Innate talents: reality or myth?

Talents that selectively facilitate the acquisition of high levels of skill are said to be present in some children but not others. The evidence for this includes biological correlates of specific abilities, certain rare abilities in autistic savants, and the seemingly spontaneous emergence of exceptional abilities in young children, but there is also contrary evidence indicating an absence of early precursors of high skill levels. An analysis of positive and negative evidence and arguments suggests that differences in early experiences, preferences, opportunities, habits, training, and practice are the real determinants of excellence

Expertise Development in Commercial Property Valuation Practice

Ever since the issue of inaccuracy and variance in commercial property valuation was first documented in the mid-80s by Brown (1985) and Hager and Lord (1985), many researchers have investigated the complex factors involved in effective problem solving in the valuation domain, focusing on the valuer and the valuation process. Several behavioural issues, including heuristics, have been noted to affect valuation outcomes. There is a growing literature on understanding the concept of expertise, especially using the field of cognitive psychology, and the present research explores valuer’s cognitions in a commercial valuation context. The study aimed to determine how the role of valuers’ cognitions and cognitive structures are crucial in furthering our understanding of effective valuation problem solving, as well as improving valuer training efforts. The research was undertaken from a ‘Critical Realist’ perspective, and used a knowledge elicitation method called ‘Cognitive Task Analysis’. Data were collected through a ‘Verbal Protocol Analysis’ (VPA) of a simulated commercial valuation exercise based on a real building, using semi-structured interviews. Six subjects (comprising two expert valuers, two intermediate valuers and two novice valuers) participated in the simulated valuation and in the follow-up interviews. Two further experts were interviewed to validate the findings. Content and event-sequence analysis were performed on the data collected from the simulated valuation to yield the knowledge states, problem-solving techniques (‘operators’) and strategies used by valuers. Mapping of thought processes revealed that expert and intermediate valuers had better and well-structured patterns of thought which demonstrate greater degrees of cohesiveness and interrelatedness between problem-solving operators. Centred on data interpretation and meta-reasoning activities, expert and intermediate valuers used the problem-solving operators initially to schedule valuation analysis or establish valuation strategies, and to re-interpret and diagnose previously acquired information to update the outcome of their past valuations. Novice valuers’ structured processes of solving the valuation problem show fewer linkages between problem-solving operators, which may suggest underdeveloped cognitive structure or quick disengagement from task. The results also show that where available data is inadequate, valuers solve an overall valuation problem by dividing the problem into a number of sub-problems that are solved by engaging in two main types of thinking: analytical and creative. These two levels of thinking enable the valuer to integrate available data with his/her existing knowledge through forward and retrospective (‘backwards’) reasoning. However, there were effects associated with level of expertise in the way these cognitive processes are used, with the expert and intermediate valuers being more fluid, thorough and comprehensive than the novice valuers. This enabled the expert and intermediate valuers to develop a greater number of more-sophisticated solutions to challenging valuation problems, and these were more likely to be immediately followed by meta-reasoning related activities or further exploration of data to justify the solutions generated. Novice valuers could not generate such well-developed solutions indicating that they were much more superficial in their valuation problem solving. These processes are discussed and synthesised into a descriptive model of expert-valuer cognitive structure for undertaking valuation of a commercial property, in order to show an understanding of how valuers integrate the various cognitive processes to determine the value of a property based on available information. The research concludes with an assessment of the implications for valuation training and education

When win-argument pedagogy is a loss for the composition classroom

Despite the effort educators put into developing in students the critical writing and thinking skills needed to compose effective arguments, undergraduate college students are often accused of churning out essays lacking in creative and critical thought, arguments too obviously formulated and with sides too sharply drawn. Theories abound as to why these deficiencies are rampant. Some blame students’ immature cognitive and emotional development for these lacks. Others put the blame of lackadaisical output on the assigning of shopworn writing subjects, assigned topics such as on American laws and attitudes about capital punishment and abortion. Although these factors might contribute to faulty written output in some cases, the prevailing hindrance is our very pedagogy, a system in which students are rewarded for composing the very type of argument we wish to avoid — the eristic, in which the goal is not truth seeking, but successfully disputing another’s argument. Certainly the eristic argument is the intended solution in cases when a clear‑cut outcome is needed, such as in legal battles and political campaigns when there can only be one winner. However, teaching mainly or exclusively the eristic, as is done in most composition classrooms today, halts the advancement of these higher‑order inquiry skills we try developing in our students

Teknologian mahdollistamien kognitiivisten affordanssien mittaaminen : mittarin kehittäminen havainnointityökalusta kyselymittariksi

