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Comfort Zone for Adaptive Expertise

Adaptive expertise connects so easily with 21st century skills

—School Counselor

The capacity to acquire expertise is one of the great and peculiar strengths of the human species (92). Teachers who have attained degrees and teaching credentials are “experts” in the art of pedagogy. Children who attend classes are also on their way to becoming experts at something. We are all experts in something. The question is, what kind of expert? This concept of expertise is not as simple as it first appears. In this chapter, we will explore what it means to be an “adaptive” expert as opposed to a “routine” expert, and how that might play out in your classroom. This particular nuance with regard to expertise is aligned with how the human brain works and, especially, with how children learn. Adaptive experts connect directly with the reptilian brain’s Reticular Activating System in efforts to move beyond a fixed mindset. It concerns itself also with limbic (emotional) brain regions by co-regulating the child’s fear-processing center (amygdala) through a metacognitive moment involving the neocortex.

A growth mindset is emblematic of 21st century skills that are important aspirations for successful educational outcomes. Typically described as the Four Cs (Critical Thinking, Creativity, Collaboration, and Communication), these skills are most sought-after as appropriate for students who graduate school and enter the workplace. Students are required to be more than just “prepared,” but also demonstrate capacity for high performance. Twenty-first century skills are necessary in order to align with today’s world challenges: pace, stress, competitiveness, technological savvy, culture, and geography. We are living in a world that is reinventing itself every few months. Expertise is as important for students as it is for teachers in this fast-paced, competitive marketplace. The shift from routine to adaptive is a metacognitive moment that requires an experiential commitment. Teachers who embrace a paradigm shift from routine to adaptive expertise acquire a powerful framework with which to address 21st century skills. If a teacher cannot fathom adaptive expertise, then what chance is there for students to embrace a skillset that is critical, not only for survival, but also to thrive?

The Four Cs are essential in the drastically “changed” learning environment today, more than ever. Unintentional and unwelcome as it was, the recent COVID-19 pandemic outbreak demanded immediate survival strategies for a fractured educational roadmap. The ensuing solutions translated into profound and long-lasting repercussions for classroom learning and educational processes. This fifth C (Corona) did not constitute a curricular pillar in its own right, but rather imbued itself systemically across all aspects of school. Modern learning was asked to pivot from face-to-face to various combinations of blended, and/or distance methods.

We are in an information age. As a result of an overriding need to keep up, and an equally expedient need to manage technologically challenging delivery mechanisms, we realize a nuanced understanding of what it means to be an expert. In the past, theorists described a linear approach (93) that, for reasons largely tempered by political expediency, were grounded in these two Es: Economy and Efficiency. In the early 1900s, there was a desire to manage change with both economy and efficiency in mind. Taylor’s Time and Motion studies (94) were adapted to solve the school question. Being a fledgling system in a new country and, given the economic needs of the time, efficiency won out.

Taylor’s industrial model connected tightly with a third E—Thorndike’s shift from Affect to Effect—and the pattern for high-stakes testing was set in motion. Figure 14.1 is a quick reflection about efficiency and economy when it comes to testing millions of children in a system that is anything but efficient or, for that matter, economic.

The typical school experience viewed the child as a factory product that, not unlike Ford’s Model T transmissions on a conveyor belt, was en route to passing the test of approval and, thereby, becoming educated. This factory “conveyor belt” mindset was committed to “fixedness” detailed in routine thinking. This kind of thinking featured in Ford’s audacious schema, which caused millions of cars of any color to be churned out “as long as they were black (95).” Ford’s influence is also apparent in the following vision of education, as stated by E. P. Cubberley (1916), one of the founding framers of American public schools. His educational treatise “Statement of the Fundamental Principles underlying the Organization and Administration of Public Education (96)” detailed a burgeoning system, flexing under the strain of millions of new students who would attend school for the first time.1

Figure 14.1

FIGURE 14.1 High-Stakes Testing

The child was therefore a “novice” who progressed over time with practice to “expert.” Figure 14.2 describes the typical linear progression on one domain—the X-axis. The child begins as Novice and progresses through a standardized grading system towards a stamp of expertise. This signals the ability to move up to the next grade. Experience is the currency of a model that invests in practice over time. Children are grouped into classes, each class advances grade by grade, and measures of success are ascribed with Sequestered Problem Solving (SPS) high-stakes testing (97). Thus, the strange tug-of-war between thrift and efficiency was infused into the American educational system from the outset. At times, this transmission model was efficient (98), and at times it was cheap (99), but it never achieved the lofty goals that it targeted (51).

