Dreyfus model of skill acquisition
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The Dreyfus model of skill acquisition is a model of how learners acquire skills through formal instruction and practicing, used in the fields of education and operations research. Brothers Stuart and Hubert Dreyfus proposed the model in 1980 in an 18-page report on their research at the University of California, Berkeley, Operations Research Center for the United States Air Force Office of Scientific Research.<ref>Dreyfus, Stuart E.; Dreyfus, Hubert L. (February 1980). "A Five-Stage Model of the Mental Activities Involved in Directed Skill Acquisition" (PDF). Washington, DC: Storming Media. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 16, 2010. Retrieved June 13, 2010.</ref> The model proposes that a student passes through five distinct stages, originally described as: novice, competence, proficiency, expertise, and mastery.
Dreyfus model
The Dreyfus model is based on four binary qualities:
- Recollection (non-situational or situational)
- Recognition (decomposed or holistic)
- Decision (analytical or intuitive)
- Awareness (monitoring or absorbed)
The original model included mastery as the last stage. In the book Mind over Machine, this was slightly adjusted to end with Expertise.<ref>Dreyfus, Stuart E.; Dreyfus, Hubert L. (1986). Mind over Machine. New York, NY: Free Press.</ref> This leads to the full five-stage process:
Skill Level/ Mental Function Novice Advanced Beginner Competent Proficient Expert Recollection Non-Situational Situational Recognition Decomposed Holistic Decision Analytical Intuitive Awareness Monitoring Absorbed
Criticism of the model
A criticism of Dreyfus and Dreyfus's model has been provided by Gobet and Chassy,<ref>Gobet. F. & Chassy, P. (2008). Towards an alternative to Benner’s theory of expert intuition in nursing: A discussion paper. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 45, 129-139.</ref><ref>Gobet. F. & Chassy, P. (2009). Expertise and intuition: A tale of three theories. Minds and Machines, 19, 151-180.</ref> who also propose an alternative theory of intuition. According to these authors, there is no empirical evidence for the presence of stages in the development of expertise. In addition, while the model argues that analytic thinking does not play any role with experts, who act only intuitively, there is much evidence that experts in fact often carry out relatively slow problem-solving (e.g. look-ahead search in chess).
However, the above criticisms are based on a partial reading of the published record.<ref>Dreyfus, Stuart; Rousse, B. Scot (2018). "Commentary on Fernand Gobet's (2018) "The Future of Expertise: The Need for a Multidisciplinary Approach"" (PDF). Journal of Expertise. 1: 181–183.</ref><ref>Dreyfus, Stuart (2014). "System 0: The Overlooked Explanation of Expert Intuition". Handbook of Research Methods on Intuition, ed. M. Sinclair. 1: 15–27.</ref> For example, the criticisms fail to take into account the notion of the “deliberative rationality” of experts, which is a kind of expert reflection in action, as developed in Dreyfus and Dreyfus, Mind Over Machine.<ref>Dreyfus, Hubert; Dreyfus, Stuart (1988). Mind Over Machine (Second ed.). New York: Free Press. pp. 36–51.</ref>
In turn, the challenge posed by look-ahead search in chess is addressed within the scope of the skill model in a 1982 article by Stuart Dreyfus.<ref name=":0">Dreyfus, Stuart (1982). "Formal Models vs. Human Situational Understanding:Inherent Limitations on the Modeling of Business Expertise". Office: Technology and People. 1 (2/3): 133–165. doi:10.1108/eb022609.</ref> With respect to the question of experts calculating into the future, Dreyfus argues that chess is not a suitable example from which to generalize about skillful action at large: “The DeGroot reference to the well-known practice of the chess player of calculating out into the future should not be interpreted as evidence that skilled decision-makers in other domains do likewise. This examination of possible futures becomes feasible in chess because the objective and complete nature of a chess position makes a future position as intuitively meaningful as a present one”(p.151).<ref name=":0" />
See also
- Dreyfus' critique of artificial intelligence
- Chris Argyris' concepts of Action learning
- Four stages of competence
- Skill
- Shu Ha Ri
- Merleau Ponty
- Language proficiency, particularly ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines
- Bloom's taxonomy
References
Further reading
- Benner, Patricia (2004). "Using the Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition to Describe and Interpret Skill Acquisition and Clinical Judgment in Nursing Practice and Education". Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society. 24 (3): 188–19. doi:10.1177/0270467604265061. S2CID 131766815.
- Eriksen, Jørgen W. (2010). "Should Soldiers Think before They Shoot?". Journal of Military Ethics. 9 (3): 195–218. doi:10.1080/15027570.2010.510861. S2CID 144067922.
