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Becoming Adaptive Experts:
Through a Learning Design Situated in Relevance, Problem-Solving, Reflection and Mentoring.

Brent Hibbert, Learning Designer

Pepperdine University OMET



Introduction to Adaptive Expertise

People are captivated by experts and expert performance. Individuals are admired when they reach an expert level of skill or knowledge in an area and when their performance is unique and creative. What makes adaptive experts different from standard experts? Adaptive experts can apply knowledge in new contexts. They are willing to adapt what they know to unique challenges and problems and often create innovative solutions and designs.
We’ve all met people who are “book smart” but unable to apply their knowledge to real problems outside of school or outside of their routine.  Giyoo Hatano recognized these types of experts to be “Routine Experts”. The term “Adaptive Expert” was generated by Hatano and Inagak to explain the subtle differences in cognitive, motivational and personality traits in groups of experts. He observed that Adaptive Experts who conceptually understood why a formula or method worked were able to invent new procedures if old ones failed (Hatano & Inagak, 1986).
Stories of adaptive experts make the news and sometimes make history. An example of adaptive expertise was the Apollo 13 crew and ground crew at NASA. The Apollo 13 crew, working collaboratively with the ground crew, fabricated a round C02 filter for a round hole allowing them to return to earth safely.  Adaptive expertise allows innovativeness, flexibility in problem solving, and learning through problem solving, it is the idea of not being afraid to tackle "hard" problems, and having the confidence to move forward.
Examples of routine experts are all around us, in every profession from medicine to culinary arts. Being a routine expert is okay when that is what is needed in a situation. However, the needs of our society and world are constantly changing and the change is happening at a rapid pace. This creates a never ending “skills gap” between what people know at the moment and what they need to know in order to be successful in their everyday lives and to meet the challenges before them.  Experts with strong skill sets and knowledge who have seen themselves as “masters of their trades” must also see themselves as adaptive experts who are willing to experiment, take risks, ask questions, see things from a different point of view, learn from others, help others and consult different sources (Bransford, Brophy & Hodge, 2004).
We need adaptive experts in every profession. Most students leave high school and college as novice or routine experts. “Covering” material for breadth instead of depth shortchanges students. Basic understanding of content knowledge leaves students unable to apply what is learned in school to what they need to undertake real world problems. Schools and teachers can provide experiences for students to facilitate adaptive expertise. The educational system is not set up for learning to occur in an expert manner. "...it is usually not until they are close to 20 that learners encounter any serious effort to develop them into experts" (Berreiter & Scardamalia, 1993, p.184).

Applying Research on Adaptive Expertise to My Learning Design

Adaptive experts are those who have a very deep understanding in an area of study. “They are better at solving problems in their domain" (Berreiter & Scardamalia, 1993, p.42). By developing expertise they are able to share that knowledge with others. Berreiter & Scardamalia (1993) use the term “Promisingness” to mark one of the differences they see between experts and novices. Creative experts have over time learned from their successes and failures, which has helped them to be able to make decisions based on those experiences, this is the ability to recognize promisingness. This knowledge is vastly superior to the way nonexperts use theirs (Berreiter & Scardamalia, 1993). Weinstein and Van Mater Stone (1993) have summarized the characteristics of experts saying, “adaptive experts know more; their knowledge is better organized and integrated; they have better strategies and methods for getting to their knowledge, using it, applying it, and integrating it; and they have different motivations. Moreover, they tend to do things in a more self-regulated manner (p. 32)”.
     Ertmer and Newby (1996) describes how adaptive experts use the knowledge they have gained of themselves as learners to select, control and monitor strategies needed to achieve desired learning goals. They present a model of expert learning that illustrates how learners’ metacognitive knowledge is translated into control of the learning process through ongoing reflective thinking. They take two “novice” students in one content area and show that because one has better awareness of herself as a learner (through becoming an expert in a different area), she takes an “expert” approach to learning new things. The difference in the two students is not the quantitative knowledge each possesses, but in the “qualitative differences that exist between a more expert learner and a less expert learner” (p 3, 1996).
    Each field has different requirements or classifications for experts. General characteristics of experts paraphrased by Hatano & . Inagaki (2003, pp. 26) are:

1. Experts possess rich and well-structured domain knowledge (consisting of  
    “chunks”) that can readily be used.
2. Gaining expertise requires years of experience in solving problems in the
    domain, with concentration (often taking the form of deliberate practice).
3. The acquisition of knowledge and skills is accompanied by socioemotional
     changes (such as in interest, values, and identity).
4. The process of gaining expertise is assisted by other people and artifacts (unlike
     in school learning, novices are not expected to solve problems all by
     themselves).
5. Expertise occurs in socioculturally significant contexts; as a result, in expertise,
     learning is not clearly separated from solving socially significant problems and
     performing tasks (expertise occurs in the process of producing the target
     outcomes of the activity [e.g., goods in the market]).
6. Expertise is distributed (because there are a large number of domains in which
     people can gain expertise and expertise in each domain takes time).

When looking at these characteristics, a learning designer is challenged with how to provide experiences that facilitate expertise.  When learners participate in experiences that require “varied and changing demands their prior knowledge must be applied flexibly and they are likely to acquire adaptive skills”  (Hatano & Inagaki 2003, pp. 28).
Hatano and Inagaki ascertain that the concept of adaptive expertise provides an essential framework for successful learning “irrespective of attained competence”. “Since the acquisition of flexible, innovative competencies is much desired but seldom achieved in school learning,
understanding this issue must be highly relevant to the effective design of instruction. While basic schools cannot make students real experts, they can place students on a trajectory toward
expertise or prepare them for future learning. In this sense, an important goal of basic schooling is to make each student a “baby adaptive expert” of the domain or topic of choice” (pp. 28).  

