参与到更大的领域中,以说服人们接受社会效用、安全性、公民福利等一般需要。工程本身是一种熟练操行,它致力于独立的分析和设计。伦理学家应促进工程师清晰的表达,以阐明他们特定的实践活动、工程技术发展的表象以及专业的直觉判断。工程师与非工程师都要清楚的是,在一般的工程项目中,工程实践是如何促进伦理的和社会的发展,从而在为社会及其未来提供广泛的服务时,职业行为获得有序发展。     

刻意训练视角下的教师教学能力培养

刻意训练是解释专长发展的一种理论,它反驳了遗传决定论,认为通过合理组织和艰苦训练,每个人都能在专业领域内获得杰出的能力。刻意训练的主要特征是:以能力提升为强化物、对能力提升的高效性、训练的高度结构化、进行训练需要付出极大努力。综合已有研究,可以看出教师的刻意训练具有三方面特征:目标的针对性、形式的多样性、效果的迟滞性。在刻意训练的视角下,教师培养应优化培训项目、加强校本研究、关注教学反馈、鼓励自主学习。     

Why study time does not predict grade point average across college students: Implications of deliberate practice for academic performance

The current work draws upon the theoretical framework of deliberate practice in order to clarify why the amount of study by college students is a poor predictor of academic performance. A model was proposed where performance in college, both cumulatively and for a current semester, was jointly determined by previous knowledge and skills as well as factors indicating quality (e.g., study environment) and quantity of study. The findings support the proposed model and indicate that the amount of study only emerged as a significant predictor of cumulative GPA when the quality of study and previously attained performance were taken into consideration. The findings are discussed in terms of the insights provided by applying the framework of deliberate practice to academic performance in a university setting.     

Computer‐based scaffolding to facilitate students' development of expertise in academic writing

Research on expert performance suggests that deliberate practice provides optimal opportunities for expertise development. This study examined whether the provision of computer‐based scaffolding (CBS) guiding deliberate practice facilitates students' development of writing expertise. A CBS environment escribo was designed to externally support expert writing activities, generate feedback and offer opportunities to practise corrected performance in academic writing. There were two testing times. First, the effects of practising writing with escribo were compared with the effects of a practice‐only situation without support. Second, a post‐test comprised composing an essay discussing an academic position without scaffolding. Results revealed that the escribo group at both testing times wrote essays of better comprehensibility than students in the practice‐only group. Furthermore, at both testing times the escribo group expended significantly more time on prewriting. These findings suggest that CBS guiding deliberate practice may be a promising means to facilitate the development of writing expertise.     

Revealing the Iceberg: Creative Writing,Process & Deliberate Practice

Historical attitudes to literary creativity often focus on it as a genetic or innate characteristic. Ericsson's notion of ‘deliberate practice’ and Simon & Chase's ‘ten‐year rule’, however, have shown the importance of sustained practice to achieve high‐level performance. The iceberg illusion of elite performance leaves observers marvelling at the end product without an appreciation of the hours of work beneath the surface. This case study considers how attitudes to student creative writing may be altered by emphasising creative process. Students engaged in creative writing which literalised the iceberg metaphor, placing greater focused on the ‘submerged’ planning, drafting and revision alongside the ‘visible’ end product. Utilising the extended mind hypothesis, student responses demonstrate the importance of planning to order and develop their ideas. The benefits of encouraging an approach to creativity that negates innatist explanations in favour of a growth mindset or deliberate practice approach are evidenced.     

Deliberate practice in teacher education

Deliberate practice is increasingly recognised as necessary for professional development. This paper sets out to explore in what ways student teachers’ learning activities in a teacher education programme can be characterised as deliberate practice. Based on an in-depth exploration of 574 learning activities, our results highlight the different ways in which activities in teacher education programmes can be designed, the different motivations students have to engage in them repetitively, and different ways in which feedback can be organised, within contextual constraints posed by all professional environments. Results also indicate that self-improvement is not the only motivation for engaging in deliberate practice for student teachers, as pupil improvement is also considered important. These results support a context-specific operationalisation of deliberate practice and provide starting points for teacher education programmes to promote deliberate practice in their curriculum.     

