This monthly column shares a small idea or low-stakes practice that everyone can try out whether in a classroom setting or other learning context. Remember that all current Academy members have free access to the e-Faculty Guidebook through the Member’s site!
Strategy: Using an Expert Profile
FROM: 2.4.3 Development and Use of an Expert Profile
An expert profile gives a concise, vivid synthesis of behaviors demonstrated by experts in a particular field. Expert profiles should be meaningful to a general audience as well as to professional practitioners, providing a basis for understanding the special characteristics exemplified by experts in the field.
No matter what stage of development an individual is in, expert profiles raise the bar on one’s performance. They inspire novices to accept the challenge of purposefully elevating personal skills. They help teachers prioritize, communicate, and facilitate learning outcomes that are aligned with long-term behaviors within the profession/discipline. They remind even the most talented professionals that there are multiple dimensions of professional practice and that ongoing personal development in all dimensions is needed to stay abreast of new knowledge, technology, and ever-increasing societal challenges. Expert profiles, therefore, can be a unifying force in a community of practice, encouraging all members (learners, teachers, and practitioners) to engage in dialogue about their profession/discipline and to walk the talk of continuous self-improvement toward a common ideal.
(This can be a challenge in introduction and general education courses but also allows for faculty teaching such courses to share on behalf of their discipline. This can serve purposes in addition to those listed above: It can help students appreciate the expertise not only of their instructor but figures of interest in the course, others in the field, and even the course itself as part of a larger discipline.)