The Cultural Roots of Professional Wisdom: Towards a broader view of teacher expertise

Perhaps the most pressing issue concerning teacher education and training since the end of the Second World War has been that of the role of theory—or principled reflection—in professional expertise. Here, although the main post-war architects of a new educational professionalism clearly envisaged a key role for theory—considering such disciplines as psychology, sociology and philosophy as indispensable for reflective practice—there are nevertheless well-rehearsed difficulties about crediting such disciplines with quite the (applied) role in educational practice of (say) physiology or anatomy in medical practice. This paper argues that while recent developments in professional teacher education and training may have moved on from erstwhile instrumentalist and/or applied science (competence and other) perspectives, there may yet be a case for further progress towards a rather more sophisticated philosophical psychology of teacher knowledge and expertise.     

Situating teacher development: the view from two teachers’ perspectives

Using a narrative inquiry methodology, this 10-year study examined the situated nature of two teachers’ development. Research questions examined how the teachers situated their own learning, how they developed discourse communities for teaching and learning, and how they used tools in their work. Findings suggest that the following elements of situational learning were central to their development: questions that they drew from their practice; a balance between autonomy and collaboration found in peer collaboration focused on questions drawn from practice; the use of language and inclusion of new perspectives within discourse communities; improvisation and experimentation in practice, and support from administrators.A striking finding was that these teachers’ practice developed among multiple and sometimes contradictory pathways.     

Intuitive expertise: Theories and empirical evidence

Intuition has been long seen as an element of effective human performance in demanding tasks (i.e. expertise). But its form, constitutive elements and development remain subject to diverse explanations. This paper discusses these elements and explores theories and empirical evidence about what constitutes intuitive expertise, and offers an account arising from a review of these explanations. Commencing with a consideration of examples of intuition from distinct fields of working life, it uses a cognitive perspective to open up the discussion for theorizing about intuition from an information processing perspective. It evaluates the widely acknowledged theory of two systems of information processing that proposes two parallel operating systems: the rational and intuitive. This theory provides foundations for understanding experts’ abilities to act intuitively in high-performance-level activities. Research on expertise, finally, opens an educational perspective on intuition, with the progression from novice to expert being understood as an enduring and long-term learning process that inherently generates intuitive capabilities. The paper concludes by returning to and making connections with the literature on workplace and professional learning to provide insights into how individual and social learning processes support the development of intuitive expertise.     

Freshman perceptions of instructor fairness and expertise: A problem in course evaluation

This paper reports a study based on Bruner, Shapiro and Tagiuri's conception of lay personality theory. The trait implication questionnaire adapted from Bruner et. al. was used to investigate the way in which freshmen students make inferences about instructor fairness and expertise. Results are discussed in light of their implications for the use of student course evaluations.     

College students solving chemistry problems: A theoretical model of expertise

A model of expertise in chemistry problem solving was tested on undergraduate science majors enrolled in a chemistry course. The model was based on Anderson's Adaptive Control of Thought‐Rational (ACT‐R) theory. The model shows how conceptualization, self‐efficacy, and strategy interact and contribute to the successful solution of quantitative, well‐defined chemistry problems in the areas of stoichiometry, thermochemistry, and properties of solutions. A statistical path analysis and students' explanations supported the model and indicated that the students' problem conceptualization and chemistry self‐efficacy influenced their strategy use, which, in turn, strongly influenced their problem‐solving success. The implication of these findings for future research and developing students' expertise in chemistry problem solving is that a strategy is advantageous when it is built on a foundation of conceptual knowledge and chemistry self‐efficacy. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 46: 1070–1089, 2009     

专业化的创业教育:现实困境与实践路径

创业教育已经成为我国高等教育教学改革的重要领域,成为高校人才培养的重要方面,成为推动大学生就业的关键环节。针对现有创业教育存在的困境,试图探讨构建专业化的创业教育体系,提高创业教育的实效性和可操作性。     

Cultural literacy: A positive view

E. D. Hirsch, Jr.'sCultural Literacy attracted much negative criticism by, among others, H. J. Graff, B. Hendley, and H. R. Woodhouse writing inInterchange. In their articles they expressed their disapproval of Hirsch's social views and his list of cultural items which every American should know. According to these critics, Hirsch failed to take account of some very important issues in education, such as the place of form as well as content, or the attention given to actual components of youth and ethnic culture as opposed to the more static and perhaps anachronistic elements of elite culture. These criticisms are examined in the light of the actual situation in the schools rather than from an ideological point of view. Contrary to the opinion held by the critics, it is reasoned that the idea of cultural literacy as well as the list of specific items embodying it may be useful in curriculum planning in general and in setting minimum goals for the education of the disadvantaged in particular.     

Political censorship: A different view

This article originally appeared in the March 1989 issue ofPS.     

Customer experience and value: A performance view

Companies often say they are customer focused, which presumably means that their operational processes and cultural practices are aligned to maximize the value delivered to customers, but how do you assure that? Two factors that contribute to customer perceptions of the quality of product or service are functional quality, how well a product or service meets customer needs, and behavioral quality, how the customer feels about using or owning the product or service. There are also functional and behavioral factors that contribute to customers' perceptions of costs. Considering these factors we have developed a performance model to aid in the pursuit of greater customer value.     

Professionalization of progress and expertise among teacher educators in Iceland: A Bourdieuean interpretation

This paper considers the use of the conceptual framework of Pierre Bourdieu to study curriculum reform and the professionalization of teacher educators in Iceland. It argues that it is theoretically productive to interpret professionalism as the production of expert knowledge and learned discourse. The learned discourse of the Icelandic teacher educators and other education reformers, based on child-centered perspectives, developmental psychology, and child-centered curriculum theory, has become their symbolic capital in the field of educational reform. The paper considers to what extent the discourse on teacher professionalism in Iceland in the 1980s has merely occupied the space (social field) wherein education reformers work. It argues that those who have become “professionalized” are first and foremost teacher educators, curriculum development “professionals,” and teacher leaders, and points out that this was possible in an intermediate social space with much room for a creative redefinition of what can count as capital.