Beginning to Become an Expert…

In my life, I have people within my social circle that I consider to be experts at what they do. For example, I consider my father to be a music trivia expert. My grandmother (my Baba) an expert pianist. Leonardo da Vinci, whom I wish I knew in real life, was an expert artist and inventor. At this point in my life, I don’t know if I would consider myself an expert in anything specific. I like to think I am good at some things, but nowhere near expert level; maybe someday though! The closest thing I can think of will be something I discuss later down in the blog. But what does it mean to be an expert? How do we get there? Let’s talk about it.

Experts vs Novices

Before I go further into what I believe the differences are between Experts an Novices, I want you to watch this video of two jugglers; One is considered the expert, and the other is considered the novice. Watch how each of them juggle. What are the differences you see between them? Are there any similarities? Keep your answers in mind as you read through the rest of my post.

According to Bransford and Cocking in How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School Chapter 2, they define experts as having “acquired extensive knowledge that affects what they notice and how they organize, represent, and interpret information in their environment” (Bransford & Cocking, 2000, pp. 31). Some of the characteristics they exemplify are 1. being able to notice and pick up on patterns and features others cannot see, 2. have great content knowledge, 3. can’t be held back by isolated facts and should be allowed to take things further, 4. are able to retrieve information quickly without much assistance, 5. while knowledgeable, they might not be able to teach others, and 6. can very in flexibility in how they complete a task.

On the other side of the comparison, we have to know what novices are compared to experts. The novices are the beginners that can one day become an expert with the right amount of effort. While the expert is able to activate prior knowledge in order to understand a concept, it might take the novice a while to click with it due to not having that built-in prior knowledge. Everything might be new to them, so it is important they have someone guide them; they need an expert that is able to teach them; not every expert is capable of this skill. For a novice, sometimes the best way to become an expert is by constant practice and lots of repetition. For example, someone who is new to basketball may not be able to make a basket right away, but with practice and time, they can get to a point where shooting a basket becomes second nature. Consider the jugglers from the video above. you have an expert who has no issues juggling three balls, but the novice is constantly dropping the balls. The expert keeps his eyes focused toward the center barely switching them back and forth to watch the ball movement. The novice is always moving his head tracing one ball after the other, and therefore struggles to keep it going.

When I read about these characteristics, I thought about how some students in elementary qualify into a gifted/talented program. To qualify for G.T., students must complete a test; depending on which the teacher thinks the student would best accomplish, a student might complete a verbal test or a puzzle test. Most of the time, students who qualify are able to pick up on specific patterns/features that most students might not pick up on. They can take prior knowledge from previous experiences to draw on new thoughts and extensions going beyond restrictions. Now, the hard part with considering G.T. students into an “expert” category is that they still have a lot of life experiences ahead of them that will extend their expertise. Compared to their other classmates, though, they might be considered the experts while the rest are novices and in-the-middlers. The sad thing to consider about experts and children is that there are some students who, due to varying factors, may not ever be experts at certain skills and concepts. For example, I can guarantee you that I will NEVER be an expert at the anatomy of the human body, but I can say that I am an expert at my States & Capitols and Presidents (thank you, Animaniacs).

Knowledge Transfer

I love it when classes are able to connect in material, especially when we are discussing the same concepts/skills at about the same time. In Dr. Heddy’s class, EIPT 5183 – Motivation and Learning in the Classroom, we recently discussed knowledge transfer and how it can be divided up into four different types of transfers. Before I discuss them in greater depth, it is important to know what the general concept of knowledge transfer means. Knowledge transfer refers to how students take in information from a learning opportunity and apply it to another lesson. It may be easier for some students to do, but more difficult for others. This can be explained by the different types of Knowledge Transfers.

In class and in the readings, we have discussed four different types of knowledge transfers, and those are Positive Transfer, Negative Transfer, Low-Road (Near) Transfer, and High-Road (Far) Transfer. Positive transfer refers to prior knowledge being able to click successfully and help a student learn a new concept related to the prior knowledge. Negative Transfer refers to the idea that prior knowledge and previous experiences might hinder how learning continues on. Near Transfer means that knowledge from a prior experience is similar to that of the new content and can be connected easier. Far Transfer is similar except the transfer of knowledge is between two very different contexts.

I think there are multiple factors that can play and influence how knowledge is transferred. For example, going back to my knowledge of my American Presidents, I consider my transfer of knowledge to be a High-Road (Far) Transfer that worked out positively. This is because I watched a cartoon show called Animaniacs that did all sorts of fun things, from making fun of Disney movies to coming up with songs to tell you about Lake Titicaca. One of their songs was about the American presidents in order. You don’t normally think of songs and the presidents in the same thought right away, but putting the two together helped me build my knowledge. For me, I learn best by song or by animated feature; that’s part of the reason why I became a teacher.

Implications for Virtual Learning Communities

Bransford and Cocking shared a quote that I think is very applicable to learning communities, especially the virtual ones, is that “learning is important because no one is born with the ability to function competently as an adult in society” (Bransford & Cocking, 2000, pp. 51). I think it is important for any online learning community to have an expert that is guiding the direction of the community. They can offer their knowledge to the community and help teach them in the ways of a specific topic/skill. The community can be filled with experts that collaborate together to discuss important matters. Novices are also an important part of a virtual learning community because without beginners to join the community, how will the community continue to grow beyond that of the experts? Who will the experts share their knowledge with?

This could also be applied to in-person/face-to-face communities. For example, I think of clubs that college campuses have to offer. Let’s use a Spanish club as an example. The club had to start because students/educators were interested in sharing their love of the Spanish language with others who share that same interest. While I’m sure it helps to have members who can speak the language fluently, it is important for them to be open to members who may not know a lick of Spanish yet. They’ll need to make sure their club’s goals and mindsets are open to all levels of learners, whether expert or novice.

Question:

1. When can we specifically call someone an expert? Obviously there are characteristics that we can use to identify an expert, but can’t experts continue becoming even more of an expert? Is there ever really a stopping point of becoming an expert?

References:

1. Bransford, B. & Cocking, R. 2000. How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School: Expanded Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, pp. 31 – 78.