 
Most instructional methods only lead to developing routine expertise. Bransford, Brophy & Hodge, (2004) cite an example of a common activity where students explore circuits and become fluent in calculating voltage, current and resistance. They gain a lot of experience in solving text book problems based on the main principles of circuits. The students could not reason qualitatively to explain how the values would be different if a particular variable were to change. If they left the classroom and had to troubleshoot an existing circuit they would perform well. If they had to design an original circuit or create a circuit for a project with many variables they would not be able to.  
In addition to the six characteristics of expertise established by Hatano, an essential characteristic for learning is reflection. Dewey (1997) described reflection as a special form of thinking and he argued that we learn more from reflecting on our experiences than we do from the actual experiences. According to Dewey, reflection is the “hallmark of intelligent action” (p. 17), enabling effective problem solving to take place and improving the effectiveness of learning. Smith (1991) adds to this idea, saying that “we learn to learn as we become more aware of ourselves and learners…and more active in examining what happens as we learn “ (p. 12).
Ertmer and Newby (1996) asked how expert learners translate what they know about learning (metacognitive knowledge) into what they “do about learning” (p. 14).  Their comparison of two different “experts” illustrated that a “learner’s reflection on the process of learning can lead to changes in future processing and increased metacognitive knowledge about learning” (p. 14).
     So how are metacognitive skills taught? Etermer and Newby suggest that learners be mentored by experts. Experts model adaptive expertise and metacognitive reflection while doing the things they are passionate about. They propose that experts aren’t experts because they know more but because they are more aware of what they don’t know and they use strategies to acquire what they don’t know.  In their work, they compare and contrast the two high school students who are both novices in their domain. One is successful because she could effectively match the demands of a task with her own personal resources and constraints.  She could combine past learning and skills by reflecting on previous experiences and create an implement a new strategy and plan. Less successful learners usually do not have a very good idea about what they don’t know.  
An additional element in developing adaptive expertise is introduced by Sternberg (2003) who suggested we teach for intelligence (s). He summarizes three studies he was directly involved in that controlled for different types of intelligence (s). The studies taught students to think creatively, analytically, and practically. His studies were designed to give students problem solving opportunities to use the same set of skills in a variety of disciplines, enabling them to “think creatively, analytically, and practically always and everywhere” (p. 5). He attempted to enhance “domain-general intelligence” not domain-specific expertise”. His work suggests that training for intellectual skills and educating for adaptive expertise are directly related. “Becoming an expert physicist, composer, or teacher, for example, seems to require a blend of creative (generate ideas), analytical (evaluate the ideas), and practical thinking (make the ideas work and convince others of their worth) that goes substantially beyond deliberate practice” (p. 6-7).
To help my students become Adaptive Experts I chose to change my practice and situate my students within a framework of adaptive and creative problem solving; relevant and real learning experiences, expert mentor collaboration; and opportunities for reflective thinking.


Research Methods

Problem
For eleven years my classroom teaching has been instructor driven in an assembly line environment. I teach a wide range of classes, from Horticulture to Welding, twelve different subjects total. I enjoy teaching and I’m passionate about it, but I have focused more on my students becoming “routine” experts instead of “adaptive experts”. I didn’t really understand the difference until I sought to change and improve my teaching practice. The starting point for understanding the importance of Adaptive Expertise, was reading “The Big Picture”. This book, more than any other guided me in choosing an area of my teaching practice to improve.
There are several challenges to creating an Adaptive Expertise learning experience. One problem I have identified is time. Class periods are only 55 minutes. After subtracting the time it takes for students to dress down, clean up and then get back into their street clothes, 40 minutes of time remains to engage students in learning.
I find that my students have a hard time relating to school, and finding tangible value in what they are being taught. I need to create better ways to engage my students in the learning process and create situations where they want to be part of the creation of their own learning.
Each of these areas of concern contributes to the problem of “surface learning”. Each contributes to my tendency to “cover” the material and teach in an efficient manner instead of an effective manner. Students do not get the opportunity to become Adaptive Experts or to experience how experts learn, negotiate problems and reflect on their actions. If my students can become experts in one area (domain specific knowledge) then they should be able to transfer their experiences in expert learning to other areas and become Adaptive Experts or at least “Baby Adaptive Experts”.  
Research Question
Will creating student directed, problem-based, expert-guided experiences enable learners to create knowledge about how experts problem-solve, design, build and reflect?  Through these experiences will students be able to adapt their domain specific knowledge and become adaptive experts?
Purpose of my Action Research
The purpose of my project was to change my teaching practice and improve the learning experiences of my students. Each learner selected an individual project and each was also part of a group collaborative project. Students controlled what they investigated, experienced and learned within a four part “Expert Learning Framework” that I designed. The individual projects facilitated by the framework were a utility trailer, pickup bumper and a laminated recurve bow. The collaborative group project was designing and building duck and goose calls out of wood. Each student was mentored by experts and was able to observe the way experts do things, learn things, approach challenges, and reflect and improve. After this project, I want each learner to be able to adapt what they have learned to become adaptive experts in any area they want to pursue. Through this project, I have come to see myself as a “Learning Designer”.






The learning design I created to place my students on a trajectory towards adaptive expertise has the following elements:

1.    Creating a Relevant, Real and Personal Learning Design
2.    Collaborating With Expert Mentors
3.    Designing Adaptive, Creative and Challenging Problem Solving Opportunities
4.    Modeling Reflective Thinking “in” Action and “on Action” and providing experiences for reflection.
I created a model of the elements of my design, which helped me to explain the core elements to other people and helped me to understand the connection between the elements.
 
 

Figure 1.  Learning Design Model created by Brent Hibbert showing elements to facilitate Adaptive Expertise.


