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? Students will be trained in using frameworks of Expertise Research which are based on a cognitive psychological perspective. Next Mechanisms of Expertise Development will be examined, explaining how training and practice can leverage expert performance.

The present course deals with issues on 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.

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 specialized 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: Eysenck, M., & Keane, M.T. (2010). Cognitive Psychology. A student's handbook, 6th edition. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-84169-540-2.