Expertise, Expert Teaching and Experienced Teachers’ Knowledge of Learning Theory

Abstract

Through the inception of the Chartered Teacher Programme in Scotland there is the intention that continuing professional development can enable teachers to become increasingly effective in promoting learning in the classroom (Scottish Executive, 2002a & b). Whilst this seems a very laudable aim, it is nevertheless a very woolly aim since what is meant by learning (and its promotion) is not contextualised either in a body of literature or within any framework to link the many possible influences on learning in any coherent way. The implications of such a ‘non-located’ idea suggest that any conception of learning – from the lay person’s common sense ideas to the most theoretically rigorous - are equally valid within formal schooling: clearly a conclusion that one hopes would neither be intended by the teaching profession, nor by society at large. However, one of the most important influences on contemporary conceptions of learning comes from research on what experts know and how they think, in contrast to the ways novices approach new tasks and solve problems. This article examines conceptions of ‘expertise’ and through these and findings from a small-scale research study, discusses understandings of the ‘expert teacher’, concluding that for the Chartered Teacher Programme to be meaningful, provision must be made for the incorporation of constructivist theories of knowledge.