Tag Archives: experts and novices

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Experts, Expertise, and Teachers (and Students!)

Researchers often focus on experts and expertise. And bloggers like me often follow their leads….



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When Prior Knowledge Bites Back: The Dangers of Knowing Too...

In this blog, we typically highlight the benefits of prior knowledge. For example: if a…



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How Do Experts Think?

Perhaps you’ve heard the saying: “To a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” It means,…



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Balancing Direct Instruction with Project-Based Pedagogies

Tom Sherrington’s essay on direct instruction and project-based pedagogies is now available on his website. And: it prompts important questions about the novice/expert continuum. Continue reading



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expert teacher vision

Do Expert Teachers See More Meaningful Classrooms?

Why do chess experts win more chess matches than novices? This question has a perfectly…



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novices & experts

Crucial in the Classroom: Distinguishing between Experts & Novices

Novices & experts think differently. Teachers should not treat novices like experts, but should help them become experts. To do so, we need to think realistically about the limits of novice cognition. Continue reading



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Beware: Too Much Structure Hinders Creativity (for Experts)

Research shows that too much structure hinders creativity, whereas less-structured information allows more imaginative flexibility. Nonetheless, beginners do need structure to learn new skills. Continue reading



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Interrupting Skilled Students

Here’s a sentence that won’t surprise you: practice typically makes us more skilled at the…



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It Ain’t What You Know, It’s…Oh, No, Sorry, It IS...

I sense that the tide is beginning to turn on the knowledge-versus-skills debate, ‘21st Century’…



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