Abstract
This contribution focuses on the role of intuition for teaching expertise in the field of adult education. Theories of expertise convincingly explain the capability to solve known problems but have less explanatory power for the capability of coping with new situations as they often occur in the field of adult education. Intuition can be seen as the crucial component of teaching expertise which enables people to master unknown problems. This article focuses on the psychological and educational aspects of intuitive decisions. From this perspective, a theoretical model is outlined for intuitive cognitions and their impact. Additionally, this contribution presents findings from an empirical study with German teaching novices and experts in the field of adult education.