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While I was reading Bransford's How People Learn, I was fascinated by all of the relatable views of chess players. For myself, I would like to consider myself an accomplished "puzzle master." I love puzzles of all kinds, jigsaw, sudoku, ones with numbers or letters, or board games. Primarily, I feel confident with my sudoku game. I play often on the app in my phone as well as a revolving notebook on my nightstand. It is a way for my mind to escape from the world and focus on lining up numbers 1-9 in all sorts of combinations. I have practiced sudoku since I was in elementary school, which may set me apart from some. My consistent routine of doing it (for the most part) at least 2-3x a week in the past few years has increased the difficulty level of puzzles.  I feel like this is how it sets me a part from a beginner. One relating piece that I found while reading is when Bransford said, " When solving problems, experts in physics often pause to draw a simple qualitative diagram—they do not simply attempt to plug numbers into a formula. The diagram is often elaborated as the expert seeks to find a workable solution path," (38). When I am on a difficult Sudoku puzzle, I have to look at it from a wider lens. I cannot just start putting numbers in the puzzle without seeing how it would affect other columns or rows. It takes my mind through a series or pattern to see if it fits before writing down a certain number. Another piece from this chapter that caught my eye was how they studied chess players using Think Alouds. This relates to what I used in my teaching daily. I promote students to do this, and find myself talking to myself as a try and complete a tough Sudoku puzzle.

Reference:
Bransford, J., Brown, A. & Cocking, R. (Eds.) (2000).  How

people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, D.C: National Research Council: Committee on Developments in Science of Learning. National Academy Press.

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When I was thinking about something in which I consider myself to be an "accomplished novice," the clear answer that came to mind was that I think I am an accomplished novice teacher. I really appreciated that Bransford made the distinction between "answer-filled experts" (page 48) and accomplished novices. I don't consider myself to be an expert teacher, but I know that I have come a long way in honing my teaching skills. Brandsford talked a lot about experts being able to see meaningful patterns in data, as well as context. When I look back at myself as a new teacher, I think that I had a hard time collecting quality data about my students' learning, integrating that data, and using it to inform my instructional decisions. I am much better at that now (including seeing patterns in individual students and across my whole class), but I know that I am still learning! A more specific example of this is how I organize my reading groups. I use multiple points of data as well as what I know about my students as individuals to group my students. I think one of the most important parts of that equation is often ignored: using what I know about my students as individuals rather than basing my groupings solely on test scores, as I would've done as a novice teacher. Bransford said that accomplished novices are "skilled in many areas and proud of their accomplishments, but they realize that what they know is miniscule compared to all that is potentially knowable" (page 48). Yes! This is exactly how I feel about teaching! I am proud of how far I've come as a teacher in the last 6 years, and I believe that 6 years from now I will have learned so much more. Another thing that Bransford talked about that I felt was very relevant was "contexts of applicability." On page 43, Bransford talked about how textbooks fall short of helping students learn WHAT knowledge and skills they should use and WHEN. Is learning really learning if we can't apply it to an appropriate situation? This applies to teaching as well.  I remember in my undergrad course we learned about teaching using the inquiry model. The professor cautioned us that although inquiry is a fantastic teaching model, she noticed that some new teachers tend to overuse inquiry when other modes of teaching would be more helpful/appropriate for the lesson content.

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After reading Bransford’s chapter 2 about novices and experts I immediately thought about my levels of expertise with teaching. In regards to my everyday life or hobbies I do not think I am an expert or novice as I am fairly busy with 2 small children, full time work, moving and grad school...I simply do not have the time for much else. In regards to teaching and my level of expertise, I believe I am an expert with behavioral management of students. Bransford states that “experts seek to develop an understanding of problems (big ideas)...effortlessly retrieve knowledge...and are metacognitive about their problem solving abilities.” I believe that when I am presented with a behavioral challenge in the classroom, I am able to assess the problem and understand the big WHY to the behavior and simultaneously retrieve knowledge on how to redirect the behavior or solve the problem. I am also able to think metacognitively during said behavioral issues and re-strategize if what I am doing isn’t working. I am also able to recognize patterns, which is also what Bransford pointed out that experts can do. I can recognize when the same student is about to be triggered and act preemptively and I can also recognize behavioral patterns among many students (ie. 5-6 year olds do not have a large attention span, they need to move often and be highly engaged in their learning...otherwise negative behaviors might present).

References:

Bransford, J., Brown, A. & Cocking, R. (Eds.) (2000).  How people learn: Brain, mind,

experience, and school. Washington, D.C: National
Research Council: Committee on

Developments in Science of Learning. National Academy Press.

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After reading Bransford’s How People Learn, I wanted to choose something simple and would consider myself more of an advanced novice at making smoothies. Though it seems like a menial task, I’ve had a lot of practice making these drinks at our local cafe in college and now on a weekly basis for myself in the mornings. When I consider a smoothie, I notice features and meaningful patterns of information that are not noticed by beginning novices. This includes the liquid base to fruit and vegetable ratio, as well as serving size and nutrient density. At my former job, I would make several smoothies at a time which needed to be of similar quality - thickness, taste and texture. My expertise helped me to remember recipes that had similar ingredients so I could chunk information into familiar patterns, instead of reading the recipe separately. I was not able to use this strategy in the beginning of my employment because I lacked the “hierarchical, organized structure for the domain.” (pg. 33). This idea seemed similar to Bransford’s example of chess masters and their strategies for extending the amount of information they can hold in their short-term memories. When my knowledge became “conditionalized” I was able to apply it to my morning smoothies. For example, I noticed the amount of tasteless ingredients like chia seeds or flax seeds, became less important to the quality of the smoothie than base ingredients like coconut water or frozen fruit, so now I only specifically measure the base ingredients. I think the “conditions of applicability” allowed me to continue being an expert on making smoothies beyond my days of working at the cafe. Bransford’s applicability theory extends to the classroom when we apply student’s learning to real-life scenarios, or word problems in math, so they can learn when, where and why the knowledge is useful (pg. 43). In the classroom, I drew the biggest connection to adaptive expertise, being able to approach new situations flexibly and learn throughout our lifetimes, for both students and teachers. I’m still wondering whether the level of adaptiveness or amount of practice in a certain domain will have a greater effect on successful learning.

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Learning to speak and write English fluently did not come easy for me. I remember hearing the language being spoken and could identify that it wasn't my mother tongue, but didn't feel i could ever master it. 15 years later I consider myself an expert in navigating the English language, both written and spoken.

