9.7 Topic Expertise

There are pros and cons when it comes to teaching in your own speciality.

Here are some thoughts...

• It can be hard to put yourself in the mindset of a novice. Some experts stay in one domain and topic area and are really true novices only once in their career; early on. If the individual is of the sort who dives into totally new areas which have little or no commonality with their areas of expertise, they might remember some of the novice issues. However, it is probably hard for any expert, after many years to put themselves in the mindset of a novice in their own field of expertise. Hard.
• You obviously took to the subject like a duck to water. You LOVED it. You probably did not struggle with it. Do you know what students struggle with? Why? Do you understand what struggling means in this instance? How to fix? You were special and what was obvious to you, is probably not obvious to many others.
• Research suggests that experts do many things they are not consciously aware of. Assumptions made, tasks done. Unless the expert is self-aware and understands this, it is likely that many subtle and important bits might be skipped over and not explained or discussed.
• Picking up signal words or cues can be subconscious for the expert, and the expert can overlook the importance of teaching students on how to do this. What to recognize, what does it mean.
• The expert might be used to multiple notations and short forms. They might accidently flit about with terms, examples, notation, without being aware of the confusion being caused.
• The examples used by an expert might be fun and interesting for the expert, but are in reality several levels too deep and sophisticated for the average student.
• Being an expert does not mean that the expert knows multiple ways to approach the topic, or explain it. Expertise can blind someone and can also constrain one's thinking.

• Literature on skill and expertise also points out that experts usually explain things to others in a way similar to the way it was explained to them. That is, it is not how they do it, but how they were taught to do it. This can be a problem.
• It is important to appreciate how a newbie will need to know the basics, build the foundations, before tackling the abstract and advanced. It is way too easy for an expert to think material should be, can be, taught top down, starting with the big picture. Unfortunately, this does not work well. Sorry. Start at the basics and work up. Make it relateable, undestandable, and then build the next layer. They might be able to memorize crap in the top down approach and pass, excel in a matching assessment, but it does not mean that they comprehend, understand the material, or understand the subtle implications throughout the chain of science/activities which are implied.
• At senior levels, specialized, advanced courses, we think that your topic experts should really be leveraged. They can provide insights and additional interpretations which can be understood and appreciated by the students.
• For junior or introductory, foundational courses, we actually think that the courses should be taught by individuals with certain traits. They can do the text book and a wee bit more, and they have to be functionally competent. That goes without saying. But we suggest that instructors who might have struggled, failed once, had to work hard at figuring it out might be the better choice for the junior classes. The instructors might even hate the topic, get cold chills at the thought of being tested in it again. But, they can understand the value and good that comes from mastering the topic, and can convey the 'I do not like it, but I need to use it, I want to use it because it helps me'. This is similar to individuals counselling a student who is blanking out in exams. It does not matter how many books, seminars, classes, workshops, certificates, or people you talk to. Until you have blanked out 10-20 minutes into a three hour final, you cannot understand what that feels like, and what happens to the emotions and brain. No chance. You can have empathy and care, but you really, really, do not understand and it is hard for the student to relate to you if they do not think you know first hand what they are experiencing. Your experts might also have this background and ability to have real empathy with the students. If so, this can be a win-win situation.

Further reading

• Bradley, J.H., Ravi, P., and E. Seeman (2006). Analyzing the structure of expert knowledge. Information & management, 43, p.77-91.