Tavoitteet. Tämän tutkielman tavoitteena on kehittää Cognitive Affordances of Technologies Scale (CATS) -mittaria. Mittarin tarkoituksena on löytää oppimisen kognitiivisia affordansseja erilaisista teknologiaa hyödyntävistäoppimisympäristöistä. Sitä käytetään koulutuksen kehit-tämiseen. Tässä tutkielmassaei vertailla eri ryhmiä, vaan kuvataan, millaisia tarjoumia erilai-set oppimisympäristöt tuottavat oppijoille. Teoreettinen viitekehys. Kognitiiviset affordanssit ovat ympäristön tarjoamia mahdollisuuksia eli tarjoumia, joita jokainen tulkitsee omasta perspektiivistään. Sulautetun oppimisen (blended learning) ympäristöt sekä virtuaalitodellisuudetta sisältävät oppimisympäristöt kuuluvat teknologiaa hyödyntäviin ympäristöihin. Aiemmassa tutkimuksessa CATS-mittaria on käytetty ainoastaan havainnointitutkimuksessa, ja se on sisältänyt seitsemän kategoriaa ja 41 kriteeriä. Menetelmät. Neljän eurooppalaisen yliopiston opiskelijat ja yhden suomalaisen yrityksen työntekijät vastasivat muokattuun CATS-kyselyyn. Koko aineistoa (N = 134) hyödynnettiin mittarin kehittämisessä. Mittarin testaamisessa käytettiinmuun muassa faktorianalyysiä. Pääryhmät olivat sulautuvaoppiminen ja virtuaalitodellisuutta sisältävä oppiminen. Tulokset ja johtopäätökset. Uudessa CATS-mittarissa on kuusi kategoriaa ja 27 kriteeriä. Pääryhmien osallistujat kokivat, että eniten tarjoumia tulitutkimuspohjaisen oppimisen ja vuorovaikutuksellisen oppimisen kategorioista, joten sulautetun oppimisen ympäristö tarjosi sa-manlaisia oppimisen kognitiivisia affrodansseja kuin virtuaalitodellisuutta sisältävä oppimisympäristö. Tulos ei ole täysin yllättävä, koska kirjallisuuden perusteella virtuaalitodellisuus voidaan tulkita osaksi sulautettua oppimista. Tulevaisuudessa oppimisympäristöjen tutkiminen affordansseittain voi selkeyttää eri teknologioiden rooleja oppimisympäristöissä.Purpose. The aim of this thesisis the development of the Cognitive Affordances of Technologies Scale (CATS) instrument. The purpose of the instrument is to is to map different cognitive affordances of learning indifferent technology-enhanced learning environments. The instrument is used to developand improveeducationand learning modules.In this thesis, dif-ferent groups are not compared, but it is explored what different learning environments offer for learning. Theoretical framework. Cognitive affordances are offerings in the environment that everyone interprets from their own perspective. Technology-enhanced environments include blended learning environments and Virtual Reality (VR)-enhanced learning environments. In a previous study building on the CATS instrument, the instrument was only used in an observational study and it contained seven categories and 41 items. Methods. Students from four European universities and employees of one Finnish company filled inthe modified CATS survey. Data collected from all participants (N = 134) were used in the development of the instrument. In testing the instrument, e.g., factor analysiswas applied. The main groups were blended learning and VR-enhanced learning. Findings and conclusions.The new instrument has six categories and 27 items. Participants of the main groups reported having experienced the most affordances in the categories Inquiry-Based Learning and Discourse/Dialogic Learning. Hence, it seems that the blended learning environment afforded similar cognitive affordances of learning as VR-enhanced learning environments. This finding is not entirely surprising, as based on the literature, VR can be interpreted as part of blended learning.In context of educational implementation, exploring the learning environments by affordances could clarify the roles of different technologies in learning environments in future research