Findings

Creating a Relevant, Real and Personal Learning Design
Each student chose a design area that they were “passionate” about and that was relevant to them.  I found that their interest drove them to work hard. They worked hours beyond that school day, at home using SketchUp and creating designs using the portable wood lathe. They were willing to work towards an expert level.
I spent a lot time with each student dialoging with them about their individual project. Each student’s project was truly a reflection of their life and their passions.

As a teacher and learner, I have always enjoyed building projects and I have always assumed that my students have enjoyed it at the same level I have. During my Action Research I have allowed my students the full rein to choose which direction they wanted to go with their projects.  This was hard for me at first because I have always been the one directing the classroom in what I thought was relevant.  I have learned that the kinds of projects I think are relevant for 16 year old learners may not be so relevant to them. The projects I used to have them work on are “Real” but possibly not “Real” for them.  Empowering my students to dictate the direction they want to take their learning has given them the power to select and build project that are truly relevant to them. I need to continually reflect and evaluate where I am standing and where I should be standing in the learning process with my students.  I need to listen more to the group as a whole and to each individual in the class.  
In “The Big Picture” Dennis Littky said “When it’s real work, kids do it-no matter what the subject”, he also said “…the work that is done in schools looks like real work, but is not real enough…schools work really hard to make lessons that look and feel real, when all the while, the real world is going on outside..” (Grabelle & Littky, 2004,  p. 112). One of the learners made the statement: I had no idea that there was so much involved in making a duck call. I can’t believe how much I have learned (Brian, Personal communication, April 20, 2008).  What a wonderful thing to discover. It is so interesting that these three learners are some of the brightest young men I have ever taught, yet they struggle with their classroom classes at school.  
When I started this new learning design format at the first of the year and I didn’t fully grasp what I wanted to do, or where I would be going.  Through my reading and daily interactions with my students, and then reflecting on what I was doing and the outcomes of those actions, I have come to see the importance of my students projects being Real, Relevant and Personal for each student for them to be excited and put their energy and time into their project.  Learning occurs when an action is involved, and I definitely have experienced that with my own learning through this process.  
Brandon’s, life revolves around fishing and hunting, so for him to pick a recurve bow to design and build is very relevant to his life. He will be able to use the bow often.  It also opens up possibilities for him for future enterpenturial opportunities.  Building this bow allows him to use his hands in the process of building, and has given him a sense of pride in his work, which he has been able to share with others.  He shares in his blog, “I have been thinking of what to work on and I have decided that a compound bow would fit my choice. In making a bow I would better understand how well a bow is made in the future if I’m going to buy one”. “We will we be researching our project and figuring out ways to use other subjects in learning…” (Brandon, 2007).
Brandon, spent the most time in researching and in selecting his project. “I have been reading and taking the best things from all bows and trying to apply them to mine” (Brandon, blog entry).  I think much of that is because of his background and his family life.  Brandon’s parents have always been very supportive in him developing his creativity.  With the help of his parents, Brandon selected a project that was meaningful and one that he had dreamed of building.

Brian does a lot of outdoor activities like riding four wheelers, snowmobiling and fishing.  For him to build a trailer is meaningful to him at this time in his life because he wants a trailer he can use.  It is relevant to him because he enjoys building and designing.
Brian was a beginning welder at the first of the year when he came up with the idea to make a utility trailer. This was the first design he had to create himself. He didn’t use an existing plan set, instead he looked at a lot of different types of designs and used them as a reference, along with his knowledge and the knowledge of his mentor, to design a trailer unique to his needs. As he built the trailer, he also came to a better understanding of what he needed to know and learn to complete it so it met his expectation and state safety standards. Brian has had to develop his welding skills and learn different welding processes for him to complete his utility trailer.  Learning more advanced welding techniques helped him create a greater understanding and knowledge about welding and its process.  Welding each day with the goal of using what he was doing, to work on his trailer helped him advance his skills and adapt his knowledge.
Brian, had wanted to build a utility trailer for a few years, so selecting a project that was personal to him was very easy.  The hard part was talking his father into letting him build it.  There were a few hang ups there because of quality, design and time issues his father was concerned about.  
Trent is involved in several sports teams and is also an avid outdoorsman.  He enjoys welding and working on his truck. Trent seemed to struggle with finding a project to build.  I think there were so many choices, and the possibilities were endless, so it was a long process selecting only one. I helped him brainstorm about projects. He chose to build a rear bumper for his pick-up so he could design and build something fun and useful that he would use daily.  He wants to build something unique but functional.  Each time he walks by his truck he can see the real need and usefulness of a newer, stronger bumper.  Trent has struggled with school in the past, because when he gets done with school and goes home he can’t seem to make the connection with what happened at school and with what is going on outside. Trent has a personal interest in his project because it is one he can find a personal connection to and need for, he also can see the direct use and benefit of a stronger bumper.  He is also excited to work with people in the community on his project.  “This should be a pretty cool projects because we will have to find and work with people in the community that we have never met before people like engineers and such..” (Trent, 2008).
Brandon and Brian’s projects seemed to come easy to them, Trent spent the same amount of time selecting his project, but he seemed to struggle finding just the right project.  I see the difference in my students in that Trent was involved in sports in the fall and the other two learners weren’t.  There were several other factors in Trent’s life that limited him as far as time that the other learners didn’t have.  Looking back, I should have encouraged Trent to choose a project that he could involve his friends in, so he wouldn’t feel divided between time spent with them and working towards expertise with his project.  
We also had a group project that the students and I selected, this process took less than fifteen minutes. The reason that this happened was because they all have similar interests in hunting.  The plan for this project was to design and build water fowl (duck & goose) calls.  This was a very exciting project from the start for my students.  They all hunt ducks so this project was very real and personal to them. After they built their calls they would be able to use them while hunting.  I am not a water fowl hunter but all three students were so excited about building calls so even though the “finished product” wasn’t really relevant to me the “process” was. I knew that their excitement would be a springboard towards adaptive expertise.
A significant measure of the relevance of this project, is that the learners would take home my small portable wood lathe to create their projects on. Each would take turns having the lathe at their home. Usually they would have it for two to three days, and then another learner would take it to his house. Sometimes two of them would get together and work on a call. Brian even took the opportunity to teach his little brother to use the lathe, and turn his own duck call.
Selecting projects is one area I need to be careful with because students young and old generally are influenced greatly by their teachers.  Students are always trying to please the teacher, usually they want to do what the teacher thinks is “right”, and many times this stifles creativity.  I need to be very aware of this in the future with my teaching because it is so easy for me to try and direct my students’ projects into areas that interest me.  
Throughout my master’s program I have experienced professors with opposite views on helping students learn and be creative.  One view was to show past work of other students to give the students a range of ideas to start from and what the expectations of the assignment are.  The other view is to not show any work or projects that previous students have done in order to leave the chalk board blank, so students are not limited by what others have done previously.  I have tried both ways this year and I have found that for a student to learn to become creative they need to have a foundation of experience to draw upon before they can start to adapt their knowledge or expertise into other areas.  They also need to build confidence through this process of trying new ideas without the possibility of unwanted criticism while they are learning.   
One of the problems I have stated with my teaching practice in the past has been focusing on the end project and not the process of learning.  Going through the process of my Action Research Project has been the greatest “Real” learning experience of my life.  I have experienced “Real” learning first hand and what benefits can come from it.  For the first time I have been able to take home and implement what I am learning in “college” to my work place. Most of my OMET projects are not “busy work”. I can choose a way to meet the requirements of a course that are real and relevant to my needs.