As a Novice of the language i figure out quickly the error in my approach. You cannot develop learning skills as a novice by using the same instructional strategies as you would as an expert. I recall being told if i wanted to learn the language to simply "pick up a book and read it" or "immerse myself in a conversation."  Having no prior interactions in English served as a roadblock in the aforementioned approaches. Crowe & Youga (1986, 218) put it: "Research in cognitive development has demonstrated that learning is the process of making connections, linking what the student already knows to the new information presented." I didn't have any connecting knowledge that would allow me to simple pick up a book and read it.

However, i did speak fluent French. I found out that both English, and French had similar Latin roots. So instead of learning English, I instead started studying Latin root words that made sense in both languages.

It was this approach that allowed me not only to learn and excel with the English language, but also gave me an opportunity to learn short phrases in Spanish, since it also had similar roots.

It took several years of discipline in an organized manner to help me achieve the status of Accomplished Novice.

Bransford, J., Brown, A. & Cocking, R. (Eds.) (2000).  How

people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, D.C: National Research Council: Committee on Developments in Science of Learning. National Academy Press.

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According to Bransford, Brown, and Cocking, “Automatic and fluent retrieval are important characteristics of expertise. Fluent retrieval does not mean that experts always perform a task faster than novices. Because experts attempt to understand problems rather than to jump immediately to solution strategies, they sometimes take more time than novices” (p. 44). Reading Chapter Two of How People Learn, the authors invite thinking that is new for me to consider because the notion that an expert might take more time at a task than a novice is contradictory to what I have previously been taught about someone being an expert. This line of thinking highlights the depth that an expert is able to reach. In retrospect, this is something that I observe often with my students during writing assignments. Students who have a stronger grasp of the fundamentals of writing such as writing convention skills for spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and sentence structure spend far more time on assignments than their peers who do not possess the same level of understanding of these skills.

On page 48, Bransford states that, “Beliefs about what it means to be an expert can affect the degree to which people explicitly search for what they don’t know and take steps to improve the situation.” These powerful words remind me of how much time I have invested in teaching literacy. I consider myself an accomplished novice at teaching students to read, as I recognize that what I “know is minuscule compared to all that is potentially knowable” (p. 48). Although I have spent the past two decades seeking out information and opportunities to improve upon my practice, I know that I still have much to learn. I have accomplished my goal of being highly effective at teaching my students to read, and yet I am aware that with each year that passes my skill sets and effectiveness increase because I am open to taking in new information that results in me implementing more effective strategies.

Through coursework, collaboration with colleagues, observations of highly effective educational practices, and seeking feedback from administrators, I have learned strategies that distinguish me from a novice teacher. For example, I have spent the majority of my career as a kindergarten teacher and therefore have had countless students enter my classroom not knowing letters, sounds, high frequency words, etc. I am proud to share that I have not had a student leave my classroom not being able to read. I appreciate what Bransford touches upon on page 48 about the importance of teachers being more interested in growing their skills than appearing competent in order to actually grow and expand their knowledge. Bransford’s words harmonize with my ideas, as they reinforce the importance of tying in students’ background knowledge and modeling and fostering a growth mindset. Bransford’s work seems tightly relevant to my own work because I wholeheartedly agree that, “Expertise in an area does not guarantee that one can effectively teach others about that area. Expert teachers know the kinds of difficulties that students are likely to face, and they know how to tap into their students’ existing knowledge in order to make new information meaningful plus assess their students’ progress” (p. 49). I could not have said it better myself!

Bransford, J., Brown, A. & Cocking, R. (Eds.) (2000).  How

people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, D.C: National Research Council: Committee on Developments in Science of Learning. National Academy Press.

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I see myself as an accomplished novice at yoga.  I enjoy a regular at home guided yoga practice and find that it provides me with the opportunity to both physically stretch and strengthen my body.  I also enjoy the stress relief and comfort that the meditation and focused positive affirmation practice allows me to foster the best version of myself emotionally.  My approach to yoga distinguishes me from a novice in that I commit to a daily practice, I am confident in my ability to successfully move into poses, and I am able to continue to better my practice by drawing on my previous yoga experiences and past knowledge.   Bradford mentions on pg. 44, that automatic and fluent retrieval of relevant knowledge is an important characteristic of expertise because it places fewer demands on conscious attention.  I can relate to this in how I am able to move through my yoga practice without focusing on the details of trying to remember how to do a pose or feel pressure to learn a new pose from scratch.

I found Bradfords thoughts on adaptive expertise and metacognition to be most relevant to my thinking about being an accomplished novice at yoga.  On pg. 50 he states that, “people’s mental models of what it means to be an expert can affect the degree to which they learn throughout their lifetimes.”  My personal beliefs about being an accomplished novice at yoga who still has a lot to learn, instead of an expert who knows everything about yoga, feels much more comfortable to me.  But, at the same time, I feel like this sentiment is a bit limiting.  I know I do not know everything there is to know about yoga, but simply accepting I am not an expert in spite of my higher level of understanding, practice and skill set at yoga, is hard to swallow.   I am interested in learning more about my beliefs and implicit and explicit understandings about knowledge and expertise.

Bransford, J., Brown, A. & Cocking, R. (Eds.) (2000).  How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, D.C: National Research Council: Committee on Developments in Science of Learning. National Academy Press.

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For my area of expertise, I chose 2D design, especially with mixed media collage.  Although I feel a little odd calling myself an expert, I do have a deep understanding of composition and how to apply layers.  I’m also skilled at using good craftsmanship when I create designs.  I also pay attention to even the tiniest details in my work.  I have a strong sense of emphasis/placement.  I hope that these things would distinguish me from a novice.   I am able to create meaningful patterns of thought, apply different interpretations, and be flexible in how I achieve mastery each time.  This ability to be flexible and to see meaningful patterns is brought up on page 31 in the chapter as one of the indicators of being an expert.  Also, on page 31, the author talks about how having a deep understanding of your subject is one of the principles of what you need to be an expert.   My knowledge of my artmaking is always based on a big idea or concept.  Never on small, isolated facts. This kind of knowledge is discussed on page 42.  One thing the author made me think more about was the idea that there are lots of different kinds of expertise, such as adaptive as mentioned on pages 45-48.  I have thought in my heart that there must be more than just learning a lot of knowledge facts in order to be an expert at something!  So, I was happy that someone else (an expert) was pointing this out.

Bransford, J., Brown, A. & Cocking, R. (Eds.) (2000).  How

people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, D.C: National Research Council: Committee on Developments in Science of Learning. National Academy Press.

