Articles

Because wisdom can't be told
Under review
Current research on developing expertise demonstrates what experts should do to teach what they know.
Retaining Expertise
Knowledge Management Review
Describes a variety of approaches to retain expertise.
Uncovering attention
In progress
How do you make your thinking visible to others? Describes some techniques experts can use to demonstrate how they think.

Why KM needs a psychologist
In progress
Many of the core concepts of KM are based on good common sense, but research in cognitive science shows that common sense is not enough to know how to effectively leverage knowledge.

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  • Short, quick case studies for teaching
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Consulting services
  • Expertise audit to identify which experts to engage
  • Teach experts how to mentor
  • Facilitated TIPS workshops (Technical Immersive Practice Sessions)
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Contact
Richard McDermott
USA 303-545-6030
Richard@McDermottConsulting.com

"In human experience there is both the thought and the thinking" – Pema Chodron

Expertise is more than knowledge. It is the ability to make good judgment calls. Most knowledge retention programs fail because they focus on capturing or sharing experts’ knowledge, not the thinking that leads to their good judgment.  

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Cognitive Science & Expertise
"They don’t us experts in when they know what to do. They call us in when they don’t know what to do."  - Professional Case Manager
Research on expert problem-solving demonstrates that professional expertise is a form of intuitive improvisation. Experts are often able to quickly diagnose a situation and identify a solution quickly, without a long analytic procedure.  Their expertise is built into the way they see their field.

To teach expertise, master practitioners need to show learners how they think, even when their thinking is so intuitive, they aren’t aware of it themselves. Our approach to expertise development is based on extensive research in cognitive science as well as an 18 month research project on expertise development in the professions (See articles).

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Mindful Practice in the Professions
Expert musicians, chess masters, Olympic gold medalists, fighter pilots, and professionals learn through deliberate practice. Professional development programs are only beginning to recognize the importance of practice. But practice is the key to perfecting

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McDermott Consulting
We implement a set of immersive learning tools; technical practice sessions, case studies, simple simulations and mentorships that give learners an opportunity to practice.  Using a well-researched structured approach, we help experts think aloud about how they diagnose and solve problems. We show them how to coach others

 

 
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