The development of expertise and its role in understanding teaching and learning difficulties

Students enter university with great diversity in the knowledge and skills underpinning their chosen field of study. Some come as complete novices, others have some experience and expertise in the knowledge domain. This can pose challenges for teachers and students in individual course units that aim to go beyond the establishment of foundational knowledge and skills, to the development of more complex knowledge, problem solving or critical analysis skills. For students with little expertise in the domain, the acquisition of such a broad range of knowledge and skills can be very demanding, and if the demands are too great, teaching and learning difficulties can ensue. This paper will discuss how theories of expertise and intellectual skill development can advance our understanding of the difficulties faced by students as they move from a novice to an expert in their field of study. A particular focus of the discussion will be a three-phased approach to the acquisition of intellectual skills in which each of the phases can be associated with the development of specific knowledge and skills, as well as different levels of learner expertise. By analysing teaching aims in relation to the phases of acquisition, and identifying the expected expertise of incoming students, insights can gained into learning needs and the challenges that students with different backgrounds could face. This approach can provide a learner-focussed perspective to the design of the curriculum, in particular, to the sequencing of knowledge and skill development and the design of supporting learning experiences, instructional tools and resources.