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4MAT, October 2009

4MAT Concept & Conscious Competence

In Brain Rules, author John Medina references the work of John Bransford, an education researcher who answered the question, “What separates novices from experts?” Bransford identified six characteristics. One of the characteristics is relevant to the conversation around meaning in learning. “[Experts’] knowledge is not simply a list of facts and formulas that are relevant to their domain; instead their knowledge is organized around core concepts or “big ideas” that guide their thinking about their domains.”1



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  When working with subject-matter experts, the trainer should be focused on determining these concepts. This isn’t as easy as it sounds. It is not uncommon to be overwhelmed by all the possible content topics and miss the bigger idea.

What if we simply asked the experts what they understand that others do not? This sounds like a simple solution, but one of the outcomes of growing expertise, is the tendency to forget what it is like to be a novice. The conscious competence model illustrates the movement from unconsciously incompetent to unconsciously competent well:

When working with subject matter experts, the trainer must lead the expert to another level of competence—an awareness of unconscious competence. What is it that the expert appreciates, knows, practices or adapts that contributes to their results?

In the next installment of this series, we will talk more about how the conscious competence model influences training design and share how to structure a needs assessment conversation to get to the core concept.

Note: This is the first of a four-part series on getting to the concept. Subscribe to our blog to continue this dialogue.

Cheers,
Jeanine O'Neill-Blackwell
President/CEO, 4MAT 4BUSINESS

1 Medina, John. Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home and School. Seattle: Pear Press, 2008.