Trust the Experts!

Blog #5- Chapters 6 & 7
Alex Pergolizzi

Vocabulary Vitalizer:

1. Expert: Willingham describes an expert as someone who has "a lot of background knowledge about their fields" (p. 131). Generally one becomes an expert after years of hard work an dedication to a field. It is not an over-night sensation and no one is born an expert.

2. Novice: A ranking below the "expert". A novice does not have the years of practice that an expert does. A novice is a person who is really just starting to develop their skills or "tools of the trade."


3. Ten-Year Rule: Not an actual rule but the theory that, "One can't become an expert in any field in less than ten years" (p. 139). The "rule" has been applied to many diverse fields. I remember meeting with an "expert" teacher last year and she told me "sometimes things just come with practice over a period of time."

4. Cognitive ability: "Capacity for or success in certain types of thought" (p. 149). Our abilities are how we understand content and from that show the level of what we know and what we can do.

5. Cognitive styles: "Biases or tendencies to think in a particular way" (p. 149). We are all comfortable learning a certain way, I learn through music and movements. Our style is how we prefer to learn and think. Willingham states that not one style is better than another, they are all equal.

Essence Extractor:

To be an expert takes time and practice, practice, practice!