SuccessTypes Medical Education Site | Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

Expert Skill Is A Choice, Not A Talent

Talent gets you in the game, but it can't make you an expert.
It takes "deliberate practice" to become an expert.


The purpose of this site is to inspire and educate students on how to transform themselves from receivers of information into skilled producers of their own knowledge. Likewise, educators can be inspired to transform themselves from providers of information into "catalysts" that help students discover and decide.

John Pelley, PhD, MBA 

Professor, Department of Medical Education; AOA Robert J Glaser Distinguished Teacher; Former Assistant Dean for Admissions; Former Associate Dean for Academic Affairs; Former Chair of Biochemistry; Texas Tech University School of Medicine

 

The SuccessTypes Medical Education Site was established in 1998 as an academic project aimed at using personality type insights as a tool to personalize academic success.  Much progress has been made since then by incorporating principles from brain research, sleep research, human performance research, and modern cognitive psychology to increase its effectiveness.  An example of an application of these principles can be viewed in a presentation titled, "Bodybuilding for the Brain," at TEDxTexasTechUniversity.

The important concept to take away regarding both personality type and learning style is that neither are stereotypes nor are they limitations on thinking.  You can only become a powerful thinker if you strengthen what you don't prefer to do.  The Expert Skills Program at this site shows you how to do that.  

John Pelley

John Pelley 
 

John Pelley, PhD, MBA