Research Schools: Grounding Research in Educational Practice

ABSTRACT— Education lacks a strong infrastructure for connecting research with educational practice and policy. The need for this linkage grows as findings in cognitive science and biology become ever more relevant to education. Teachers often lack the background knowledge needed to interpret scientific results, whereas scientists often lack an understanding of pedagogical goals. We need to build an infrastructure that supports sustainable collaboration between researchers and teachers and creates a strong research foundation for education. A primary agent of the lasting collaboration between researchers and practitioners in medicine is the teaching hospital, where researchers and practitioners work together on research that is relevant to practice and the training of young professionals. Education needs analogous institutions—research schools—that join researchers and teachers in living, community‐based schools. In these schools, practice shapes research as much as research informs practice. Research schools will provide a fundamental infrastructure for linking transdisciplinary research on learning with educational policy and practice.     

The Scientific Study of Expert Levels of Performance: general implications for optimal learning and creativity 1

Recent research in many different domains of expertise has shown that the large differences in performance between experts and novices are frequently reproducible under standardized conditions and can often be captured with representative tasks in the laboratory. Furthermore, these differences in performance are predominantly mediated by complex skills acquired over a decade, as a result of high daily levels of activities which are specially designed'to improve performance (deliberate practice). The effects of extended deliberate practice are remarkably far‐reaching and include physiological adaptations and qualitative changes in performance mediated by acquired cognitive skills. Most importantly, expert performers have acquired mental representations that allow them to plan and reason about potential courses of action and these representations also allow experts to monitor their performance, thus providing critical feedback for continued complex learning. The study of elite performance also reveals how acquired representation and skills provide the necessary tools for the ultimate eminent achievement, namely the generation of creative innovations to the domain.

     

Enhancing learning at doctoral level through the use of reflection?

The EdD (Doctor in Education) is a professional doctorate that provides a framework for experienced professionals to examine and develop their practice through research and engagement with relevant theoretical perspectives and professional academic literature. This type of doctorate provides the opportunity for professionals to develop their capacity for critical, professional agency, often achieved through the use of reflection for the integration of academic and professional knowledge. This paper explores doctoral students’ perspectives on the nature and value of reflective statements in terms of a product of learning and a process of reflection. The analysis of EdD students’ responses from one university in the UK reveals a connection between the process of reflection and the development of professional knowledge and contribution to practice—major goals of professional doctorate programmes. This small‐scale study has highlighted implications for the role of reflection in EdD programmes for the development of critical, professional agency. At the metacognitive level of the EdD student clarity is lacking regarding the process of reflection—the nature, scope, object, purpose, value and development—which raises the very important question of ‘what counts as adequate reflection and on what grounds’. This study has identified the need to build capacity, first, in the reflective practice of EdD students and second, in the pedagogic demands of the tutors and supervisors and, third, the assessment demands required of examiners.     

Diagnosis of Reading Problems: is there a case?

The argument presented in this paper is that effective instruction of children with reading difficulties relies little on accurate diagnosis either of the apparent cause of the reading problem or the nature of the reading problem. The former argument—that the diagnosis of the underlying cause of the problem is futile—is not new but bears restatement as there is no sign that the practice is abating among certain health professionals. The latter argument—that the diagnosis of the child's relative strengths and weaknesses in reading is also irrelevant to instruction—is more controversial as it contradicts standard educational practice. It is considered that standardised reading tests, if properly administered and interpreted, have a part to play in the identification of children with reading problems, but not in the diagnosis or treatment of such problems. Children with reading difficulties would be better served if more attention were paid to instruction and less to diagnosis.     

