Concept Mapping: Connecting Educators Proc. of the Third Int. Conference on Concept Mapping A. J. Cañas, P. Reiska, M. Åhlberg & J. D. Novak, Eds. Tallinn, Estonia & Helsinki, Finland 2008 ADVANCED CONCEPT MAPPING: DEVELOPING ADAPTIVE EXPERTISE David Delany Centre for Academic Practice and Student Learning (CAPSL), Trinity College, Ireland Email: delanydi@mee.tcd.ie Abstract. We describe a novel cognitive science-based approach to concept mapping called Advanced Concept Mapping (ACMapping) designed to reliably enhance teaching, learning and research performance in both underperforming and highly accomplished individuals. ACMaps are logically constructed expert-like representations of the conceptual deep structure of a technical domain. The ACMapping methodology was designed around the key observation that expert-novice performance differences are overwhelmingly due to differences in the quality of domain-specific knowledge structures (Chi, 2006). The motivating assumption behind ACMapping is that the ideal goal of education is to promote the development of adaptive expertise i.e. the ability to apply meaningfully learned knowledge in a flexible and creative manner (Hatano, 1982). Elite performers invariably exhibit adaptive as opposed to routine expertise. To facilitate this goal ACMapping is taught within the context of a novel theoretical taxonomy of educational objectives, the Advanced Critical Thinking (ACT) Framework, a model of the key elements of adaptive expertise. The skilled meaningful learning process of autonomously constructing expert 'connected understanding' using ACMaps is referred to as 'Knowledge Engineering'. In Knowledge Engineering the learner employs the fundamental thinking skills of abstraction, analysis, synthesis, and inference to explicitly construct integrated, hierarchical, expert-like knowledge structures implied by the surface features of expert productions. The use of the advanced knowledge engineering techniques of Deep Structure Analysis and Heuristic Analysis to 'reverse engineer' the deep-level understanding and adaptive problem solving strategies of elite experts is also discussed. Trinity College Dublin, Ireland is currently using this accelerated learning approach to enhance the thinking skills of academic staff and postgraduates across the sciences and humanities. We also briefly report on ongoing research into the effect of this training program on student thinking skills and the quality of the research output of scientific research groups. 1 Introduction Cognitive psychologists distinguish two types of expertise; routine and adaptive expertise (Hatano, 1982). Routine expertise manifests itself in the ability to efficiently solve standard, familiar problems. Adaptive experts, in contrast, exhibit highly developed metacognitive skills that facilitate development of ad hoc problem solving strategies and procedures for non-standard problems (Bransford et al., 2000). Elite experts within a domain are invariably adaptive experts. We believe that the ideal goal of education should be to facilitate the development of adaptive expertise through meaningful learning. We present an innovative approach to concept mapping called Advanced Concept Mapping (ACMapping) designed to promote the development of adaptive expertise. In order to clearly focus pedagogic attention upon the key aspects of adaptive expertise, ACMapping is taught within the context of a novel theoretical taxonomy of educational objectives, the Advanced Critical Thinking (ACT) Framework. We designed the ACT Framework to provide a normative 'conceptual scaffold' for integrating and structuring the logical and metacognitive thinking skills characteristic of adaptive expertise. Briefly, the ACT Framework embodies the conventional definition of an expert as an individual with superior knowledge and superior problem solving skills (Chi, 2006) augmented with critical thinking skills (abstraction, analyticosynthesis, and inference) and the reflective, metacognitive skills characteristic of adaptive expertise (Baroody, 2003). This approach is currently being taught to staff and postgraduates in the form of generic and subject- specific accelerated learning courses run by the Centre for Academic Practice and Student Learning (CAPSL) in Trinity College Dublin (TCD). In this paper we briefly review the rationale behind this novel approach to learning and problem solving and outline some of the associated methodologies. 2 Nature of Expertise Expert-novice differences in performance are overwhelmingly due to differences in the quality and extent of domain-specific knowledge structures, or schemata, held in long term memory (Chi, 2006). Novices typically possess fragmented, non-hierarchically organised knowledge structures, whilst expert knowledge structures are generally highly integrated and hierarchically organised around deep principles within their domain (Chi, 2006). The superior comprehension, problem solving, recall and learning abilities of experts arise directly from their superior knowledge organisation (Bransford et al., 2000). The conventional progression from novice to expert, as described by research in cognitive psychology, is therefore typified by a qualitative transformation and a quantitative extension of the individual's knowledge structure, as illustrated in Figure 1A.