1. Introduction
:
LEARNING
OF
EXPERTIS
E
Pirkko Hyvönen, pirkko.hyvonen@oulu.fi
Post-doc researher
KTK/ LET, Oulun yliopisto

2. 30.9.2013 pirkko.hyvonen@oulu.fi 2
EXPERT AND
EXPERTISE
Who is an expert? Why
do you think so? What
is her/his domain?
How experts think and
perform?
How to become an
expert?
What is your
expertise? Where are
you in your expertise?

3. BACKGROUND
 Universities are expected to
educate experts, who are
competent to excel in
changing and complex
circumstances in work life,
but education does not
provide competencies for
it. (Hyvönen, Impiö, Järvelä,
2010).
 ”Normal” learning does not
provide expertise, but can
lead to ”good enough”
or ”satisfying” level
(Bereiter & Scardamalia,
1993).
Formal education produces the users of
experts, but not experts! (Geisler, 1994).
Formal education does not nesessarily
produce experts, rather experienced non-
experts (Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1993).

4. STEREOTYPES related to EXPERTISE
Gender
Age
Education
Objective truth
(Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1993)
Expertise is more than general intelligence: ”Capasity to
perform consistently at a superior level” (Weisberg, 2006)

5. LET AIMS TO EDUCATE EXPERTS IN LEARNING AND EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY.
The students will be competent to work in schools and work places and use their
expertise in adapting to changing situations, solving problems, creating social
innovations and integrating technologies in practices. They know how people learn
and behave in various contexts.

6. DEFINITIONS IN DICTIONARIES 1968-
2011
1968: One who is very skillful and well-
informed in some special field (Webster)
2005: Characteristics , skills and knowledge
that distinguishes experts from novices and
less experienced people (Wikipedia)
2011: person, who in certain domain can
recognise problems and solve them
efficiently. Expertise includes knowledge,
experiences and skills for expressing.
(Wikipedia)
1) How experts think; how do they
perform? Why?
2) How to learn to be an expert?
3) What is expertise in my field/ in my
competence?

7. LEARNING EXPERTISE IS A PATH OR
JOURNEY OF COMPETENCE BUILDING
including also regressions (Alexander, 2003; Bereiter
& Scardamalia, 1986; Lajoie, 2003)
Learning expertise comprices of three overlapping
dimensions:
 knowledge construction (Bransford et al,
2000; Sawyer, 2006)
 expert-like performance (eg., Bereiter &
Scardamalia, 1993; Tynjälä, 2007)
 self-regulation (Boekaerts, Pintrich &
Zeidner, 2000; Lin, Schwarz & Hatano, 2005)
 It is a transitional learning process where goals are
set, monitored, reflected and scaffolded (Lajoie,
2003)

8. DOMAIN-SPECIFIC EXPERTISE
- Informal and formal domains
Salomon (1997). Wine expertise
Norman et al. (2006). Medicine and
surgery
Durco & Dattel (2006). Transportation
Sonentag et al. (2006). Software design
Kellogg (2006). Professional writing
Ross et al. (2006). Decision making
Lehman & Gruber (2006). Music
Hodges et al. (2006). Sports
Butterworth (2006). Mathematics
Cobet & Charness (2006). Chess
Voss & Wiley (2006). History
Brennenkmeyer & Spillane (2008).
Problem-solving

9. GENERATING THE BEST
- Find the best solution
DETECTION and
RECOGNITION
- Detect and perceive
features that novices
cannot
QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS
-Analyse problems,
develope problem
representations
EXPERTS can EXCELL (Chi, 2006)
MONITORING & REFLECTING
- Have good self-monitoring
and predicting skills
STRATEGIES
- Use the best and effective
strategies in a given situation
OPPORTUNISTIC
- Can use whatever sources
of information that are
available
COGNITIVE EFFORT
Can retrieve relevant domain
knowledge

10. DOMAIN-LIMITED
- Have not necessarily
knowledge about other
domains
OVERTLY CONFIDENT
- eg. in music and physics
GLOSSING OVER
- Sometimes they overlook
details
CONTEXT-DEPENDENT WITHIN
A DOMAIN
- Sometimes they rely too much
for contextual cues
EXPERTS may FALL SHORT (Chi, 2006)
INFLEXIBLE
INACCURATE PREDICTION,
JUDGMENT AND ADVICE
- Cannot always take the
perspectives of novices
BIAS AND FUNCTIONAL
FIXEDNESS
- Analyse problems in other
domain through the
priciples of their own
domain

11. HOW TO LEARN TO BE AN EXPERT?
Bransford, 2001; Brophy, Hodge, & Bransford, 2004; Crawford, 2007; Hatano & Inagagi, 1986
1. Help students understand their
own processes of knowing and
problem-solving! (Collaborative
problems-solving method and
expert profiles)
1. Help novices to expand
knowledge and
understanding in the areas
of their interests (Islands of
expertise)