Collaborating With Expert Mentors
Proven experts do things differently than other people. They look at problems differently and can model adaptive problem solving for their mentees.  I connected my students with expert mentors willing to teach and spend time with the learners.  The mentors also provided feedback to the learners. The students and I worked to build relationships with each of their mentors.  
Brandon did a lot of research on his own, on the style of bow and wood he wanted to use  and his dad helped him in this process.  He spent about 10 hours in the design of it, and about 50 hours building it on his own time, outside of class. Brandon’s mentor was Jeff, who is a proven expert bow maker. He was willing to share his knowledge with Brandon. He was willing to spend time to teach and mentor Brandon. Brandon talks a lot about Jeff in his blog and how much of an asset he was through the process, and how much time he spent interacting with him while designing and building his bow.
I introduced Brandon to another expert, Clyde, who was a wood worker who had more expertise in the area of wood working.  He was able to work with Clyde in making the first cuts for his bow, which are the most critical ones.
Brian wanted to have me mentor him because of my knowledge in building trailers.  I have been building trailers for about 12 years now and I have been involved in making about 25 trailers of different sizes and shapes.  I also have welded for about 18 years and understand how trailers need to be built to be structurally sound when finished.  Brian and I spent many hours working on different design ideas and the pros and cons of each way.   I would also talk with him daily about his progress in his designs and many nights we would talk using Skype as an interface to dialogue about his project.  I would suggest different sites and local places to look at trailers when he would get stumped on a part of his trailer and how to design it.
Trent’s mentor had employment problems and moved out of state, so we had to locate a new expert in that field for him to work with.  We had a hard time but we finally found a man in the community that is an expert metal fabricator and has built chassis and off road vehicles most of his life.  He was very excited about the opportunity to mentor one of my students and share what he could with him.   
I looked in our community to find a mentor (duck call maker) for our group project who could help my students with designing and building their calls. I could not identify an expert in the community.  I did find a wood turner (Clyde) who makes wooden bowls and other items on his wood lathe.  He helped my students learn safe practices when using the wood lathe and table saw.  Clyde is a very soft-spoken man with a passion for woodworking.  He shared his love for wood working through his help with their projects.  He was very willing to help them with all of their projects from Brandon’s wooden bow to the duck calls they were making.  One of the great lessons learned by my students was when a mistake was made with a tool or with a piece of wood, Clyde never got too worried about it.  His only concern was for the safety of the students.  Many times things went wrong when the novice experts were learning how to use the equipment and a piece of hardwood was ruined.  It was interesting to watch this process because each time it would happen the learners would brace themselves to get reprimanded.  Clyde never raised his voice or got upset or says a bad word, except for how they could prevent it the next time.  The learners quickly gained confidence and they also realized that in the end the only thing that mattered was to learn and to enjoy what you are doing, and enjoy it while you are doing it.  
Our next step was to find an expert call maker, so the students and I researched on the internet to find the best call makers in the business and we were able to find several and I emailed them about what we were planning to do, and if they had many suggestions on the best way to precede.  What was very interesting was that I emailed four of the top call makers in the United States and they all emailed me back within eight hours.  I found that to be very exciting and their responses were very positive and supportive of what we wanted to do.  The one call maker who has made more calls that have won world championships than any other had a very interesting reply when he emailed me back.  One of his big concerns was that my students didn’t just make a nice looking piece of wood, but that they should strive to become experts and learn all about how calls worked and why they worked the way they do.  The following is an excerpt from the email I got back from Expert Call Maker #1, (personal communication, November 17, 2007).
“Sounds like a worthy project.  With my next comment please understand that it is coming from my love of the sport and my firm belief that quality functional instruments and meaningful instruction are the keys to become a good waterfowl caller. I would only caution that there are enough "junk calls" already out there and to add to the problem these cause the average waterfowler in his quest to become a better caller should not be the only goal of the students. Strive for quality...not in looks...but in functionality. A "good looking" call has never called a single duck to decoys. It always has been and always will be the interface of a functional call and meaningful instruction that allows the waterfowler to bring those ducks down from the sky and properly position them for identification and clean harvest. I fully understand the need to learn the skills needed to turn and finish a barrel and insert blank on a lathe. I would suggest you do not stop there. Delve into the physics of what causes sounds to occur and the dynamics of the reed/sounding surface relationship. The better one can understand the complexities of the sounds a functional call should be able to produce the better one can work to achieve these results. Hit and miss, hack and whittle and maybe getting lucky once isn't the answer in the long run. Strive to be able to identify and then control all the variables. Learn what a single change will affect in terms of composite sound output before moving on to make other changes. Don't be afraid to "think outside the box". Don't fall into the trap of just trying to copy someone else's call. Sorry for the diatribe but I really think "quality" goes far beyond just Turing wood and making a beautiful looking call.”