Extending the Extended Mind : From Cognition to Consciousness

Where does conscious experience stop and the rest of the world begin? Is the material basis of consciousness confined to the brain, or can it be extended to include other parts of the body and environmental elements? This study proposes an extended account: when all the requirements are fulfilled, an external tool may become part of the realising basis for certain experiential processes. Andy Clark and David Chalmers argued famously that the material basis of cognitive states sometimes extends out of the barriers of skin and skull to external objects such as notebooks and other everyday tools. However, they draw the line there: only cognition, but not consciousness can have an extended base. The central argument of this study is that their constraint is not legitimate. If one is accepted, the other one follows. The first chapter lays an overview of the theoretical background of externalism and the 4E-theories in present-day philosophy of mind and cognitive sciences. It also examines the central concepts, accounts and methodological questions that will be used and further developed in later chapters. The second chapter presents three arguments for the position defended in this thesis, namely the hypothesis of extended conscious mind. The third chapter analyses the ongoing debate in the interface of philosophy of mind and philosophy of science about the causal–constitution distinction, and argues that rather than in mechanist terms, the causal–constitution distinction should be interpreted in diachronic terms when dealing with mental phenomena. When depicted that way, the extension relation in the hypothesis of extended conscious mind counts as constitutive. The fourth chapter distinguishes between several different levels of extension, from mere short-term extension to more robust functional incorporation, where the external tool has become part of the transparent bodily point of view of the subject. Based on the notion of functional incorporation, a set of demarcation criteria for the hypothesis of extended conscious mind will be developed. The chapter closes by discussing sensory substitution as a concrete example of functional incorporation. Finally, the fifth chapter introduces the most influential counter-arguments that have been set forth against the hypothesis of extended conscious mind. The critiques will be examined and answered.Väitöstutkimus esittää, että mielen ja tietoisen kokemuksen rajat laajentuvat pään ja ruumiin ulkopuolelle, esimerkiksi teknologisiin apuvälineisiin. Tutkimus kyseenalaistaa mielenfilosofiassa perinteisesti vallassa olleen näkemyksen, jonka mukaan mielen toiminnot voitaisiin selittää pelkän aivotoiminnan pohjalta – sen sijaan mielen toiminnot syntyvät aivojen, ruumiin ja ympäristön vuorovaikutuksessa. Andy Clark ja David Chalmers esittivät kuuluisassa artikkelissaan, että jokapäiväiset apuvälineet voivat olla kognitiivisten prosessien muodostamisessa mukana biologisen ruumiin ohella. Clark ja Chalmers kuitenkin rajoittivat laajentumisen tähän: heidän mukaansa pelkästään kognitiivisilla prosesseilla voi olla laajentunut perusta, mutta tietoinen kokemus rajoittuu pään sisään. Tämän tutkimuksen uusi avaus ja ydinargumentti on, että tällaista rajanvetoa ei ole mahdollista tehdä johdonmukaisesti. Jos hyväksymme kognitiivisten tilojen laajentumisen, tietoinen kokemus seuraa mukana. Biologisten toimintojen ohella esimerkiksi muistikirja tai älypuhelin voi toimia muistoja ja uskomuksia osaltaan toteuttavana välineenä, ja sokeankeppi tai tekoraaja osana tuntoaistimuksen toteuttavaa materiaalista pohjaa. Jotta laajentuminen voi tapahtua, ulkoisen välineen tulee täyttää tietyt ehdot, sen täytyy muun muassa tulla osaksi funktionaalista ruumiillista identiteettiä. Ulkoisiin apuvälineisiin laajentuminen on mahdollista aivojen ja ruumiin rakenteellisen muovautuvuuden ansiosta: ruumiillistetun osan ei tarvitse olla biologinen, mutta sen täytyy tulla ”läpinäkyväksi” osaksi subjektin näkökulmaa. Käsitteellisen analyysin lisäksi työssä käsitellään useita empiirisiä tutkimustapauksia (kuten aistikorvaavuuslaite-teknologia ja empiirinen unitutkimus). Mielen ja tietoisen kokemuksen laajentumisella on kauaskantoinen vaikutus, joka näkyy filosofian ohella useilla muillakin aloilla. Tutkimus auttaa vastaamaan erittäin ajankohtaisiin kysymyksiin, kuten millainen status käyttämillemme jokapäiväisille teknologisille laitteille tulisi antaa: tulisiko niitä pitää vain fyysisinä esineinä vai kognitiivisten prosessien jatkeena? Yksi esiin nouseva käytännönläheinen kysymys jatkotutkimukselle on kuinka ympäristön muokkaaminen (esim. hoitolaitoksissa tehtävät ratkaisut) vaikuttaa mieleen – ja tästä seuraa myös monenlaisia eettisiä kysymyksiä

Towards the Situated Engagement Evaluation Model (SEEM) : making the invisible visible

This thesis explores the multifaceted concept of engagement within online learning environments. Key research aims are to suggest approaches and an extendable model for evaluating, monitoring and developing understanding of online learner engagement. The overall intention is to offer educators insight, practical guidance and tools for supporting timely intervention in fostering learner engagement. This thesis reviews the major theoretical perspectives on learning and highlights the role of student engagement in relation to the research literature. It discusses the limitations of the methods applied in current research and attempts to address this problem by crossing the disciplinary boundaries to draw together a range of perspectives and methodologies. A review of the literature provides a foundation for a learner engagement evaluation model that employs a variety of evaluation methods and accommodates the possible diversity of learning experiences. The proposed ‘Situated Engagement Evaluation Model’ (SEEM) is positioned to reflect the wide theoretical perspective of social learning. It constitutes a comprehensive system of intertwined components (Learning Content; Pedagogical Design Elements; Learning Profiles; and Dialogue and Communication) that learners may interact with, and integrates dynamically changing preferences and predispositions (e.g. cultural, emotional, cognitive) potentially informative in engagement studies. Prior to (and independently of) the development of SEEM, four empirical studies were conducted and reported here. These explored patterns of online engagement with respect to learning content, learning profiles, patterns of communication and elements of pedagogical design. Studies were then revisited to evaluate the usefulness of SEEM for monitoring and evaluating student engagement, and to discuss its potential for guiding intervention to improve learning experiences. The practical relevance for integrated and automated implementation of SEEM in online learning is considered further