Deliberate Practice in Medicine: The Motivation to Engage in Work-Related Learning and Its Contribution to Expertise

This study examined physicians’ motivation to engage in work-related learning and its contribution to expertise development beyond work experience. Based on deliberate practice theory, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 residents and 28 experienced physicians in internal medicine, focusing on the activities they engaged in during work that might contribute to professional development and the goals underlying this behavior. Learning motivation was also measured using a goal orientation questionnaire. Expertise was measured by a case test derived from the Medical Knowledge Self Assessment Program (MKSAP). The interviews showed that participants’ learning was largely embedded in everyday work; most of their learning activities were inherent to the job rather than motivated by competence improvement goals. The problems encountered in patient care played a key role in prompting learning. Role, work experience and work situation affected the type of activities engaged in, as well as the intensity of practice. Deliberate engagement in work-related learning activities was related neither to goal orientations nor to case test performance, except activities by the experienced physicians to keep up-to-date. Work experience, in contrast, showed a clear positive relationship with the performance of residents. Two main conclusions can be drawn from this study: (1) patient care induced relevant learning activities aimed at performance improvement for the patient’s sake; (2) deliberate investments in learning can be enhanced to promote expertise development. Self-regulated learning by physicians needs to be strengthened and the organization for which they work should facilitate and encourage learning in daily practice.     

The Top Five Resources in Children's Ministries

There are few resources available for business ethics education from a religious perspective. This is due to the specialization of careers, the mobility of workers, and clergy discomfort with the topic—all of which have led to a decline of ecclesiastical influence in this area. The author discusses why business ethics education is important in the local congregation and outlines one model for both teaching theological/philosophical bases for moral action and providing support groups for businesspeople struggling with moral dilemmas. Following Thomas Groome's work, such an educational plan provides opportunities for shared praxis in the congregation.     

The Impact of Expertise on Performance: illustrations from developmental research on memory and sports 1

Research on the impact of expertise on cognitive performance mostly conducted with adult samples has yielded impressive results, documenting the outstanding role of domain knowledge for memory and problem — solving skills. In this paper, the available research on the development of expertise in children and adolescents is reviewed in order to explore the respective roles of domain knowledge and basic intellectual abilities in determining exceptional performance. Most developmental studies conducted in different fields such as memory or sport seem to validate findings obtained from adult samples in that individual differences in domain knowledge account for the lion's share of variance explained in the performance variables. However, a closer analysis of effects reveals that individual differences in aptitude cannot be ignored and seem reliable even in homogeneous (expert) samples. Thus the developmental findings do not completely support the view proposed by Ericsson and colleagues that “deliberate practice” is the only predictor of exceptional performance. Instead, “threshold” or “partial compensation” models seem more appropriate to describe the interplay between aptitude and domain knowledge in predicting peak performance

     

Developing a community of research practice

Writing journal articles is essential for academics and professionals to develop their ideas, make an impact in their fields and progress in their careers. Research assessment makes successful performance in this form of writing even more important. This article describes a course on writing journal articles and draws on interviews with participants one year after the course in which they identified persistent challenges. These writers’ accounts make visible some of the processes of writing for publication that are often tacit and identify key writing strategies. However, they also identify barriers to writing in academic workplaces and those professional workplaces where academic writing is produced. This article concludes by suggesting that while research assessment values written outputs over almost everything else, it is equally important to legitimise writing processes—and to be able to articulate the development of these processes—in communities of research practice.     

performance improvement

The Board of Directors of the International Society for Performance Improvement has identified top managers and executives as one of the population groups that are or should be represented in ISPI membership. In an effort to research these professionals, Performance Improvement is introducing a new feature — Executive Summaries. These are synopses of the feature articles in each issue. They will appear together on pages that can be copied and distributed to members of your organization who might not have time to read PI, but may benefit from the content of its articles. We encourage you to share summaries with managers and executives, as well as clients, team members, students, and other performance improvement professionals. Also — look for the summaries to appear on ISPI's Web Site soon.     

