VanLehn, K. & van de Sande, B. (2009). Expertise in elementary physics, and how to acquire it. In K. A. Ericsson (Ed.) The Development of Professional Performance: Toward Measurement of Expert Performance and Design of Optimal Learning Environments. pp. 356-378. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Expertise in a complex, multi-step task domain is not simply a matter of getting faster and more reliable at each step. Experts can do types of tasks that novices cannot. For instance, they can plan solutions to complex tasks in their heads and they can solve qualitative, conceptual problems that stymie novices. This paper describes how such expertise can develop in certain types of multi-step tasks, such as college physics and advanced high-school physics. The main implication for tutoring and assessment is that the common assumption that conceptual mastery is a pre-requisite for procedural competence may not be universally valid. Rather, procedural competence may be a key prerequisite for conceptual mastery. In particular, step-based tutoring systems, which speed up acquisition of procedural competence, may provide a fast route to conceptual mastery as well.