Processing and using information about students: A study of expert, novice, and postulant teachers

Abstract

Expert and novice mathematics and science teachers, along with a group of postulant teachers (content matter experts from business with a desire to teach but with no pedagogical training) participated in a simulated teaching task. All subjects were given extensive information about a class they were asked to take over and then questioned about their plans for instruction, and their recall of information about students. Analysis of the protocols resulting from these queries yielded nine propositions about how expert, novice, and postulant teachers process and use information differently. The differences and similarities among the three groups of subjects in ability to perceive, remember, and solve problems related to teaching indicate how expert teachers resemble experts in other fields and provide insight into the unique aspects of expertise in pedagogy.