CHAPTER 2 : HOW EXPERTS DIFFER FROM NOVICES

INSPIRATIONS:

Source: "How People Learn", Branford, et. al, 2000, pp. 31-50

Experts -

1) recognize MEANINGFUL PATTERNS of information,

2) think in term of CORE concepts or BIG ideas,

3) do not conduct an exhaustive search of everything they know but SELECTIVELY retrieves information,

4) retrieves relevant knowledge EFFORTLESSLY,

5) in teaching, have acquired PEDAGOGICAL content knowledge.

Educational Implications

Teachers must promote fluent access to knowledge by;

1) helping students develop an understanding of the subject matter,

2) training students to learn when, where and why to use information,

3) teaching students to recognize meaningful patterns of information,

4) guiding students to develop the ability to teach themselves.

THINKING OUT LOUD

“An expert is the product of positive habits!”

How can we produce expert students? How can we become expert teachers? These questions are so daunting and intimidating especially when we discover and acknowledge the characteristics that make up an expert. Of course, we want our students and ourselves to become one. But how can and where do we start? The thought of this is so intimidating. The implications of this are so daunting.

However, as educators who commit to make a difference in our students’ lives, we MUST accept this challenge. So I say how and where do I start?

Foremost, I have to start from within myself. I have to humbly commit to this task. I need to acknowledge what do I have available and what do I have lacking that pertains to task of “expert building”. I have to continually upgrade and enrich myself in my field of study. I should be open to positive change. I should read more. I should attend to conferences, seminars, and workshops. I have to daily evaluate my actions and appraise them according to my core values and professional standards. All these are a matter of importance for I cannot give what I do not have.

Then, along with my attempt in personal “expert building”, I will take conscious efforts to incorporate into my lesson plans ACTIONS that will make my students develop understanding, learn when, where and why to use information, recognize meaningful patterns, and learn the ability to teach themselves. For my classes in Math and Science, these actions would be executed in the following manner:

1. Students must read and understand the topic discussed in textbooks and other related works found in the internet and in the library.
2. Students must learn the governing principles and theories and must be able to explain these in relation to their real-life experiences.
3. Students must discover the patterns and rules that dictate every theory and principle and must be able to summarize these in their own manner of explanation.
4. Students must be taught to how to manage information which will connect to other applications such as related subjects - METACOGNITION.
5. Students must be taught the context of knowledge learned – why they exist, what purpose, and how relevant are these to them.
6. Students must develop their own system of learning (study skills).
   

When done with persistence and consistency, these will surely direct my students to become “expert learners”. It is only through POSITIVE HABITS (conditioning) will my students become self-confident, self-reliant, and self-motivated to learn.