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In my mind I consider someone being an expert at something when they have mastered at 110% and they are able to teach someone with no problem and by memory what they are experts at. However, Bransford described as experts “have to acquired extensive knowledge that affects what they notice and how they organize, represent, and interpret information in their environment.”  (Bransford, 2000, p. 31). As I kept reading chapter two I was able to look into my life and I want to share with you all one personal and educational task that I consider myself expert or novice in. Though I believe and consider myself like many of you that I am not a compete expert on a specific task and that I have so much to continue learning.

In my educational life I consider myself to be an accomplished novice on being able to communicate with parents and build a respectful, welcoming and inclusive classroom environment for all my students. Bransford mentions, “Experts’ thinking seems to be organized around big ideas” (Bransford, 2000, p. 38). I think it if I want to get to all my students families and have all my students feel welcomed and included in my class it is hard to pin point one big main idea and become an expert at that idea because every year we get new students and families and everyone is different. I think that as a teacher you need to observe your own students and families needs and adapt and help each and one of them according to their needs. Therefore thinking as an expert and adapt and be an experty in one big idea is not possible for me to maintain and practice each year to help my students and families. I do try my best to always get to know my families and students in the first couple of weeks so that way from the get go I am able to help my students and families feel welcomed and happy in my class.

In my personal life I consider myself to be close to an expert on playing volleyball. I am able to recognize features and patterns of the process.

Brasnford mentions, “In each case, expertise in a domain helps people develop a sensitivity to patterns of meaningful information that are not available to novices” (Bransford, 2000, p. 33). I have been playing volleyball since I was in 6th grade-high school. Still continue to play but not in teams just for fun and I sometimes teach relatives how to play. I give them keep points (main ideas) of where to look for, what techniques to use when playing, what is the best way to hit the ball when it is being hit to you etc.

Something new that the author invites me to think of or consider is the question that Bransford mentions on Pg 45, “An important question for educators is whether some ways of organizing knowledge are better at helping people remain flexible and adaptive to new situations than other”? I want to ask my classmates what are some ways you have considered or done in your classroom to help students organize their ideas and what they are learning in a specific subject for them to be able to be experts at a specific subject or an activity for example a first grade being able to solve word problems and detect patterns to solve them with more precision.

References:

Bransford, J., Brown, A. & Cocking, R. (Eds.) (2000).  How people learn: Brain, mind,

experience, and school. Washington, D.C: National
Research Council: Committee on

Developments in Science of Learning. National Academy Press.

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By no means do I consider myself an expert at anything. I do consider myself a work in progress, and would probably remain with this mentality for the rest of my life. I do like to learn new things and if something really interests me I would dedicate some time into learning more about it. I consider myself a life long learner, thus my interest are wide and broad, it's hard to narrow it down. One sport in which I consider myself as average would be Soccer.

I played soccer for a good 15 years, from age 11 - 30, mostly during the whole teens and twenties. I was passionate about this sport. I would practice three times a week and play one or two games on the weekends. For me it was a lifestyle. I took care of my responsibilities at school and at work, but I always made time for soccer. Most of my good friends also played soccer and we grew up with this sport. We experienced our human development together from teenagers and adulthood, our common factor was always soccer.

When my son was 5 years old I immediately signed him up for soccer. I wanted to pass on this beatiful sport to him.   I don't play soccer anymore, but I do watch a lot of soccer games on tv.

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I believe that I am an accomplished novice figure skater. Originally when I read the chapter I immediately related the content to teaching. However as I kept reading I was able to relate the ideas to more than just my job as a teacher.

I started skating when I was 5 years old and competed until I was 18. I was able to reach the “senior” level tests that you must take in order to compete in that level. After skating this long I know so much about the jumps, spins, footwork, and what my body needs to do in order to successfully do these things. I also know a lot about the scoring system, competitions, and the sport in general. The main reason I believe that I am a novice figure skater rather than an expert is because there are many jumps that I was not able to successfully accomplish during my time as a skater. Another reason is when watching other skaters, I am able to identify the moves they do and how well they do them for the most part, but I am unable to pick up on little things that an expert skater or coach would be able to notice. Bransford writes “Experts notice features and meaningful patterns of information that are not noticed by novices.” My competitive skating days are over, but I do believe that I could become an expert in the sport by coaching. Coaching would help me learn little patterns and errors that I do not see now when watching other skaters. I would also have to continue to educate myself on current skating trends and people in order to lead my students to success. Right now I coach for fun and to stay involved in the sport. I don’t see myself coaching full time right now, however it is something to keep in mind for the future!

Bransford, J., Brown, A. & Cocking, R. (Eds.) (2000).  How

people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, D.C: National Research Council: Committee on Developments in Science of Learning. National Academy Press.

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My definition of an expert prior to reading this chapter was: someone who was highly qualified and skilled in their field, who demonstrated a wealth of knowledge above most. Now, after reading this chapter I can say that an expert is not only someone who has a great wealth of knowledge in their given field, but is someone who is able to connect their skills in their given subject area to other areas to them by adapting and drawing on their prior experiences to come to working conclusions/answers.

Chapter Two explained in detail how experts and novices differ, and it is not in which one is able to recall the most information. Novices as we know are those who are starting out in a field, or who are learning to adapt to the skills and knowledge needed to progress. While I am a novice in many areas in my life, one of the things outside of teaching that I see myself as above a novice- or an accomplished novice is in my ability to cook.

As someone who grew up in a rather traditionally strict household I was brought into the kitchen at a young age and have gone on to rather enjoy cooking for my family and friends. What separates my talents as a home-cook from novice into an accomplished novice is my ability to recall information related to cooking and adapt for change: an example of this would be my understanding of the need for dishes to need more heat, spice, sugar, flour etc. just by looking at the dish as it cooks. Adaptive Expertise and the ability to recognize when something isn't working is a key component of transitioning from a novice into an expert.

Accounting for the variables in cooking and planning accordingly is similar to teaching and adapting lesson plans for the variables of the students engagement or prior knowledge. As mentioned by the authors, “Accomplished novices are skilled in many areas and proud of their accomplishments, but they realize that what they know is miniscule compared to all that is potentially knowable.” I am able to see that I have come a long way in the skills and knowledge I have in the kitchen, but I know that there is still much room for improvement in technique and implementation.

