The presenter describes three elements critical to developing expertise based on case studies of four EFL instructors at Japanese universities. The findings supported previous studies of expertise, which claimed that reflection and problem solving are essential to teacher development, but also indicated the importance of contextual factors for fostering expertise.
Understanding what entails expertise in L2 teaching is essential to understanding how to best facilitate effective classroom practices and teacher development (Farrell, 2013; Richards, 2010). One of the most important aspects of expertise is a distinction between experts and experienced nonexperts (Berliner, 1986; Johnson, 2005; Tsui, 2003). The distinction between these two types of teachers highlights the importance of examining the developmental processes of expertise. Therefore, the presenter examined EFL teachers at Japanese universities in case studies to understand how expertise develops. Four participants were selected using criteria based on previous expertise research in general education, which include years of experience, qualifications, and recommendations. Data collection included 50 hours of classroom observations, eight hours of student focus groups from the observed classes, and a collection of artifacts, such as course syllabi and handouts. Over 30 hours of interviews were conducted with the focal participants. Data analysis involved both inductive and deductive approaches. In addition, within-case and across-case analysis was conducted. The presenter will describe three critical elements of these teachers’ developmental processes. First, the teachers engaged in the process of reflection on action. Their ability to reflect on issues from multiple perspectives matched a description of reflective practitioners reported by Schön (1983). Second, they engaged in what Bereiter and Scardamalia (1993) called progressive problem solving, in which the participants continued to challenge themselves with higher order problems, facilitating them to tackle challenges that were beyond their competence. In the final stage, these teachers gained new knowledge by negotiating between preexisting perspectives and new perspectives and put their newly established knowledge into action. Finally, the presenter will discuss contextual factors, such as curricula which affected their development. The presentation will conclude with practical implications for teachers, teacher educators, and administrators to further the development of teaching expertise in L2 education.
