KNOWLEDGE REPRESENTATION AND PROBLEM SOLUTION IN EXPERT AND NOVICE YOUTH BASEBALL PLAYERS

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in knowledge repr esentation and problem solutions in expert and novice youth baseball p layers. Ninety-four players in two age divisions, 7-8 years of age adn 9-10 years of age, were assigned to three levels of expertise: high; average; and low skilled. Each subject participated in an interview se ssion to elicit knowledge representation and solutions to five differe nt defensive game situations. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed for content, solution to the problem, errors in problem solution, and qualitative trends. The frequency of advanced solutions to each of th e five situations were analyzed in separate chi-square tests for age a nd expertise. Differences among the levels of expertise were found for the accuracy of solutions to three complex situations. Age was signif icant for only one situation. Patterns of knowledge content accessed d uring advanced and less advanced responses indicated both experts and novices were in a beginning stage of developing baseball knowledge str uctures. Errors in problem solutions indicated children had difficulty monitoring critical conditions and making correct inferences. Players ' and teammates' ability to execute baseball skills seemed to influenc e the content and structure of tactical knowledge accessed during prob lems solution.