What is expertise and how is it developed? How do people acquire knowledge and skills (learning)? What are the specific characteristics of adult learning? And how is this related to workplace learning? These questions are addressed in this course. In this course period, theories and insights of learning of individuals, groups and teams in Organisations are studied from three perspectives:
- A framework of Expertise based on a cognitive psychological perspective: What is expertise? Who is an expert? What kind of frameworks are available to research expertise?
- Mechanisms of Development of Expertise. A Learning Sciences perspective on how training and practice can leverage expert performance.
- Understanding how to set and articulate Organisational goals that maximize learning opportunities, and create opportunities to improve exchange of expertise in teams and networks.

Generic Competences: scientific knowledge, awareness of broader context, academic reasoning, problem-solving skills, learning skills, self-management skills, communication skills, interpersonal & team-working skills, leadership

The present course deals with the issue how human performance is determined by expertise. It centers on the pivotal role of understanding how people learn and acquire expertise in a domain. It represents an effort to develop sophisticated theories and models which can serve as the foundation of training design and delivery, and provide enhanced understanding of the changing nature of work and the strategic value of learning for Organisations. It discusses research on the nature of knowledge, the underlying learning processes, and how learning can be leveraged at multiple levels: individual, team and network. It questions how Organisations can promote expertise as the outcome of motivation, social conditions within an Organisation, and the design and delivery of training.
- Insights in characteristics and development of expertise: How do experts develop at work?
- Insights in characteristics of the workplace that contribute to expertise development, and sharing of expertise.
- Provision of skills and methods that forecast how expertise will develop, and how expertise is shared in Organisations.

Ericsson, K.A., Charness, N., Feltovich, P.J., & Hoffman, R.R. (2006). The Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance. Cambridge University Press. ISBN-13 978-0-521-60081-1 (pbk) or ISBN-10 0-521-60081-2 (pbk).
Kozlowski, S.W.J., & Salas, E. (2010). Learning, Training and Development in Organizations. New York, NY: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-8058-5559-3

This specialised course requires a basic understanding of cognitive psychology, research on human information processing, and the social nature of learning. As foundation literature the following handbook is recommended: Sternberg, R.J. (2006). Cognitive Psychology. Fourth edition. Belmont, CA: Thomson-Wadsworth Publishing.