Stability and change in teachers expertise

Teacher expertise research has focused on differences between experts and novices
generally assuming that characteristics of both groups are stable across classroom situations. This assumption was examined in a study of the implementation of cooperative learning in nine heterogeneous classes by teachers who were inexperienced in the use of cooperative learning and who varied on instructional expertise and subject-matter proficiency. Results suggest that thebehavior of many experts resembles that of novices when the former confront unfamiliar pedagogical situations. Finally, restoration of expertise is not always accomplished with ease. EiIMlly, subject matter proficiency contributes to, but is not the sole determinant of, expert teacher performance in novel situations.