Derren Brown: Archive
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From: ganetauk
Date: Tue Oct 15, 2002 7:18pm
Subject: Modelling information part 2/2 www.metacesabgu.fsnet.co.uk
primary methods
The primary methods of modeling are the elicitation of the
strategies, beliefs, values and overt
behaviors that are critical to the task
1) ``Strategies'' or ``mental syntax'' are the specific sequence of
mental processes involved in
performing the behavior.
2) ``Heuristics'' are the rules of thumb that a person actually uses
to make evaluations and
judgments in problem solving.
3) ``Beliefs'' or ``presuppositions'' are the philosophy, attitudes,
and beliefs that cause one to
perform a particular task in a competent fashion.
4) ``Values'' are the determinants of behavior that motivate an
individual to expend energy and resources to achieve or avoid a
particular outcome. They are tied to the emotional aspects of an
individual.
5) ``Overt behaviors'' are the physical processes involved in
carrying out a behavior.
the modelling process...
There are six basic phases in the modeling process.
1. Identify and select experts or models who consistently exhibit the
behaviors of
excellence to be modeled.
The initial phase in the Modeling process is the identification and
selection of the model (or models) of excellence. In modeling
experts, it is valuable to have several experts with whom to work.
This allows the use of contrastive analysis to aid in separating what
is essential to expertise from what is merely idiosyncratic to the
individual expert. It is also useful to model a few average
performers (contrast subjects) in order to contrast the critical
differences between the expert and the average performer.
2. Elicit or extract the model components of expert behavior.
Once a model or models are identified, the next phase in the Modeling
process is the elicitation of the critical components of expert
performance. The goal of this phase is to assure that the
components extracted from the expert are all and only those which are
critical to expert
performance, i.e. are both necessary and sufficient. This is the most
crucial step in the modeling process. It involves the determination
of the physiology, beliefs, values, attitudes, heuristics and
cognitive strategies that enable the experts to perform in an
outstanding manner. The skill tasks must be decomposed to break down
the skill into specific components which can be managed and sequenced
to produce the expert model. To do this, it is necessary to observe
the expert in his work environment performing the actual skill to be
modeled. The boundaries of the skill, beginning and end point, are
determined, and the scope, direction and subskill partitioning are
defined. This transforms a large abstract skill into smaller
manageable chunks that can be modeled efficiently. Next, the expert
is interviewed analytically and diagnostically. Using certain keys to
internal process, (i.e., eye movement patterns, gestures, body
postures, breathing patterns, voice shifts,and other physiological
cues) as well as external behaviors and the content of utterances,
the modeler extracts and records beliefs, values, heuristics and
thought and behavioral patterns. Extraction methods include
sensitivity analysis, structured and unstructured interviews, direct
observation and skill analysis, limited information tasks, time
context constraints, and skill refinement techniques.
In interviewing and modeling experts it is important to ensure that
the expert is performing in
``expert mode.'' . The goal is a model of expert performance and not
a model of an expert having a mediocre performance. working with the
expert over time to ensure consistency. Everything must be done to
build rapport with the expert and
to maintain them in an optimal performance state.
3. Synthesize the information collected in phase two about the
components of expert
behavior.
Once one or more experts and contrast subjects have been modeled, the
next phase is to synthesize the data gained from the elicitation
process into a provisional model. This involves five tasks.
1 the modeler diagnoses and analyzes the skills to be performed and
creates
a first approximation of the model. This involves dividing the skills
of the expert into subskills
or a collection of specialized behaviors and mental processes
necessary to perform the expert
behavior. This database reflects the modeler's best approximation of
all relevant strategies,
values, attitudes, beliefs, heuristics and behavioral components
involved in the expert behavior. In short, the modeler further
explicates the extracted components of expert behavior, identifies
the critical ones, creates a knowledge base, and develops a hierarchy
or syntax of the critical
behavioral components.
The second task in the synthesis process is to iteratively test and
interpret the database to
identify the critical components of the behavior. The modeler uses
behavioral interference
techniques, draws analogies, poses counter examples, and utilizes
other conceptual tools to
identify the rules governing the behavior. The modeler searches for
and discovers the deep
structural patterns underlying the behavior and prunes the data to
reduce the model components. During this process the model's
constraints are identified as well as the boundaries that partition
the subskills. The result of this process is a critical knowledge
base comprised of the beliefs, values, attitudes, heuristics,
strategies and physiologies necessary to map the skill.
The third task of the synthesis process is to discover the order or
system of the components and to show how they interlock to form the
behavioral pattern. It is essential to identify the
important components, their hierarchy and web of interconnections.
The modeler must always
keep in mind that it is a system that is being modeled and not
isolated components. The goal is to optimize the system and not just
to optimize the components. Thus it is necessary to consider the
interactions between the components as well as the components
themselves.
The modeler interprets and integrates the critical components and
networks of the model and
devises methods to organize and control the steps to perform the
skill. The interaction between the components is identified and
codified. The model is then ready for testing to exploit redundancies
and to increase its reliability. The modeler continues to test and
elicit behavioral components from the expert. As more knowledge is
added to the design, the model incrementally approaches the
competence of the expert.
The fourth task is to test and refine the model. The test for the
success of the
model is the ability of the modeler or trainee to produce results
equal to or nearly equal to those of the expert. When this happens,
the model is complete. If pieces are missing it will be
necessary to return to the expert to elicit further information. It
is possible at this stage to
improve or streamline what the expert does to enhance the model even
more. It is also possible to create a composite model which combines
elements of several experts to produce an overall model that goes
beyond the capabilities of any of the individual experts modeled.
The fifth task is to formulate a final model. As the model is tested
and revised, a final model
emerges that passes the tests of efficiency and effectiveness.
4. Design a model based training to transfer the expert performance
competencies.
Once a universal model is formalized, the next phase is to design a
training program to transfer the expertise captured in the model.
This phase in the Modeling process incorporates advanced training
technologies. It involves placing and maintaining trainees in an
optimum physiology, removing disenabling beliefs, installing enabling
beliefs, installing motivating values, rehearsing the proper physio
mental syntax and sequencing and transferring content knowledge. The
critical course content and the behavioral, belief, value, heuristic
and
thinking components represented in the expert model are integrated,
ordered and networked to design a training system that will transfer
the modeled skill to others.
5. Conduct a modelbased training to install the expert performance
competencies.
Once a training design is formalized, the next phase is to conduct a
pilot training. A major difference between Modeling and conventional
trainings is the emphasis on ``how to''
and on behavioral modification. Modeling training focusing on
removing any internal performance blockages and on installing and
rehearsing ``how to''
components until they become automatic.
6. Finalize the training and pass off to inhouse trainers.
