Supporting Professional Learning in Low-Validity Environments: Lessons From Deliberate Practice

• In Event: Decision Making for the Emerging Professional

Abstract

Professional organizations’ performance is heavily dependent on their employees’ ability to make informed judgments. From radiologists who need to detect cancer in mammographies, to auditors who need to judge large amounts of financial data (searching for cues of fraud) professionals rely on their experience to make judgments in the workplace. Most professionals work in environments that are predictable (valid) most, yet not all of the time, occasionally presenting cues that do not correspond to earlier experience. Low-validity environments thus require professionals to learn about their environment’s structure to make informed judgments. This experimental study demonstrates that the basic mechanisms of deliberate practice, task experience, feedback and reflection, supports professionals in learning to make informed decisions in low-validity environments.

Authors

• Therese Grohnert, Maastricht University

• Roger Meuwissen, Maastricht University

• Wim H. Gijselaers, Maastricht University