12. ISLANDS OF EXPERTISE
Help novices to expand
knowledge and understanding
in the areas of their interests
30.9.2013 12© pirkko.hyvonen@oulu.fi

13. ISLANDS OF EXPERTISE
(Crowley & Jacobs, 2002; Palmquist & Crowley, 2007)
• Children and adult novices can develope knowledge
constructions and deep understanding of phenomena, which
they are personally and deeply interested in, and they are
motivated to learn more (Chi & Koeske, 1983,).
Where people find problems that lead to interest; where the
interest comes from; what is the first touch towards area of
interest? How interests starts, developes and grows? How does
it maintain? Do it transform?
(Anke Grotlüschen, University of Hamburg)

14. – Child & parent/adult; novice
& expert
• Domain approach to cognition
applied to social interactions. It
recognizes and requires that
environmental inputs are
matched to child/novices
capacities and expectations.
(Gelman, 2010)
• Affective and cognitive support
is needed (ChanLi & Chan,
2007).

15. ”BUILDING” AN ISLAND (knowledge construction)
”working theories”
 Building is seen as social and cognitive process, where learning
habits are practiced and developed.
 Island is woven throughtout multiple activities, hence
it is essential to be occupied in many ways (negotiating, activities, reading,
teaching, problem-solving, memorising etc.) with the phenomen, learn in
activity, particularly in conversations.
 Abstract and general themes
 Building may continue for weeks, months or years
 Generally building takes place in informal settings, like in home,
museums etc.
© Pirkko Hyvönen

16. YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THE ISLAND! (learning is
social)
 Construct knowledge and deepen your understanding with other
people by negotiations, explanations and problem-solving situations
in everyday practices.
 Long series of collaborative interactions with peers and experts that
seems to be relatively unmarcable when viewed individually, but
they collectively create a strong linkage between understanding and
interest.
 Other people support you in maintaining the interest.
© Pirkko Hyvönen

17. ISLANDS WILL FORM AN
ARCHIPELAGO! (Conceptual
construction)
 Through various activities individuals
can develop larger epistemic frames,
which will support the connections
between earlier knowledge and new
domains (Shaffer, 2006)

18. 18
COOKING
COUNTRIES, CONTINENTSVEHICLES
TRAINS
AN EXAMPLE OF ISLANDS5-year child:
vocabulary,
declarative
knowledge,
schemas, memories
are numerous, well-
organised, and
flexible.
Their shared
knowledge,
conversational
space, allow their
talk to move on
deeper levels than
is typically
possible if the boy
were a novice.
30.9.2013 pirkko.hyvonen@oulu.fi
Understanding can be
transfered to other
situations and
domains.

19. Religion
Healt sciences
Finnish
language
English
Biologie
Statistics
Health
sciences
Chemistry
Educational
sciences,
Learning
Common ground
English
Economics
Philosophi
e
Media
sciences
Cultural
anthropology
Communicati
on
Physiotherapy
ARCHIPELAGO OF A ONE GROUP
psykologia
30.9.2013 pirkko.hyvonen@oulu.fi 19

20. 30.9.2013 pirkko.hyvonen@oulu.fi 20
TASK
Where people find problems that lead to interest; where the
interest comes from; what is the first touch towards area of
interest? How interests starts, developes and grows? How does
it maintain? Do it transform?
Discuss in small groups about your islands and how have they
evolved. During the discussion draw your islands (archipelago)
and write down your thoughts. Complete the texts / pictures in
your blog, dl is 4.10.
1) What is the origin of the interest/s?
2) How did the interest maintain? How did it transfom?

21. REFERENCES
Chi, M.T.H. & Koeske, R. (1983). Network representation of a child’s
dinosaur knowledge. Developmental Psychology, 19, 29–39.
Crowley, K., & Jacobs, M. (2002). Building islands of expertise in
everyday family activities. In G. Leinhardt, K. Crowley, & K Knutson
(Eds.), Learning conversations in museums (pp. 401–423). Mahwah,
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Gelman, S.A. (2010). Modules, theories, or islands of expertise?
Domain specifity in socialization. Child Development, 81(3), 715–
719.
Palmquist, S. D. & Crowley, K. (2007). Studying dinosaur learning on
an island of expertise. In R. Goldman, R. Pea, B. Barron, & S. Derry
(Eds.), Video research in the learning sciences (pp. 271–286).
Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Shaffer, D.W. (2006). Epistemic frames for epistemic games.
Computers & Education, 46, 223–234.30.9.2013 pirkko.hyvonen@oulu.fi 21

22. References
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