I also had two other call makers we corresponded with numerous times during the process of designing and building the calls.  One interesting thing was most of the time when I or the students would email one of these experts we would have a hard time because we didn’t even know the enough to ask the right question to ask to get the answer we needed.  Because we were “novice” experts we weren’t sure of what to ask.  This went on for months as we correspond back and forth, and finally my students made a finished project, their first duck call.  They were so proud and excited about their accomplishment in finishing it.  “They are all very different and unique” (Brian, 2008).
“I have been having a lot of fun with these duck calls, learning a lot too” (Brian, 2008). It was pretty cool when Brian got his to work the other day even though it was not completely finished yet”, “I have completed my first duck call, at first I was not so happy with it but then it…started to grow on me, and it is not to bad for my first attempt”, “I finally made my first pretty well crafted duck call. The barrel is made out of cocobola and the stopper is made of ebony and I think it looks pretty cool” (Trent, 2008).
“This is my first complete duck call that I have made. To accent the call I soldered a flat piece of brass together and made a collar. Hopefully on my next one I will have a better and more innovated way of making the accent collar…” (Brandon, 2008).
We also bought a book on how to build duck calls written by Ed Glenn and Greg Keats.  This book was a great asset to my students in designing and figuring out how to make and build certain aspects of the call.  In addition to using the book, we would would brainstorm ideas, or email one of the online mentors or ask one of the local mentors.  
One of the first steps in this process was to build several metal mandrels to put the wood on to turn them in the wood lathe.  We needed an expert metal machinist so we went and asked a local man (Glen) and he was more then willing to help us with whatever we needed to build.  We spent many hours over at Glen’s shop designing and building the parts and pieces to build their calls.   
Several times the learners would say they couldn’t believe how nice, and how willing the experts were in helping them in any way they needed.  Through building these projects these learners built relationship with their mentors, which also helped them creat a larger learning community for themselves and the mentors.  
Giving my students the opportunity to select any project to build was a bit uncomfortable for me. In the past I have had some experience in building the projects that my students have built, so I have had some knowledge about the process.  When my students came up with the idea to build wooden duck calls, I was very excited, but a little uneasy about it inside because I didn’t have any knowledge about using a wood lathe or building calls.  
I spent quite a bit of time with several of the mentors discussing what the students were doing and what they needed and how we could design a good learning experience for them.  Each mentor was very receptive in having me discuss their projects with them.  They seemed to enjoy it more and more as the year went on. I think that was because they were able to reflect on what they and the students were doing and why things were happening the way they were.  They also seemed to gain a renewed interest or excitement for what they were doing, which showed up in the mentoring they did with the students.  
I think the mentors got as much out of this experience as the kids did.  Building relationships between the mentors and the students was a two-way street.  Both benefited immensely and both will benefit from this experience and relationship in the future.