The final reasoning for why I would place myself under the “accomplish novice,” category for cooking is that similar to an expert: I can connect patterns, see the “Big Ideas,” experiment with new methods and adaptations; but I am unable to transfer this knowledge to others. I am a terrible teacher in the kitchen as I cannot practise the metacognition needed to question why I approach certain recipes a certain way or be bothered to improve those I feel I have already mastered. It is with this new definition of what makes someone an expert that I see how I can rethink my rigid ways of cooking.

Bransford, J., Brown, A. & Cocking, R. (Eds.) (2000).  How

people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, D.C: National Research Council:

Committee on Developments in Science of Learning. National Academy Press.

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The task that I identify as being an expert in is Digital Photography editing through Adobe Lightroom. I edit a variety of scenes from landscapes to product design. My approach to this task distinguishes me from a novice in that I practice this task regularly by utilizing the skills I learned in college as well as through my own practice, I review ways of improvement from other editors and workflow, and I also try to create edits that are outside of my usual style to find other ways of viewing a product I wouldn't normally create.

I believe practicing regularly doesn't really distinguish me from a novice too much in that a novice is probably practicing just as much if not more than me to improve themselves. My knowledge around skillsets and tools is organized around core concepts or in my case I would call them styles that guide my thinking. When I edit a photo I'm attempting to create a result of a finished image I already have in my head. Posing this as a problem would be, how do I go about applying the skills I know to achieve the photo I want. The more often I create the same style the more "conditionalized" it becomes. I'm using these styles based on when it is appropriate rather than 'reciting' the process of creating the style. This allows me to use it in other cases where it may be appropriate but could use a little creative adjustment. Fluency in creating styles allows my conscious attention more capacity to attend to other aspects of this task such as, making sure I don't have clipping in my blacks and whites (this results in a loss of information for that area of the photo).

I review ways of improvement when I'm not sure that the skillsets I do have will help me in creating the desired photo. After reviewing additional information, I'm able to implement what I've learned. It takes me longer to digest and retain the information sometimes. After reading Chapter two I realized there's a name for this process, "metacognition" - the ability to monitor one’s current level of understanding and decide when it is not adequate." (Bransford pg. 47) In terms of learning how to create a desired photo, I realized I need to learn different process' in order to create a photo that I had not previously done before.

I believe creating something outside of what you normally create is something that all levels of someone whose attempting to complete a task has to deal with. With practice comes more confidence in someones ability to reach out of their comfort zone to do the task in a different way than they're familiar with. I found Bransfords take on the differences between artisans and virtuosos interesting here in that a virtuoso when given a problem will "also consider whether the problem as presented is the best way to begin." (Bransford pg. 50) When I was first starting out editing photos in college I would sometimes use the style of editing my teacher did in their own personal work (or even in an example of how to edit a photo). This of course, isn't always the best way to begin for a variety of reasons but it took time for me to separate trying to make something look good in the way someone else created it and instead monitoring how I wanted to approach the problem. My experience, knowledge, and interpretation of a photo guides how I choose to edit it. This allows me to progress at my own pace while also building up my confidence to identify and pursue new learning goals such as, seeking out new styles of editing.

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Chapter two described the difference between novice and expert adults and students. As a teacher I consider myself a novice teacher who I have lots to learn to reach the expert level. However, math is my strongest skill and sometimes I feel like an expert in some areas. Based on Brandsford reading (p.41) experts are more likely to novice to first start understanding the problem rather than inserting numbers to figure out an equation. As a teacher I always feel that we tend to teach students to be experts rather than novice to be able to solve problems. For instance, one of the rules that I use for my students to be able to solve word problems is to read the problem three times, then underline or highlight the most important piece and start solving it. This is a strategy we teach to novice students and by the time they get to middle school some of them are experts on this that they don’t follow all of these steps but instead they figure out the problem right away.

As an adult I have solved many math problems following this strategy that sometimes when I’m teaching the students I forget a step. Fortunately, I have a few students who keep me on track and remind me of the step of underlying or high lighting, the most important part of the problem. In addition, this chapter was important because it described the six principles of expertise that have to be considered simultaneously as part of our daily routines. I feel like as humans we are always learning and going through the novice step to the expert level. However, to get to the expert level it takes a while because technology and other things are changing and we can’t stay behind as teachers.

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The chapter was an interesting look at the specific features that set experts or accomplished novices apart from novices. I noticed many things that I could apply to my teaching, specifically around the value of fluency and contextual knowledge.

I see myself as an accomplished novice at playing Tetris. When I first began playing Tetris many years ago, I played at the novice level. I only noticed the piece I currently had and placed it to avoid building high levels. As I have played more Tetris, my understanding of the game, the strategies necessary to gain a high score, and the relationships between the pieces has evolved. This connects to the idea of an expert or accomplished novice because I am able to notice patterns in the gameboard and quickly access several strategies that are conditionalized to whatever situation currently exists on the board. Additionally, my fluency with manipulating the controls of a Tetris game allows me to rotate and move pieces with effortless processing and therefore devote more conscious attention to problem solving.

These observations of my Tetris development connect directly to at least 3 of the key principles listed in Chapter 2:
1. Experts notice features and meaningful patterns of information that are not noticed by novices.
3. Experts’ knowledge cannot be reduced to sets of isolated facts or propositions but, instead, reflects contexts of applicability: that is, the knowledge is “conditionalized” on a set of circumstances.
4. Experts are able to flexibly retrieve important aspects of their knowledge with little attentional effort.
(above listed principles copied directly from assigned reading)

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The Bransford Chapter 2 provided an interesting outlook on an expertise versus novice. I really liked the six key principles of knowledge that the chapter provided on page 31. I think these are a great guideline to use to reflect on what can be considered as an expert reflection. One of the ideas provided by Bransford that really resonated with me after reading it, was on page 44. Bransford mentions that expertise in a particular domain of teaching is not always a good thing. In can damage the teaching abilities. This resonated with me because it has happened to me.

When I was a student in middle school and high school, I struggled with math and was really good in literature and English. As a teacher I have found my abilities to teach those particular subjects flip flopped. I struggled with teaching Literacy step by step because of my “expert” knowledge in the content area. Where as math, I felt more confident in teaching it because I struggled with it myself in middle school and high school. My approach to teaching math fell from a place of understanding what my students might struggle with based on my personal struggles. I think this approach helped me come up with different teaching styles in order to help my students succeed.

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Before this reading, when I heard the word, expert, my mind immediately went to the definition of someone who has all the answers, someone who knows it all, in and out. As I took time to reflect on an area that I am an expert in, I was stumped because I did not have an answer. Brandsford stated that, “Research shows that it is not simply general abilities, such as memory or intelligence, nor the use of general strategies that differentiate experts from novices. Instead, experts have acquired extensive knowledge that affects what they notice and how they organize, represent, and interpret information in their environment.” (2000, p.31). I would consider myself to be an accomplished novice in gentle parenting. Not because I know it all, but because I have the skills to see patterns of meaningful information.

