Hyde & Rugg:
We solve hard problems
Hyde & Rugg:
We solve hard problems
Overview
A significant part of our work in this area is based on a framework that maps different types of knowledge, memory, skill, etc, onto different methods of education and training delivery.
The diagram below shows schematically how this approach works. The types of knowledge, memory, skill etc on the left are divided into four main categories, and numerous sub-categories, derived from a range of literatures. The framework then identifies appropriate teaching, training and learning methods for each sub-category on the left.
Gordon has applied this model of craft skills to his collaborative work with Marian Petre, for example in their book The Unwritten Rules of PhD Research.
Topics:
We’re particularly interested in craft skills. These are skills that are typically treated in education as low-level, informal skills. Usually, they are viewed as beneath the scope of formal education, and as either something to be covered in training courses, or as something relatively trivial that students can easily work out for themselves.
It’s become clear during our work on academic craft skills that the reality is somewhat different. Expert craft skills are, as might be expected from the literature on expert knowledge, extensive. It also appears to be the case that experts’ mental organisation of this knowledge is rich and sophisticated (which again, is consistent with the literature on expertise).
This provides an explanation for the common perception that academic education is disconnected from reality. It also has far-reaching implications for educational theory, practice and strategy.
Gordon has applied this model of craft skills to his collaborative work with Marian Petre, for example in their book The Unwritten Rules of PhD Research.
We’re also interested in systematic choice of representation formats to fit better with the structure of the knowledge being learnt or taught.