Three Aspects of Skill Acquisition

Abstract

A theory is presented about how instruction and experience combine to produce competence in a complex skill. The theory depends critically on three components of the ACT-R architecture. The first component interprets declarative representations of instruction so that they lead to action. The second component converts this knowledge into procedural form so that appropriate actions can be quickly executed. The third component, newly added to the architecture, learns the setting of control parameters for actions through a process similar to reinforcement learning.. These three components are intermingled throughout the course of skill acquisition, providing an instantiation of Fitts’ (1964) original characterization of skill acquisition as involving gradual shifts in the factor structure of skills. The overall theory is implemented in computational models that are capable of simulating human learning in different versions of the video game Space Fortress. Other than humans, these models are the only agents, natural or artificial, capable of learning to play Space Fortress.