Designing Adaptive, Creative and Challenging Problem Solving Opportunities
One of my goals was to provide opportunities for learners to think in ways characteristic of experts. To do this, I designed activities where they had to think analytically, creatively and practically. These activities gave them the opportunity to activate prior knowledge and to apply it flexibly to meet changing demands. They also worked collaboratively and individually to design and build projects and to solve problems. They used SketchUp to plan their projects and to explore different design solutions.
Having the ability to draw their projects in 3D and then being able to edit them easily and quickly, and email them to me for feedback enabled them to see their projects built and what they would look like before they actually made it. They could work through any design problems before they started physically building or manufacturing.  SketchUp also gave them the freedom to build multiple drawings in a short time, and be able to see the different possibilities of what their project could become.
One thing that was effective with SketchUp is it was a challenge to learn to use it but it is intuitive enough that students could design basic sketches without in depth knowledge of the program itself. It lends itself to an exploratory style of learning. The designers of SketchUp believe that placing a free, intuitive program in the hands of millions is better than having an expert few use 3D modeling and CAD programs to design a few things.
I should have set a specific amount of time aside each week to work on SketchUp so they would develop a deeper understanding of the process of design.  I would also have them take their drawings to their mentors for evaluation and feedback before they started building.  I had planned on having my students enter some of their drawings into the weekly contest SketchUp has, but that plan never surfaced because of a conflict with the class I was offering and my students’ school schedules.  
Brandon is a very creative individual to start with. He is surrounded by a culture of expertise. His parents and brother are creative entrepreneurs and well-known in their field. His parents would tell me he would be doing research on the computer really late each night trying to figure out what would be the best process to use.  Brandon was able to avoid many of the problems in building a bow for the first time because of his mentor.  Jeff helped him work through different issues Brandon would by asking him think about the process and not just tell him the answers to problems, so he would think about how it all connected.  Many of the skills Brandon learned in building his bow he was able to adapt and transfer them to use in designing and building his duck calls.  He would tell me that it was an enlightening experience for him to realize those connections.  Brandon (personal communication, May 7, 2007) building my bow was a very long and tedious process, but that has been one of my greatest learning experiences.  I have learned more from building the duck calls then most all of the classes other classes I have ever taken.  
For one duck call project, Brandon wanted to put a brass collar on his call. Probably about half of the duck calls made have a brass accented collar.  He hadn’t ever put brass on a call and he hadn’t seen it done. Collars that you buy are round and preformed and ready to apply. Brandon didn’t have immediate access to a preformed collar but he found a flat piece of brass at his house and he cut a strip of it off and formed it around a pipe to create a collar and soldered the ends together to manufacture his own collar. At the end of this process he could see a lot of room for improvement and had ideas for how to do it better next time. He had learned how to solder copper and steel at school and knew some basic metal manufacturing techniques. He was able to adapt his knowledge to a new challenge and to innovate when needed.
Brian spent a lot of time designing his trailer on SketchUp and working out the details of how it should be built.  Going through the process of designing his trailer on SketchUp really helped Brian understand the process it would take to build it. It also helped him work through some of the design problems he was facing.  He also was able to utilize what he was learning from the different mentors involved in the different projects, especially the point that there was always multiple ways to do things.  This opened up possibilities that he had never had before at looking for solutions to problems.  
The first problem Brian faced was he was never able to enroll his welding teacher in building his trailer the way he had designed it
Brian also spent a tremendous amount of time designing and building duck calls and working on perfecting his practice.  He really enjoys working with his hands in building projects and he can see how math is useful in everything he builds, but when he goes to school and sits in math class he has a hard time making the connection with the outside world.  “I have a hard time learning…reading out of a book…getting out of class and visualizing what I am going to build is how I learn best” (Brian, 2007).  It goes back to the point that there must be an action involved for learning to occur.  
Brian moved towards adaptive expertise by trying new materials to make his calls out of. He took Angora goat horn that didn’t have the right structure or shape to make a call in the way that he had been making them (out of square pieces of wood). The horn was also soft and layered and of a different structure than wood.  After he turned the horn on the lathe, the horn would dry and change from its turned shape. This caused fitting problems. This also caused different sound problems. He talked with me about it and we came up with strategies for how to address these problems. In the end, the call was shorter than most calls. He learned the shapes make a difference in the sound quality and volume.  He was able to adapt his knowledge from making wood calls, to making a call from a different material.
A comment from Brian was: Mr. Hibbert my math class had been making more sense since I started working with Glen machining the mandrels for building the duck calls, why don’t they teach math that we could use outside of school (personal communication, April 12, 2008)?
The hardest part of Trent’s bumper project has been in the designing of it, he has struggled with it for about six months.  I don’t know why it has been such a struggle for him.  Time has been the main issue. The opportunity or the pressure to make all of his own decisions might also be a factor.  Many times he asks me what to do and I keep putting it back on him for the answers.  This is very different from all of my teaching in the past because I would always just tell him the answers, because of time limitations.
One of the “ah-hah” moments of my action research is understanding that it is not about the end product so much as it is in the journey to get there.  Learning occurs on the path, not in the arriving.  Bereiter & Scardamalia talk about this in Surpassing Ourselves, “It is the size of steps within the mind of the expert that we are talking about, not the size of steps as manifested in the resulting object” (1993, p. 143).  For the first time in twelve years of teaching I have focused on my students learning and how to improve the process, instead of the end product.  The interesting part of it is that my students’ end products are the highest quality that has ever come out of my program at school.  When I focused on creating learning experiences, high quality projects followed.

