Roppers' Education Theory
Teaching Implicit Knowledge through Competency Based Education
I've been writing about and thinking about expertise and how to teach it through the lens of Capture the Flag since 2017. The following are a couple of highly opinionated posts I've written on the subject that for the most part I haven't seen reflected anywhere else. Disclaimer: These are all drafts and might not fully reflect my opinions or be scientifically valid, but they're pretty close. I would appreciate any thoughts, comments, or concerns you have either on the posts themselves or emailed to me.
Competency Based Education and Implicit Knowledge
There are different types of knowledge that each require different approaches to transfer them efficiently. This is an introduction to the idea of implicit knowledge and why competency based education is the winning way to teach the things that matter in security.
Expertise in Security
What does it really mean to be an expert?
Roppers is interested in creating experts, not people who go to the experts for help. But in order to teach towards expertise, we need to define what we are trying to accomplish. This post attempts to identify the knowledge and abilities experts share.
Teaching Towards Expertise in Security
Roppers is an experiment in the maximum efficiency in transferring expertise, which comes across as a focus on building mental models and developing self-suffiency while maintaining a feeling of psychological safety during the introductory period. This page goes over my beliefs on the subject.
Rockstars with Imposter Syndrome
What makes an exploit developer great?
This post is an explanation of how and why the best exploit developers are able to do what they do. In the anecdotal experience, there are interesting takeaways about expertise and who winds up being an expert.
Why CTF is the Best Way to Teach Expertise
While this post gives Buzzfeed listicle vibes, it contains the most digestible explanation I've written so far on why I think CTF is so effective for teaching real world skill.
Why CTFs Are Easy to Integrate Into Existing Curriculum
(It's because they're easy to quantify)
There are plenty of nice things to say about CTF and its effectiveness, but what is more important is how easy it is to use them to supplement existing material. This ease of adoption should drive the growth of CTF more than any complex discussion of perceived educational benefits.