Figure 14.2

FIGURE 14.2 Transmission Model

The concept of “adaptive expertise” involves a second dimension: processes that lead to innovation, and processes that lead to efficiency through well-practiced routines. These two dimensions are illustrated in Figure 14.3, an X-axis and a Y-axis. The horizontal dimension emphasizes Efficiency, the vertical dimension emphasizes Innovation. Mindset is the critical differentiator between the expert and the adaptive expert. A fixed mindset will preclude reflective measures that embrace and enhance flexibility and adaptation (100).

Most teachers agree that a Preparation for Future Learning (PFL) is exactly what education is about: to address chaotic, fast-paced social contexts that we find ourselves in today. Figure 14.4 highlights a non-linear curved path that draws from efficiency and creativity. This personalized pathway escapes a monotonic SPS world of “cheap” efficiency, and raises the bar to encompass neural, social, and emotional criteria that engages and inspires.

Teacher Talk

The following progression of Figures 14.5 through Figure 14.9 details the shift that is required of individuals when they adopt a growth mindset, decide to step outside their comfort zone, take a risk with threat response, and embrace the natural plasticity of a cognitive learning space.

In stage one, the novice typically finds herself in a safety bubble inside the comfort zone. The system tends to militate against stepping outside; thereby, rocking the proverbial boat.

In the second stage—the React Zone—any perturbation to the status quo will tend to prompt a reactive response. This phase is exemplified with ideations that look like; freeze, fight, flight reactive stance where effort is fruitless and being easily threatened by the success of others the novice will give up easily.

Figure 14.5

FIGURE 14.5 The Comfort Zone

Figure 14.6

FIGURE 14.6 The React Zone

Figure 14.7

FIGURE 14.7 The Metacognitive Zone

Figure 14.8

FIGURE 14.8 The Adaptive Expertise Zone

With careful mediation and co-regulation, it is possible to foster a moment when metacognition will engender a new pathway. This is the Metacognitive Zone. With this new vision, effort can be the path to mastery, the student can learn from criticism; they can become inspired by the success of others and might even persist in the face of adversity.

In the Adaptive Expertise Zone, the learner will be prone to take risks, learn from others, and will be ok with being wrong. They will generate new ideas and embrace feedback. The process of arriving at this growth space involved moving through the react space with the help of a metacognitive moment.

We outline the shift in thinking—the edge of expertise—as the moment when a co-regulatory process, enhanced through a metacognitive moment, resulted in an open and willing mentalistic stance that embraced the unknown. In this way, Adaptive Expertise fosters a PFL.

Figure 14.9

FIGURE 14.9 The Edge of Expertise

Strategies for Change

“What would I change if I used a neural lens?” This question is at the heart of the conceptual shift from a routine fixed place to an adaptive, growth space. Viewing the world from a growth mindset perspective means that you are aware of certain inalienable cognitive truths.

We believe that the following principles are real:

  • Brain is plastic
  • Intelligence is not fixed
  • Children have immense potential

We believe that the following principles make a difference:

  • Talent is grown through cognitive rehearsal
  • Structures can be built
  • Circuits can be strengthened through myelination

We believe that adaptive expertise is attainable:

  • I step outside my comfort zone
  • I overcome amygdala hijack
  • I am metacognitive

Finally, adaptive expertise means replacing the old 3Rs (Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic) with a cognitive 3Rs (Reflect, Revised Thinking, and Report Out).

Simple Strategies

In theory, it sounds just fine to state that, “I am creating a ‘belonging’ classroom in my school.” But in reality, that takes a lot of work. Begin with intentionality. Many teachers think like this.

It is a very common problem—too much content and not enough time. Deep down, teachers know better. Listening to Juan is probably the most important thing we do all day for him. And for Mary and for Jerome! Because our children get to know that we are interested in them. We are intentionally creating a purposeful community that is safe, fun, and about them.

The science is clear. Neural experts tell us that when we feel that we don’t belong, our brains are in a hyper-vigilant state, persistently monitoring for threats. This leaves less cognitive resources for higher-order thinking and problem solving. Fear for safety, and a sense of isolation, take over. The end result is that the child is not set up for success in learning. We must be intentional about spending the time to get to know the children—so that they have a sense of belonging, a sense of community with safety, and fun. Then they can be challenged and stretched cognitively. This is where they find their voice to tell their stories. This is where they learn best.

Vocabulary

Adaptive Expertise, Preparation for Future Learning, Sequestered Problem Solving

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