As a mom to a toddler and a teacher, there are many opportunities for the need to notice patterns, reflect, and look for meaningful information. Specifically speaking to behavioral challenges faced. Children are faced with many moments for learning, growth, and experiences each day both at home and in the classroom. There will be moments of dysregulation. Whether they are feeling something they cannot identify, they witnessed a traumatic event, or they are unsure of where their next meal is coming from, I believe that there is always a reason for a child to act out.

The important part about being a mom and teacher, is getting to the bottom of why a child is reacting the way they are. I work to create relationships with my children, encourage choice/willingness, and use positivity and patience, rather than fear and punishment. I look for patterns, I use clues surrounding the situation to problem solve. As I continue to identify these patterns, I will also encourage and model what it looks like for the children to do the same. How are they feeling in this situation? What do you do/how do you react when you are feeling _____”. This is important to me because as Bransford mentioned, “Research on expertise suggests the importance of providing students with learning experiences that specifically enhance their abilities to recognize meaningful patterns of information. (2000, p.36). It is up to us, accomplished novices to help tap into students’ existing knowledge to encourage them to find new information as they navigate through each day, moment, experience, and emotion.

National Research Council. 2000. How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School: Expanded Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

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For over a decade, I have provided live captions for students and professionals with hearing impairments, and I would consider myself an expert. Based on the definitions in the Bransford reading (p.44), I would describe my abilities as both fluent and automatic. I use software that utilizes an abbreviated form of typing, similar to shorthand, that I needed to be trained in when I first started. As a novice, I was much slower because I had to think about how to abbreviate the words. Now I can use my software without much thought, and as a result I'm much faster and more accurate. I recall the most frequently used words automatically. For most words, there is a formula for determining abbreviations that does require some thought on my behalf. Because I am so familiar with it, the amount of effort it takes me to retrieve that information could be categorized as fluency.

The authors explained the importance of fluency when they said, “effortless processing places fewer demands on conscious attention” (p.44). When I type, my mind does not need to think about where to move my fingers, or where the keys on the keyboard are located. This allows my mind to instead focus on processing and remembering what is being spoken and figuring out how to abbreviate difficult words.

Bransford also talks about the importance of “chunking” related information to better retain and process large amounts of information (p.32). In the field of captioning and transcribing, we use this term “chunk” to describe the method we use to be able to capture as much of what is said as possible. We provide what we call “meaning-for-meaning captioning,” which means that we do not type verbatim; instead we eliminate repetition and reword phrases while keeping their meaning. I am able to listen to what is being said and group phrases and thoughts in my mind, then reword them more succinctly, to shorten my typing time and be able to keep up with the speaker. This is a skill that I had to develop, and without being able to chunk phrases, transcribing quickly becomes overwhelming.

Bransford’s ideas of chunking and conditionalizing resonate with my experiences with teaching and learning. I believe that students need connections and context to get the most out of what they are learning. On page 43, the authors talked about how textbooks will focus on formulas and laws without teaching when to use them. This was my own experience in school, and it is one reason why I do not enjoy math. I could never find a teacher who would explain to me why I was being made to manipulate those numbers or learn those formulas. It just felt like busywork. Even as a student now, I find that when I am able to draw connections between themes and theories, group the concepts into chunks, and identify when to apply them, I understand and retain the information much better.

Bransford, J., Brown, A. & Cocking, R. (Eds.) (2000).  How
people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, D.C: National Research Council:
Committee on Developments in Science of Learning. National Academy Press.

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I consider myself to be an accomplished novice in paint pouring, something I picked up in the last year. Like many out there, I picked up a few new hobbies during our Covid-19 lockdown last year, and paint pouring was one of them. Prior to this I was very disinterested in learning how to draw or paint as I had been so discouraged in previous art classes. However, I found abstract painting to be a great outlet.

When I think about my approach to paint pouring and how I might be an accomplished novice I think about the way I chunk information. This was an important aspect of our chapter reading. While there is not a lot of “chunking” to be done in abstract paint pouring, I still understand aspects of color theory in which colors combined would create a muddy color versus the colors that are complementary. This is important when it comes to how I build my paint cup to ensure I can create an interesting pattern of colors. I don’t chunk each individual blue or red, but rather the spectrum of different colors (all shades of yellow, all shades of orange). The ability to chunk colors in meaningful ways also helps me when it comes to creating different patterns. I have also learned to focus on the end goal of my painting and use familiar patterns and shades of color to increase my chance of interesting abstract art. The ability to use the major principles of color theory and paint pouring indicates some sort of advanced novice ability on my part.

Bransford, J., Brown, A. & Cocking, R. (Eds.) (2000).  How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, D.C: National Research Council: Committee on Developments in Science of Learning. National Academy Press.

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Before reading the chapter, I defined an expert as someone who knows how to handle problems in a certain task or field and knows exactly what to do if an issue should arise. However, Bransford describes expertise as knowing how to organize, represent, and interpret information in their environment; additionally, this knowledge is gained through time and practice (Bransford, 2000, p. 31). Therefore, for the purpose of the assignment, I identified a task in both my personal and professional life that I consider to be an expert in.

In my personal life, I consider myself an expert when it comes to playing the game of mancala. As a child, my 5th grade teacher taught me how to play and signed me up for mancala tournaments at school. It is a game I thoroughly enjoy playing along with others. In the game, there are two rows of the board, with four beads in each of the six pockets. The point is to gather as many beads on the appropriate side with each move. Two points that distinguish me from a novice are the following:

1. “Experts notice features and meaningful patterns of information that are not noticed by novices.” When playing the game, I focus on the future moves in order to take the beads away from the opponent. A novice player would only focus on one move at a time.

2. “Though experts know their disciplines thoroughly, this does not guarantee that they are able to teach others.” Although I am able to teach others how to play the game with the basic rules, it does not guarantee that I can teach them how to read the other player in order to make the correct move. Predicting the other player’s next move comes with time and practice.

In my professional life, I consider myself an expert when it comes to building relationships with students. Although this year was difficult because of COVID, I like to make connections in order to better understand my wonderful students. One point that distinguish me from  a novice is the following:

1. “Experts have varying levels of flexibility in their approach to new situations.” Not every student is the same. I approach each person depending on their personality and how they approach me. For example, a quiet student may not want to express themselves in a group. Therefore, I would approach them one-on-one in order to get to know them.

