Research on Expertise: Guideposts for Expertise and Teacher Education in Physical Education

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to present guideposts for thinking about teaching and teacher education in light of the recent research on expertise in teaching in general and physical education in particular. The concept of expertise is critiqued, and the substitution of the term virtuoso is discussed as a more appropriate term to describe those who engage expertly with students in the teaching–learning process. Teachers who are virtuosos are described as not only having sophisticated content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge structures but also demonstrating a commitment to the social, political, and moral agendas of teaching physical education. Implications of this redefinition are presented for what it might mean to teach expertly and to prepare prospective teachers to do so. A critique of the efforts and limitations of current directions, methods, and findings of the expertise literature is presented. Implications for teacher education in terms of research and teaching are discussed.