Model Reflective Thinking “in” Action and “on Action” and provide experiences for reflection.”
Reflection is the key to becoming an adaptive expert.  Experts reflect “in” action and reflect “on” their action.  I modeled reflective thinking and encouraged my students to reflect before, during and after tasks.  This encouraged them to make assessments and adjustments while they worked and to make revisions afterwards. They created a personal blog to share their projects and reflections.
I wasn’t sure how Brandon would approach designing and writing in his blog about what he was learning.  The interesting part was he put the most effort into the project and had the best site because he had a variety of pictures and detailed information about what was going on in the pictures.   He also discussed throughout his blog how he wanted to build his bow, and what he was actually doing.  He ended up with a total of twenty-two posts in his blog and eleven pictures of building his bow and duck call.  The more he wrote and posted pictures the more he could connect all the steps in making his bow and his duck calls.  Brandon enjoyed blogging more than the other learners, partially because he has a greater understanding of language arts.  He did spend most of his time describing his process and not why he was doing it or what he was thinking when he was going through it.  Much of this is probably my fault in not making the connection with each student, of the importance of meta-cognitive thinking.   
Brian’s blog was very short, he seemed to be excited at first but nothing materialized. He only posted six times throughout the whole year, and one picture. Brian built some of the most beautiful duck calls this year, and he is on his way to building a business making and selling them.  The interest and passion is there, but somehow traditional school thoughts about writing have cluttered his mind.  I think the more I could get him to write about his experiences in designing and building he would become more interested and start to enjoy reading and writing more.  It just has to be relevant to him or he will never put any effort into it.  
Growing up I had a similar experience to Brian with writing. The more I was able to write about things in my life that were exciting and that I was passionate about the more I enjoyed writing. I had never taken the time to reflect on my experiences before I started my OMET experience.  At first I didn’t completely understand the importance of writing down my experiences and then reflecting about them.  As the year progressed and I would go back and read my past experiences I could start making more and more connections to how I was changing my practice and if what I was doing was working or if I needed to reassess my practice and try something different.  Through reflecting in my learning circle and in my blog I have come to see the importance of it as part of the complete process of learning.  
Trent had twenty posts in his blog, and four pictures.  He gave some good information about what he wanted to do, but struggled following through with his ideas until the end of the class.  
I need to spend more time at the beginning of the class and through out the class, discussing why reflecting in blogs is important in the reflection process and how it can benefit them in their learning.  I am always trying to get them to write more and reflect more, the interesting thing is I am just learning to reflect on my actions, thoughts and reading.  I do think next time these learners take a class they will have a greater understanding of the benefits of reflecting on what they are learning.  Group discussions and reflecting on their projects through the year helped with their understanding of each project but that didn’t transfer to writing in their blogs.
Written reflections are important but I found that dialoguing with my learners was equally, if not more vital to the process of becoming adaptive experts. I modeled reflective thinking and talking during each class. We talked before we worked, during, and after. Talking out loud about what we were doing is something I have never done as a teacher before. Talking out loud collaboratively helped us see things in new ways and develop different problem solving strategies. Listening to mentors talk out loud as they worked helped students to see how experts look at problems in different ways.  Talking out loud makes the thought process more visible. If students just watch an expert do something, and don’t observe the reflecting “in action” that is happening, they miss out on much of the strategies the expert utilizes.  
One of our experts, while turning mandrels talked out loud and modeled his problem solving strategies as he worked through the process of building the mandrels. When talking about this with the learners, they recognized how he did things differently than their other machinist mentor. They felt in some ways he was more accurate in his designs and they could recognize this in part because of the way he reflected “in action” and “on his action”. When measuring the mandrels he made, his mandrels were very accurate.
I was talking to one of the Idaho Fish and Game (IDFG) Officers one day about my action research project and how I was trying to change my practice.  During our visit I told him about the projects my students had been involved in designing and building over this past year.  He was very interested and excited to see what they had done.  He writes articles for a IDFG magazine and he wanted to write one about my students and their projects, so he came over on day and interviewed my students about their projects and what all had been involved in making them, and what they had learned.  He was very interested in the Duck Calls and the Recurve Bow Brandon made because of the IDFG involvement in managing wildlife and passing ethical hunting traditions on to the next generation. He took several pictures, and he is writing an article that will be published in the Fall of 2008, in the Idaho Game Warden Magazine.  My students are very excited that other adults besides me and their mentors are so interested and excited in what they are doing and building.  We talked about this in class several times and the learners told me that it really made them feel that they are a valued part of the community, and that they had something to offer.
To gain an better understanding of where my students are in relation to the goal of Becoming Adaptive Experts, I adapted a survey from a conference report presented at the 2001 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference by Fisher and Peterson (Appendix A). This survey provides insight into multiple perspectives, metacognition, goals and beliefs, and epistemology which are qualities of adaptiveness.  I only have three learners involved in my project, so the purpose of the survey was to guide me in understanding my learners and in improving my practice instead of scientifically measuring the student’s qualities.
Overall I felt the results of my final survey were reaffirmations of what had gone on in class throughout the year.  A few of the questions I wrote needed revamped because the students responses were scattered from one end of the spectrum to the other, and were not consistent with their other answers or with what they have said in class.  The data showed that going through this learning experience my students felt that there is not always one right answer, and they are more open to looking at alternate views or approaches to problems now.  They also felt that the process of learning was more important then the grade.  
They felt this learning design enabled them to be in control of their learning for the first time.  This allowed them to make their own decisions and accomplish goals they had set personally.  They felt the learning opportunities were very challenging while focusing on there individual interests and projects. They enjoyed the opportunity to learn a process rather then be told how it works.  Their mentors also created the same type of learning design where they could learn a process, rather than being told how it works.  Their mentors always gave helpful and positive feedback on each of their projects.  Writing in their blogs helped them think about their projects and how to improve them.  Having the opportunity to learn how to use a 3D drafting program was helpful for them to visualize their individual projects, and make decisions about different aspects of its design and building process.
The students really enjoyed their individual and group projects, and most of them would do the same project if given the opportunity over again.  They also began to recognize areas where their understanding was incomplete with concerns to their project, which is a big step in the direction to becoming “baby” adaptive experts. They enjoyed the opportunities and experiences that this learning design offered them and they look forward to learning more in the future and would recommend it to others.
 