Although I consider myself an expert on these tasks, I still have so much more to learn from others and with my continuing experiences!

References:

Bransford, J., Brown, A. & Cocking, R. (Eds.) (2000).  How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, D.C: National Research Council: Committee on Developments in Science of Learning. National Academy Press.

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I am very new in the teaching world, and would love to say I am an expert on many aspects, but, I know that I am still learning and am excited to continue learning. However, after many years of working with children, I would like to say that I am an accomplished novice in building relationships with students. This is something that is very important to me, because I know students learn best in an environment in which they feel safe and connected. After getting to know the children I have worked with so well, I am able to recognize patterns in their behavior that might be showing me they need some sort of support. I also feel that organization of knowledge fits into my success with building relationships. The text notes that, "knowledge is organized around core concepts or “big ideas” that guide their thinking about their domains" (page 36). To me, I see this as what I know about my students allows me to form relationships with them. In this case they are each individually the "big idea" that I must learn information about in order to successfully start and maintain a connection.

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In most areas of teaching I feel that I am quite an accomplished novice; areas such as Discrete Trial Training (DTT), using specific DTT curriculum like the STAR program, and interweaving SEL curriculum and strategies into the daily routines and schedules. Non-professional areas in which I would categorize myself as an accomplished novice would be building with LEGO and triathlon (maybe I am an expert at finding activities that don’t have plurals).

Areas in teaching that I would put myself into the expert category would be building relationships with students with autism, creating a structured classroom, embedding fine motor work and other related services into the daily classroom routine, and setting up a classroom environment. Sadly I do not think that I have any non-professional areas that I would call myself an expert. But going through marriage counseling, I would say that I am pretty close to being an expert at communicating with my partner and soon to be husband.

In chapter 2 I found the quote about ‘chunking’ in short term memory to be quite applicable to the areas in which I am an accomplished novice and expert professionally- due to the ability to chunk and to quickly find patterns and associations. Bransford (2000) states that, “since there are limits on the amount of information that people can hold in short term memory, short-term memory is enhanced when people are able to chunk information into familiar patterns” (pg 33). He goes on to say that, ‘in each case, expertise in a domain helps people develop a sensitivity to patterns of meaningful information that are not available to novices” (pg 33).

Further into the chapter he writes that, “research on expertise suggests the importance of providing students with learning experiences that specifically enhance their abilities to recognize meaningful patterns of information.” (pg 36). I have found myself explain to others who observe me working in my self-contained classroom that I have an innate ability to find patterns and associations quickly and then act on them to better inform my reactions, be proactive in future encounters and facilitate learning for students who show distress or are not progressing.

Bransford, J., Brown, A. & Cocking, R. (Eds.) (2000).  How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, D.C: National Research Council: Committee on Developments in Science of Learning. National Academy Press.

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Since transitioning out of college life a year ago, I’d consider myself a novice in both my professional career and even in my personal life. As each of you can probably relate to, I’m constantly making mistakes and learning during my first years of teaching. I am relying on the experts in my team and additional resources for guidance. Then in my personal free time, I’ve been trying lots of new hobbies, and not to mention trying to do the “adulting” thing as they say. Therefore, picking an activity that I feel like an “expert” in was difficult. I’m beginning to think that it’s hard to judge ourselves as an expert because we are so closely connected to the activity, and we see our own flaws and the small areas we haven’t perfected. With that said, I will identify myself as an expert in weightlifting.

I remember walking into the weight room almost 10 years ago for the first time and feeling absolutely intimidated and lost. On the whiteboard there was a list of obscure names, numbers, and percentages, and I couldn’t identify any piece of equipment around me. One day at a time, I learned how to make sense of all of it, and soon my body didn’t feel as awkward trying to maneuver the equipment. Then, as the years of practice began to add up, I transitioned from understanding what was written on that white board to why it was written. Just as the authors described through the physics analogy “novices tend to perceive problem solving in physics as memorizing, recalling, and manipulating equations to get answers,” I was also initially only worried about knowing how to successfully complete the list of lifts (2000, p. 37). Then, my knowledge expanded and I understood things such as which muscle groups different lifts focused on, or why we lift heavier in different seasons.  In other words, I was starting to make meaning of the patterns; “Research on expertise suggests the importance of providing students with learning experiences that specifically enhance their abilities to recognize meaningful patterns of information” (2000, p. 36). After four years of being taught by my weightlifting  teacher, an expert, I have a hard time comparing my knowledge to his and calling myself an expert, however, I was able to carry one the practice without his guidance. According to the Bransford text, I was conditionalized , which is when “experts have not only acquired knowledge, but are also good at retrieving the knowledge that is relevant to a particular task” (2000, p. 43).

National Research Council. 2000. How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School: Expanded Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

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I would consider myself an accomplished novice - on my way to expert - of the Organization of Knowledge.  The use of 'pause times' is something that I have been consciously working on for the past 4 years of teaching mathematics.  Ultimately, I want the students to know that the questions I am asking them are important enough that they should consider pause time themselves before responding.  So often in my previous years of teaching I found myself asking questions that I wanted the students to answer within 10 seconds after posing it to them; nowadays this seems absurd if the question is complex enough to have multiple answers and/or ways to solve it.  "Within this picture of expertise, 'knowing more' means having more conceptual chunks in memory" (Chi et al., 1981).  Particularly, in mathematics, I have started doing projects at the end of each chapter with my students so that they can demonstrate applicable knowledge of each concept.  For example, at the end of a unit on Area and Perimeter, the project assigned was to design a blueprint tiny house and use the space appropriately to incorporate 20 different items such as the refrigerator, doors, windows, sink, sofa, etc.

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I had a hard time finding one skill or activity that I am an expert in because I hope to have many years more of experience in many of my areas of interest. I also always believe that there is more to be learned. Bransford mentioned that knowledge gained through time and practice (Bransford, 2000, p. 32). I am fairly young and plan to have more time to practice many of the things I love. So I went with an area where I believe I am an accomplished novice. I believe that I am an accomplished novice runner. I chose this area because it is one that I have experience with. I enjoy running and have trained for and run multiple half marathons. Because of my experience I know what it takes to train for and run a half marathon.