Exploring first-time nascent entrepreneurs’ on-going entrepreneurial opportunity recognition : a case study of London Metropolitan University’s preincubator

Extant literature lacks the integrative theory of first-time (pure) nascent entrepreneurs’ ongoing opportunity recognition. There is an academic consensus that the investigation of ongoing opportunity recognition may provide new insights into entrepreneurs’ behaviours and cognitive processes, i.e. what they do and how they do it. This study has responded to this knowledge gap by addressing the following research question: how do pre-incubator supported nascent entrepreneurs recognise entrepreneurial opportunities? The objectives of this study were: (1) to explore the process by which they come up with opportunity ideas; (2) to explore behavioural actions that shape opportunity ideas into opportunities; (3) to understand the role of the pre-incubator on their cognitive and behavioural process; and (4) to provide recommendations for effective opportunity-recognition practice. A single qualitative case study was adopted for the study of 13 lead graduates who were supported through the pre-incubator’s business start-up programme. Data were collected through semi-structured interview, mind-mapping and participants observation, and analysed by adopting an inductive thematic analysis method. Findings show that nascent entrepreneurs’ opportunity recognition comprises two discreet, interrelated components: opportunity awareness and opportunity search. Opportunity awareness is an intentional process by which they translate their experiential problems and perceived gaps into demand- or supply-driven opportunity ideas. It drives their opportunity search behaviour. They rely on various social networks to test the veracity of their opportunity ideas and search for opportunity-related information. They prioritise their social network reliance according to their social relationships. This behaviour is guided by their emotional attachment to opportunities. It is found that pre-incubator managers moderate their emotional attachment and subsequent search behaviours. As they (nascent entrepreneurs) rely on various social networks, their confirmation bias mediates opportunity recognition belief reinforcement and the input factors provided by social network members. The findings are significant to pre-incubator managers. They provide revelatory insights into their supported nascent entrepreneurs’ emotions, behaviours, and cognition in relation to opportunity recognition. This study also makes noteworthy contributions to entrepreneurship literature by providing new theoretical insights into the opportunity recognition of first-time (pure) nascent entrepreneurs

Learning systemic management practice

Systems thinking has been proposed as an answer to the question of how management practitioners can best equip themselves to tackle the complexity of management practice. As a body of work intended to transcend disciplinary silos, systems thinking pursues the ideal of generating comprehensive descriptions of real situations. It seeks to do this by embracing a variety of systems approaches and ideas to explain patterns and hypothesise causes of observable empirical events. As systems thinking is a diverse field, there are many knowledge areas and perspectives available to programme designers to facilitate teaching and the learning of systems thinking for management practice. The purpose of this study is to examine students' experience of learning events in the context of an interdisciplinary course designed for the development of management practice through systems thinking. Data was collected from three cohorts of students by observing lectures and class-based group work; and conducting interviews using conversational repertory grid techniques. The interview responses were analysed using grounded theory principles. Based on the findings derived from this qualitative analysis, the process of learning of systems thinking is outlined as a practice involving the selection and interpretation of events which evolve from the starting out phase, where students become interested in learning, and then outlines progress through the phases of assimilation and, changes in knowledge, culminating in more complex learning phases described as integration and adaptation. The synthesis of these phenomena as a theory provided an answer to the primary research objective of investigating how students experience learning events designed to develop systemic management practice. Critical realism, following Bhaskar's philosophy, is used to frame explanations to extend the grounded theory analysis, seeking to account for generative mechanisms that enable and constrain student experience with respect to systems thinking development. As a secondary contribution, this informed the identification of possible mechanisms and emergent properties at the level of the course through an analytical separation of the academic and work environments. These included the discourse of the context of application, academic discourse and professional identity. In combination, these findings make a contribution to understanding the learning of systemic management practice. In addition, applications for this research are suggested for educators, managers and organisations. These applications include: 1) a framework to help educators design meaningful experiences for learners; 2) a basis for understanding what constitutes systemic management practice and explaining differential development; 3) establishment of a basis for understanding what is needed for organisations to support the development of systemic management practice