Outcome
I saw a change in my students’ level of participation in my class due to the opportunity for them to control their learning experiences.  The relevance of their project motivated them to spend hours of their personal time at home working on their projects.  I found that some students have personal committments outside of school they could benefit from selecint a project that they could involve their friends and family in, instead of a project that takes them away from time with those who are most important to them.  
My students saw the change in me from being a “Teacher” to becoming a “Learning Designer”.  One student commented in the first survey (Appendix B), “Mr. Hibbert has changed from telling us what to do to letting us decide for ourselves”.  The change this brought about was that they were willing to listen more to me.  It is about giving more respect to my students and then them giving it back to me.  By having each student direct their own learning project their level of interest carried throughout the project.  My student and I can now look back and see the benefits of their projects being real and relevant to them personally and they look forward to the future for more learning adventures.  Their view of learning has changed from a something they had to do at school, to an infinite amount of possibilities.  
    Next year I plan to take the same course of action by allowing each student to find a real and relevant project in the class that they are enrolled in, and then they will be able to work on it through duration of that class.  It is all about finding possibilities, not limitations.  I will also try to spend the time initially with each student and their parents or friends to really find that project that will catch their interest and create a change in them.
    After reading “The Big Picture” I saw the opportunity for real change in my student’s lives in my classroom.  Once they selected their projects I went out and found experts in our community that were ready and willing to share their expertise with my students.  All I did was ask for their help and they never once asked what was in it for them.  The opportunity for these mentors to share what they had a passion for to my students was a rejuvenating experience for the mentors and they wanted to do more and share more with my students.  The bad thing about schools are we isolate students always from adults and then the students tend to get the idea that adults don’t like them and the adults get the idea that all kids do is cause trouble.  From this experience both the students and the mentors found a meeting ground of mutual respect for each other.  From this they created a learning community in which they could share knowledge and ideas without the adult/kid boundaries they were used to.  This happened because the students and the mentors both took a leap of faith and were willing to give the other a chance.  This one experience brought about many learning experiences throughout the year and they will keep continuing as long as they build their relationship and share knowledge.  
    The one aspect I would like to have spent more time on was having the mentors read and respond to the students blogs.  I think this would create another opportunity for learning and understanding for both the student and mentor.  I also would like to expand the learning community of mentors to experts that are from different areas that can correspond online through email and the student’s blogs.  I do realize that this will take more research to locate, background check them, but that opportunity will give them a sense of a global community which is what the world economy is becoming.
    The first thing that happened during my research project for my students was I gave them the opportunity to work through every problem they had without me (the teacher) stepping in and giving them the answer.  They were able to take the time to reflect and come up with various solutions to their problem and then work through them to see if they worked.  They also were able to collaboratively work through their problems as a group and then take it to their mentors for help if they needed it.  
    From my action research project I have developed more adaptive expertise myself. I am more willing to take chances and try new and innovative ideas to solve problems without asking others for the answers right of when I have a problem.  Each of my students also developed as an adaptive expert, they are not all at the same level, but they also started at different levels.  I have realized that it not that my students need to perform at the level of experts but to develop the thought process of solving problems that experts have.  I have gained confidence in my abilities and the possibilities I am capable of.  My students are much more confident and capable also from their experience of my action research project.  
    Next year I plan to continue developing students who are better problem solvers and better learners who are willing to look outside the box at various possibilities.
     This past year I only had my students show me their project that they had designed on SketchUp a few time.  I never had them turn them into me.  I think that was a mistake because I never got the results or the quality I wanted out of that project.  Next year I will have them turn in drawings in each week or every two weeks and have a time set aside that the students and I can go over and discuss them, and then have a time the group can review each others work.
    I will also spend more time on collaborative writing pieces for the group to develop dealing with the projects they are designing and building.  They will be able to have this work published  in the community paper or magazines to build better relationships with the local and global community.
I wrote in my blog several times a week throughout the year, but looking back I should have written even more.  Being able to sit down and reflect on the event of the day and how they connect to the past was a very beneficial time for me to make those connections.  Having the ability to go back and read what I was experiencing at the time and how I worked through that problem has helped me make more connections and gain a greater understanding of the learning process.  Having a written history for me and my students gives us a window into each others experiences, which broadens our experiences.  
    Over the course of my 12 years of teaching I have given oral feedback to my students but very little written feedback on their written work.  Throughout this past year of my masters program I have also experienced this same range of feedback.  What I have found is that when I was getting the most feedback from my professors, I was the most engaged and excited about the work and projects I was involved in.  I remember reading a statement from Dennis Littky “What do students do with their papers after you hand them back” (Littky, 2004).  If my students are throwing their work away, I need to work on two things: to make the work more relevant in their lives and to put more energy and effort into giving feedback.  If it was important enough to do, it is important enough to respond to.  In the future I am going to make an effort to respond in written form or verbally to my students about their assignments and projects.    
One of the main areas that I plan to improve upon next year is to ask for student feedback on my performance as a Learning Designer, and areas that they think I need to work on becoming better.  Doing this will help me stay connected to my students and their needs.  Isn’t that why I am there?    
    Through the year I began to see reflection for my self and my students in two areas in our learning experience.  Reflection “in” action and “on” action.  For my students to be able to watch their mentors reflect and problem solve, while they were “in” action modeled that possibility for them to do the same. This enabled them to practice this while they worked.  Reflection “on” action was done in our group discussions about problems or experiences that they had, or in their personal blogs.  Being able to reflect as a group worked really good, but the process of reflection in their blogs didn’t really happen.  They used them as a place to describe the process.  Their lack of understanding of the possibilities of blogging was caused from me never having had experiencing reflection in this format or at this level.  Next time I need to give them examples and help them along the way to be able to experience the benefits that can come from writing about their reflections of the process.   
    I have always set very high expectations for my students, realizing people perform at the level they are expected to usually.  The students I had in this class were no different, in fact I might have had even higher expectations for them because of who they are.  The three students I had in my class varied in their range of success academically, but collectively it would be hard for you to find three better young men anywhere.  They have always set high standards for them selves and their peers.  The project they have made in the past have always been very good.  The interesting part of my action research is I focused on the process of learning, and developing adaptive expertise.  The result was that my students had a wonderful learning experience and are looking forward to their next.  The projects they completed were the best projects any of my students had built in my 12 years of teaching.  It was interesting that when we focused on the process the product followed.
The greatest thing I have learned through my action research project is I have become an expert learner, and I am now be able to set up the same types of learning experiences for my students.  I have experienced that the process of learning is just as important as the product.  I found that by listening more to my students instead of talking we both learn more.  One of my students said I was more accepting of their ideas, and this came from me listening .  They also said they were willing to listen more because I would listen to them.  This experience was a rejuvenating and enlightening learning experience, which opened up new and greater possibilities in my personal life and work setting than I had ever imagined.
I have come to see myself not as a “Teacher”, but as a “Learning Designer”.  A learning designer is one who creates learning experiences for others to experience the learning process, and benefit from it, and develop more adaptive expertise.  I also found that when I am excited about what I am teaching, it tends to crossover and motivate my students.
My action research project had given me experience that I can use as a building block for curriculum design in my future classes. I need to start my classes with having very clear outlines and expectations for my students to help them succeed in the learning process.
I plan to share what I have learned through my OMET experience along with my action research project with my colleagues next year, and share with them the benefits you personally experience along with the ones the students can have.
I also plan to continue to have my students to write about their experiences in their blogs, and have then create a website of their work throughout their experience of high school that they can use as an e-portfolio for the future.
I am also going to take more responsibility for how my students perform, and what I need to do personally to help them succeed.


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