When I first started running I would research training plans and now I have the knowledge to develop plans that will work best for me. I believe this example is tied to Bransfords first key principle, “Experts notice features and meaningful patterns of information that are not noticed by novices” (Bransford, 2000, p. 31). I know the patterns of my training and how to train in an effective way for me. In addition throughout my training I have had various small injuries such as shin splints. Knowing the patterns of what each injury feels like or what might cause it helps me become a better runner. Identifying patterns also shows up when determining what I should eat before a run. I see how I feel running after eating different foods an am able to identify the pattern of what will make me feel the best. I have also learned how much water I should drink or what I should eat to feel the best during my runs. I believe that all the examples listed above are also tied to Bransford’s second key principle as well, “ Experts have acquired a great deal of content knowledge that is organized in ways that reflect a deep understanding of their subject matter” (Bransford, 2000 p. 31). I have gathered knowledge throughout my time running. This also connects to my understanding of patterns. When my knee feels a certain way I can bring my previous knowledge from research and the patterns I have noticed to determine what I should do about it.

Another aspect that stood out to me was that you don’t need to be able to teach something to be an expert on it (Bransford, 2000, p. 44). Throughout my time running I have learned a lot about what the best ways for me to train is because I have mostly learned through experience. I have not developed a general understanding about running. Therefore what I have found works best for me may not work best for someone else. For this reason I don’t believe I have the knowledge to effectively teach someone else how to prepare for a half marathon.

Bransford, J., Brown, A. & Cocking, R. (Eds.) (2000).  How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, D.C: National Research Council: Committee on Developments in Science of Learning. National Academy Press.31-50

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After reading Chapter 2, unfortunately, I don’t think I can find any field where I consider myself an expert. I have always believed that there is always room for improvement. This is why I think that becoming an expert in any field is very difficult to accomplish.

On the other hand, if I have to choose something that I consider myself good at, I think I am good at ‘Being punctual’ (I am aware this is not a field but I think this is one of my best skills). Taking in consideration several principles of expert’s knowledge and applying them to ‘Being punctual’, I can explain how they relate to this skill.

In order to be punctual, there are many factors that you need to consider. First, you need to ask yourself how much time you need before leaving your place and what are the things that you will need to do before leaving. Things such as taking a shower, getting dressed, brushing your teeth, packing lunch, organizing a backpack, etc. Second, estimate traffic time and give yourself an extra 10-15 minutes for unexpected events. In my case, I know exactly how much time I need in order to do these tasks and I know exactly at what time I need to leave the door to be on time. All of these factors (knowledge) explains why I have become an expert in this matter. Attending to the key principles mentioned in the chapter I could say more specifically that:

I have acquired a great deal of content knowledge that is organized in ways that reflect a deep understanding of the subject matter (p 31 - Bransford, Chapter 2).

By doing these tasks on a daily basis and sometimes establishing these tasks almost as a routine, being punctual becomes much easier to accomplish.

When I think about a possible novice in regards to this skill, I immediately think about my middle school students. Yes, they are late many times and don't know why! This is something that we try to teach in our Advisory class when we talk about time management and the importance of being on time. We try to promote respect and make them understand that we need to value people’s time. In addition, we try to make them see the importance of being responsible.

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I’m not sure I’m quite an “expert,” but I am well-versed in caring for plants. One thing Bransford mentioned was how experts can have flexibility in approaching new situations related to their area. When I first began working with plants, I watered on a strict schedule. I didn’t check the soil or know to look at the leaf texture or position to see if the plants needed water. With experience, I’ve gotten better at noticing the signs of what a plant needs based on their individual characteristics; for example, a string of hearts only needs to be watered when the leaves are pliable, whereas a pothos will distinctively wilt when it’s ready. Part of the reason I’m comfortable with not really having a watering schedule is because of what Bransford refers to as “chunking,” or the way in which experts have a larger schema for problem solving than novices do. I’m able to apply patterns I’ve learned to a situation rather than relying on individual steps, which means I’m closer to “fluency.” I can also attest to Bransford’s comments on how experts don’t necessarily make for good teachers. Some of my less plant savvy friends have found that I forget to explain simple concepts that they don’t know when getting started with plants because I forget they aren’t obvious. For example, I generally know what type of soil, light, and fertilizer a plant will need without having to look it up because I’m familiar with other plants in its family (philodendrons are a good example -- they can look vastly different, but often have similar needs). I don’t have to think about everything I know about plants when addressing an issue; I’m able to retrieve the relevant information when I need it because I’m more familiar.

As a teacher, I find myself skipping steps that feel obvious because I assume my students already know. While Bransford says experts don’t always make for good teachers, I’d push back on that idea -- I think part of being an expert is being able to anticipate what a novice will need explained. That to me shows a greater depth and breadth of knowledge than simply being able to complete a task. In language arts, students often struggle with the concept of “theme.” I can anticipate they will need help creating distinction between theme and message because I have knowledge of this subject, but a novice teacher might not realize where the confusion stems from.

I guess the question then becomes: how to teachers ensure they are providing students with the foundational knowledge they need for more advanced tasks without constantly reteaching the same thing?

Bransford, J., Brown, A. & Cocking, R. (Eds.) (2000).  How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, D.C: National Research Council: Committee on Developments in Science of Learning. National Academy Press.

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I have preconceived notions about “experts.” These are the people you’d go to if you had questions, and usually it’s someone who has years of experience (so I assumed). After over a decade of experience, I felt I had sufficient expertise to become a dental hygiene instructor. I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. The fun part about my job is that things are continually changing with new research to inform myself. I try to be empathetic to my students, and I try to think of explaining things in layman’s terms because I can’t assume their level of understanding. I also feel it is important to not just regurgitate information from a textbook. I explain real-life situations that are applicable to their patient care; this not only keeps their attention, but I hope it solidifies their understanding and shock value. When I attend a continuing education course with new information, I think of how this will apply to certain situations or patients. I resonated with this thinking from our reading:

“Deep understanding of subject matter transforms factual information into usable knowledge. A pronounced difference between experts and novices is that experts’ command of concepts shapes their understanding of new information: it allows them to see patterns, relationships, or discrepancies that are not apparent to novices” (Bransford et al., 2000, p. 16). This also requires expert teachers to make decisions from “mental models” and working fast without sacrificing accuracy (Fletcher-Wood, 2017).

I began to visualize experts having a mental capacity of a university library that spans a variety of information in a large square foot room. There is an ample amount of information to choose from, but it is also important to be able to retrieve it in a timely manner, such as with an experienced librarian. Novice reminds me of a new freshman on their first day of library orientation with a deer in the headlights look. I think about how my years of experience have made me time efficient in certain protocol compared to students who have only seen a handful of patients. Practice really does help!

