why we learn

I just finished reading a wonderful article¹ on expertise. Ericsson et. al present a convincing case as to why “deliberate practice” is the primary indicator of whether or not an individual achieves a high level of expertise. They note two exceptions, height and body mass, which they relate to athletics (one assumes basketball and football). There rationale, considering the research they use to support their argument is persuasive, and in a fate versus free will type of way, uplifting.

After reading the words “deliberate practice” several times, I was struck by the similarity between the descriptions of these actions, and Sweller et. al² discussion of germane cognitive load. There is, I think, a connection here, in that in both cases the learner is committed and pushed. That is to say that they’re applying themselves fully, and that the task at hand is challenging.

1. Ericsson, K. Anders, and Roring, Roy W., and Nandagopal, Kiruthiga. (2007). Giftedness and evidence for reproducibly superior performance: an account based on the expert performance framework. High Ability Studies 18(1), 3—56.

2. Sweller, John, and van Merrienboer, Jeroen J. G., and Paas, Fred G. W. C. (1998). Cognitive architecture and instructional design. Educational Psychology Review 10(3), 251—296.

What was the research question(s) in the article?

The authors seek to investigate how various uses of graphic organizers can be used within the context of teaching reading strategies. Specifically, Chang et al. seek to understand how varying implementations of graphic organizers effect students’ (a) comprehension (assessed via a pretest/posttest pair), and (b) the ability to summarize the main ideas of the read text. They also point out that graphic organizers have been used extensively in science education, but their usefulness as tools for teaching reading strategies is lacking.

Is the literature review relevant to the research question(s)?

I felt that the literature reviewed throughout the article was appropriate. Literature was cited in reference to (a) types of spatial learning strategies, (b) processing and comprehension benefits derived from the creation of graphic organizers, (c) analysis of cognitive load as it applies to various assignments related to the construction of graphic organizers, and (d) the potential applicability of graphic organizers to summarization skills. Cited articles are used by the authors to illustrate the current status of research as well as to accentuate the void within this area as it relates to the application of spacial learning strategies to reading strategies and the ability of learners to summarize what they have read.

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