Comparing the Roles,Responsibilities, and Activities of Transactional and Transformational HRD Professionals

HRD professionals engage in one of two potential roles—transactional or transformational. Transactional focuses attention on an activity strategy whose cornerstone is training. Transformational focuses on a results‐driven strategy that is performance‐centered‐a role that helps organizations achieve their strategic business goals and objectives. These strategies differ in their outcomes and contributions to organizations in that the former leads to training for training's sake while the latter seeks to maximize organizational performance and effectiveness. Thus, HRD professionals are challenged to choose either an activity strategy that embraces a business as usual approach or a results‐driven strategy that requires adopting a new and exciting role.     

Performance Improvement

The Board of Directors of the International Society for Performance Improvement has identified top managers and executives as one of the population groups that are or should be represented in ISPI membership. In an effort to research these professionals, Performance Improvement is introducing a new feature — Executive Summaries. These are synopses of the feature articles in each issue. They will appear together on pages that can be copied and distributed to members of your organization who might not have time to read PI, but may benefit from the content of its articles. We encourage you to share summaries with managers and executives, as well as clients, team members, students, and other performance improvement professionals. Also — look for the summaries to appear on ISPI's Web Site soon.     

A Question of Resistance to Home Education and the Culture of School-Based Education

Public educator resistance to home education is not a definitive or deliberate offense but part of the culture of teaching, schooling, and the grand culture in which schooling functions. Such resistance, especially at higher bureaucratic levels, stems from a faith stance that might very well be misinformed, misguided, and perhaps even blindly biased. A reading of the roles of teachers and resistance to change from a systems thinking framework informs this work. The main purpose of this article is to present findings from a review of the literature in an effort to expose the critical factors that might inhibit home education growth, acceptance—especially by educators—and greater inclusion as a mainstream education practice. Systemic thinking application in combination with the topic of home education offers multiple strands of understanding home education, systems thinking, and resistance. This article furthers the discussion on home education and prompts educators and researchers alike to reconsider home education and educator roles for the 21st century not as utilitarian functions for local and global economies but as coworkers toward a perceived common goal for children.     

Changing tune: reconceptualizing music with under three year olds

Recent years have seen a rapid increase in opportunities for very young children in the UK to participate in musical activity. These opportunities are provided by a range of music professionals who are expanding their work into the early years sector. Support for this increase in early childhood music draws on recent research into aspects of musicality, fuelling a growing conviction that music is developmentally beneficial. This article, while not implying any diminution in the potential value of music in the upbringing of very young children, calls for a more rigorous and critical use of research evidence. The main argument presented is that research evidence is being used discriminately to divert attention onto the transferable benefits of music into domains such as basic skills—music as means—rather than direct attention to musicality as it is manifest in earliest childhood. The article draws on ideas evolved in practice during an action‐research project which aimed to develop arts practice in early childhood settings. The project team of artists—recruited from a range of disciplinary backgrounds, including music—gradually developed a generic model of improvisatory arts activity which emphasized dynamic temporal‐spatial activity. This model of practice connected with the corpuses of recent research into infant musicality at points which, I will argue, are more congruent with their findings than the discriminatory readings. The revised model is further discussed and expanded with reference to some priorities and theoretical positions which are currently influential in early childhood arts practice.     

From Wimsey to The Wire: Distracting Discourse and Attentional Practice

This essay explores the intervolvement of attentional practice and discursive action. Drawing on Michael Polanyi's phenomenology, I examine occasions when discourse does not sound like deliberate utterance and when attention does not look rationally focused—but when both are rhetorically inventive. Taking a cue from the growing (though conceptually and historically thin) self-help literature on attention and mindfulness, I examine the sometimes distracting speech of that paragon of attentiveness, the fictional detective. Dorothy Sayers’ witty sleuth, Wimsey, and The Wire's profane investigators, Bunk and McNulty, practice transgressive speech that seems nonsensical, but which animates and extends indirect attention for the sake of solving problems in bewildering conditions. These case studies in crime fiction strengthen rhetorical scholarship on embodiment, affect, and verbal inadvertency by locating deliberative dimensions in apparently indeliberate discourses. This essay concludes by conceptualizing the communicative practice that modulates indirect attention, referring to its transgressive nonsensicality as a rhetoric of idiocy.