Creating the Expert Mind
By Peter W. Cookson, Jr.

Being a teacher is physically and emotionally demanding and we in the field are required to give our best every day. Having survived the first few weeks of school, I'm sure you have all kinds of questions about classroom organization, parents, school politics and the deeper purposes of education. You may have also discovered that you have to perform the vital task of giving direction to the lives of your students.

Grand masters
Often schools and classrooms are described as "communities of learning." But what does that really mean? Recently I was reading the August 2006 issue of Scientific American and ran across a very interesting article by Philip P. Ross entitled, "The Expert Mind." The article was primarily about how individuals become grand masters at chess. History has many examples of individuals who apparently were able to master the intricacies of chess at a level far beyond other very skillful chess players. I once saw Bobby Fisher, the American grand master, defeat several dozen opponents simultaneously. He would walk from table to table and make his move in what seemed like an instant, and in virtually every case it was the correct move. A famous grand master, José Raúl Capablanca of Cuba, regularly defeated multiple opponents such as Bobby Fisher did a half-century later. He once said, "I see only one move ahead, but it is always the correct one."

Scientists have been fascinated by this phenomenon for a long time. How does the expert mind develop? In his study, Ross suggests that it takes approximately 10 years of heavy work to master any field. New research indicates it is a more important factor in increasing the expert mind than innate ability. A 1999 study of professional soccer players suggests that they owe their success more to training than to talent. Intense motivation training can also explain the feats of famous child prodigies such as Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the American golfer Tiger Woods.

The pursuit of passion
What this research indicates is that there are far more child prodigies than we ever imagined. I regret to say that much of education seems to work against the development of the expert mind because our students seldom get the opportunity to concentrate deeply on academic and creative material. One of the reasons I believe many students are attracted to the computer is because it focuses their attention and gives them quick feedback. This leads me to wonder if we're approaching classroom organization in the best manner. Rather than have 30 students spending a set amount of time on identical or nearly identical material, it makes more sense to discover each student's passion and support the pursuit of that passion with a single-mindedness that we know leads to an expert mind.

Depth of understanding
Much of our curriculum is a mile wide and an inch deep. I suggest that you begin to experiment with a classroom organization where depth of understanding is a critical component to achievement. For instance, I've worked closely with teachers who develop an individual learning plan for each student in their class and pursue that plan throughout the year. It's been my experience that those classrooms that emphasize individual instruction outperform other classes with amazing regularity. Many commentators treat education as though it were a wholesale business; education is intensely personal and, following the analogy, is best when it's retailed rather than mass-produced. As you work with your students, try to imagine their individual genius and remember there is research evidence that experts are made, not born. Very often a student who is acting out is seeking attention or crying for help. When we find something he or she is truly good at, many of the symptoms associated with his or her disruptive behavior are either minimized or disappear.

Creating beautiful music
Returning to our original thoughts concerning your role as a teacher, for some
teachers their metaphor is the drill sergeant. Others see themselves as the classroom leader intent on making all the right organizational decisions. Other teachers see themselves as the biggest kid in the room, encouraging all the merry pranksters to have fun. Still other teachers see themselves as a funnel of information that is poured out on children's heads, whether they understand it or not. I am suggesting that another model of teaching is that of the symphony conductor. A conductor encourages each musician to be her or his very best in the context of creating beautiful music with the entire orchestra. Each musician is expert with his or her instrument, they know it in depth and through the experience of becoming expert, they understand music in a far deeper way than if they were general amateurs studying music theory.

A learning community requires each of us to become expert but also to become citizens, cooperating with each other for the good of the whole. I hope that in the coming months you will learn the joys of seeing your students become deep learners and see the light in their eyes when it finally "clicks" and they know they truly understand a concept, a skill, a fact or a value.

Peter W. Cookson, Jr. is the founder of TCinnovations and the Dean of the Graduate School of Education of Lewis & Clark College. He is also founder of the Center for Educational Outreach & Innovation at Teachers College at Columbia University.

November/December, 2006, Vol.37, No.3