Procedural Set Up
Novices may know concepts without connecting them. With experience, they link concepts into sequences that form procedures.
THE IDEA
Procedural Set Up
Novices may have concepts in their mental models without linking them into a procedure. Highly experienced people connect concepts in sequences that form procedures.
When to use it
Designing training programs that help novices move from isolated facts to integrated procedures
Developing expertise in domains like medicine, where diagnosis relies on linking symptoms to procedures
Teaching students to see patterns and sequences in problem-solving rather than memorizing individual facts
Debugging performance errors by identifying which conceptual links are missing in a procedure
FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE
In practice
Novice vs Expert Chess Players
A novice chess player sees individual pieces and basic rules, but cannot connect them into coherent strategies. An expert chess player has linked concepts like openings, tactics, and endgames into sequences, enabling rapid pattern recognition and procedural play.
Learning to Drive
A new driver consciously thinks about each action (check mirror, signal, turn wheel, press gas). An experienced driver performs these actions in a fluid sequence without conscious thought, having linked the concepts into a procedure.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Put it to work.
Think of a skill you are learning. Are you still at the stage of disconnected concepts, or have you started to link them into a procedure?
How can you intentionally link concepts in your field to build procedural knowledge more quickly?
Identify an area where you have expertise. How does your procedural setup differ from a novice's? What sequences have become automatic?
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Source texts
- Thinking in Systems and Mental Models Think Like a Super Thinker (Dawson, Marcus P)