I was discouraged reading, “Expertise in a particular domain does not guarantee that one is good at helping others learn it. In fact, expertise can sometimes hurt teaching because many experts forget what is easy and what is difficult for students” (Bransford et al., 2000, p. 44). I can see how this is true, and how easy it could be for a teacher to assume their student’s grasp on the information. I often worry when I finished explaining something that students may not speak up if they do not understand. When I work with students one-on-one in the clinic, I can often gauge their level of confidence in understanding based on their responses, both verbal and physical. The tricky part is when they are together as class. Are they hesitant to ask because the whole class is listening? I do try my best to reiterate to my students to always contact me if they have questions.

My question is, if experts may not always be the best teachers based on losing insight into what is simple or problematic for students, how can we improve this in experts? What are better ways to make information more conductive to learning based on expert knowledge (besides using layman’s terms, asking situational/applicable questions to students, etc)? Thank you for your ideas! :)

Works Cited:

Bransford, J., Brown, A. & Cocking, R. (Eds.) (2000).  How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, D.C: National Research Council: Committee on Developments in Science of Learning. National Academy Press.

Fletcher-Wood, H. (2017). What makes expert teachers?. In Improving Teaching. Retrieved June 21, 2021, from https://improvingteaching.co.uk/2017/04/09/what-makes-expert-teachers/

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A task that I consider myself to be an expert on is making risotto. After reading this chapter, I have found evidence that seems to highlight my expertise in this area. For one, I am able to recognize features and patterns of the process. Rather than relying on a timer, I am able to determine cooking time based on the look of the risotto. I am also able to recall the steps of the recipe without needing a reference. A novice who is trying to make risotto for the first time would need to rely heavily on the recipe, and would have difficulty being able to recognize when the rice is ready, when it needs more liquid, or when it needs to rest. Another way in which I am able to see that I am an expert in this task is that I have fluent retrieval. I am able to do the task with almost automaticity, and I rarely need to think about what step comes next or talk myself through the process. A novice would likely need to rely more on a reference or asking for help. A focus on the “big idea” (Bransford, 2000, p. 36)  when I am organizing my knowledge around cooking risotto is further evidence of my expertise. Because I know the end goal and approximately what the end product should look like, I am able to move around steps in the task, and make substitutions or omissions appropriately. A novice would be more focused on following the recipe to the letter. Another way in which I can see my expertise in this area is when it comes to teaching. I have personally tried to teach several friends how to make risotto, and have found myself sometimes becoming frustrated. Because the task is so automatic to me, I forget “what is easy and what is difficult” (Bransford, p. 44) for someone who has never made this recipe before. One final way in which I'm able to see my expertise in the area of cooking risotto is that I have adaptive expertise. Over the many times that I've made risotto, I have been able to add ingredients to create a new flavor profile or substitute an ingredient if one is missing.  A novice would have difficulty with being able to do so.

This reading was particularly intriguing and relevant to me, as I am going to be entering my sixth year of teaching.  For many aspects of my job, I now consider myself to be more of an expert, whereas a few years ago I was more of a novice. However, we were introduced to a new language arts curriculum this year, and I am very much a novice in that area! Being able to reflect on the traits of being an expert in an area allows me to better approach my colleagues and my students. I need to remind myself that things that may be automatic for me may not be so for another. For example, we are going to be having a new Speech Language Pathologist joining our staff this year. I will need to remind myself to slow down when explaining things to her that are essentially second nature to me at this point.  One way in which the author's thinking resonated with me was when he was discussing the two chess players in figure 2.2 (Bransford, p. 35). It made complete sense to me that even an expert chess player would have difficulty remembering the configurations on the chessboard when the configurations were not meaningful. This is why it is critical for us as educators to always make what we are teaching meaningful for our students. Simply berating them with random facts or equations is not enough for them to assign meaning to what we are teaching and therefore be able to recall and apply it. We need to strive to have learning experiences that are meaningful and connected to our students in order for them to further their learning.

References:

Bransford, J., Brown, A. & Cocking, R. (Eds.) (2000).  How people learn: Brain, mind,

experience, and school. Washington, D.C: National Research Council: Committee on

Developments in Science of Learning. National Academy Press.

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When I think about a task that someone can be an expert in, I think of something concrete that can be produced or in a specific field. That is an expert at cooking: producing food; a driving expert: a safe trip from point A to B. My thinking was even reinforced through the reading, as the examples they gave were expert chess players, expert teachers, and even cooks.

I have a hard time considering myself an expert in anything because there’s always room to grow in a specific area. So how can I be an expert if I still haven’t learned all the information? Sure, I’m good at things, but good isn’t synonymous with an expert. I asked my fiancé, ‘What’s something that I’m an expert-”. Before finishing, he interrupted with, “Time management. You manage yourself. You manage me. You manage your students. You have spreadsheets and schedules for everything”. He’s not wrong about the latter. But that posed the question, Can you be an expert in something as ambiguous as to time management? Time management is not a specified field, nor is it a tangible item that can be produced. Branford (2000) says that “Experts can flexibly retrieve important aspects of their knowledge with little attentional effort” (p. 31). So by definition, I would safely assume that one can be an expert even in disciplines that seem a bit ambiguous, such as time management.

As noted above, I have a hard time declaring that I’m an expert at anything. However, I think I am exceptionally good at managing time, creating schedules, and diligently sticking to them. There are a few approaches that distinguish me from a novice:

1.       I’ve seen the negative consequences of not managing my time, which has deterred me from making that mistake again.

2.       I’ve seen the positive effects and recognition I get when I follow schedules precisely. I am motivated by the gratification I get and the recognition I receive for being early, accomplishing tasks on time, checking things off my to-do list.

3.       I seek out new opportunities to manage my time better (cue all the self-help books).

4.       I know what areas I’m strong in and what areas take me more time. So, I often run cost-analysis between my time and services/products to determine if I should purchase something or make it myself. That is, I know that I’m not an expert at making worksheets, but I can certainly spend the time to dink around with it until I figure it out. But, if making a worksheet is one of many things on my list by a specific date, then I’m better off purchasing one than spending the time to make it myself-ensuring that everything gets done by a specific time.

Point 2 leads me to question, In what ways do, if at all, do motivation affect one’s level of expertise in a specific field? Are people more inclined to become and expert in a field, if the results of doing so are motivating to them?

Works Cited

Bransford, J., Brown, A. & Cocking, R. (Eds.) (2000).  How people learn: Brain, mind,

experience, and school. Washington, D.C: National Research Council: Committee on

Developments in Science of Learning. National Academy Press.

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