Comments on: Overstating The Perils Of Expertise

By: Darren Kuropatwa

Darren Kuropatwa — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 04:04:38 +0000

I really liked Clint's summary of what I was trying to get at, and that seems to be what you are responding to here. However, Mr. Kimmi above really nails it. It's the whole "you can't be a prophet in your own home" kind of thing; that is, if you're seen as some sort of expert. Newbies don't suffer from this phenomenon; they're more inspirational to the people around them. I think we need to have experts around, but we also need the inspiration of newbies. Constantly.

By: Learning On The Job » Beginner’s Mind

Learning On The Job » Beginner’s Mind — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:19:07 +0000

[…] Meyer (sorta) disagrees: Darren thinks his situation requires more novices when instead it requires better experts.Â Hungry […]

By: mrkimmi

mrkimmi — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 19:07:39 +0000

Isn’t there a difference between Larry Bird and the teacher just down the hall?

Larry Bird made me want to be a better basketball player when I was 8 and he was a Celtic, but I’m not so sure he inspired all the other Celtics and NBA players at that time. Why? They had to play next to him, in his shadow.

Likewise, when the expert is the teacher just down the hall, it’s a little harder to get inspired. When staff meetings and board meetings, water cooler discussions, and so on, feature all these great things they are doing with their classes, inspiration gets overshadowed by resentment.

And it’s not the so-called expert’s fault, but it doesn’t matter, once a wall has been built, the wall is there. And, the last time I checked, a hungry, empathetic expert with a sledge hammer is slightly more intimidating than one with out.

By: grace

grace — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:41:43 +0000

Maybe it’s about never feeling like an expert even as you gradually become one, never forgetting the really painful early days in the classroom, and maintaining a continual sense of wonder that you do what you do– or perhaps this is just the more anxious version of the empathetic expert you describe.

By: Joe

Joe — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 02:13:19 +0000

Check out this body of literature:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_of_practice

By: Jenni Fuller

Jenni Fuller — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 01:45:55 +0000

Wouldn’t it be great if we had teachers who were truly experts, but didn’t go around acting all expert-y about their skills? Teachers who are still excited about their own & the students’ learning?

Maybe even teachers who don’t stand up & preach their bountiful knowledge . . . y’know, teachers who are “less helpful”?

That would be cool.