10,000 hours of deliberate practice is one of the useful theories I've encountered http://www.psychologytoday.com/files/u81/Ericsson__Roring__and_Nandagopal__2007_.pdf
http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=search.displayRecord&uid=1993-40718-001
Are there any other theories you would add to this list ?
Any theories related to the following framework would be useful too
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:P21_Skills.jpg
http://www.p21.org/overview/skills-framework
http://www.p21.org/storage/documents/P21_Framework_Definitions.pdf