I am starting some research on this topic. I want to start by asking some questions from you guys and get cues on extant research and sharpen my intuition about relevant question. Here is my first stab at the kinds of questions:

Q0. What do smart people think is an efficient learning process for high skilled profession like software? i.e. what are the heuristics. Q0.1 Do these work for people who are starting out? Q0.2 What heuristics are used by people who are not as good(or not perceived as being good) for programming? IOW do heuristics of people who do it well differ from others?

Q3 What are the relevant questions along this line and who are the leading researchers working on it?

About myself I am a student at Columbia University School of Social Sciences and a software professional by career. I have an itch to want to answer questions such as these. In some sense, I want to take what authors like Daniel Kahneman and other behavioral researchers have done and see if there are more specific advancement/inferences I can draw for professional software development.

PS: Sorry if the questions are a bit broad but I am just starting. I will certainly want to engage in a discussion and follow up.