Making expertise visible: Using semantic waves to strengthen curriculum and lesson design
Written by: Bethany Howes
8 min read
BETHANY HOWES (NÉE TAYLOR), SUBJECT DEVELOPMENT LEAD (SCIENCE), TEACH FIRST, UK
Look at the conversation in Figure 1. Who is the expert and who is the novice? How can we tell and how can novices develop expertise? These questions shaped my master’s research and continue to inform my work as a teacher, curriculum leader and teacher educator. This perspective article summarises insights from my dissertation and explores how they have influenced my practice and approach to lesson and curriculum design, offering ideas for fellow educators to consider in their own planning.
Figure 1: A conversation between two people about cilia
Novice versus expert: What is the difference?
Research reveals that novices and experts think in qualitatively different ways. Experts possess vast, interconnected knowledge bases, enabling them to recognise patterns, solve problems and apply knowledge flexibly (Kalyuga et al., 2003; Persky and Robinson, 2017). Novices, by contrast, rely on isolated fact
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