Pragmatic Thinking and Learning

The Five Dreyfus Model Stages

In the 1970s, the brothers Dreyfus (Hubert and Stuart) began doing their seminal research on how people attain and master skills.

Dreyfus is applicable per skill.

The Dreyfus brothers looked at highly skilled practitioners, including commercial airline pilots and world-renowned chess masters.^[6] Their research showed that quite a bit changes as you move from novice to expert. You don’t just “know more” or gain skill. Instead, you experience fundamental differences in how you perceive the world, how you approach problem solving, and the mental models you form and use. How you go about acquiring new skills changes. External factors that help your performance—or hinder it—change as well.

Unlike other models or ...