Application of Theory to Research
Introduction
Recently, researchers have explored the theory 'from novice to expert' and they have applied it in the research. The theory applies to nursing informatics but today, the theoretical model is also applied in different settings. For example, the theory is applied in educational institutions to evaluate the students' know-how or the knowledge difference between novice and expert students. Researchers also use the theory to evaluate how supervisors within education settings develop academic competencies and promote expertise in supervision. The paper shows that novice and expert students and supervisors solve problems in complex institutions differently due to the difference in the level of self-awareness, confidence, ability, and background knowledge.
Article 1: Use of theory as a framework to support the research
Hansson et al. (2017) used the theory "from novice to expert" to examine how academic experts and novices' perceive their ignorance and knowledge of their education disciplines. For example, both novice and expert students study similar disciplines like history and physics. When it comes to knowledge assessment, novice students have less knowledge and more ignorance and experts use an objective and a subjective approach to report about the knowledge. In other towards, experts know more, and hence they are aware of what they do not know. Hansson et al. (2017) assert that experts and novices have a different perception of what they know and what they do not know in their field of study. The purpose of the study is to examine their different perceptions.
The participants were students in disciplines such as medicine and physics. Both were novices and experts. Participants (both novice and experts) were asked to conduct knowledge assessment and report what they think they know and what they do not know. The study shows that the experts reported a higher level of knowledge and novice reported a smaller knowledge area (Hansson et al. 2017).The researchers applied the theory in the study to support that experts have a self-awareness that they are experts. Note that experts have a great concept of knowledge and this indicates that they have a deep understanding of their disciplines. The author also applies the theory to show that in conducting knowledge assessment, novices' students have smaller knowledge areas merely because they have faced challenged and therefore they are far behind when it comes to reporting what they know (Hansson et al. 2017). On the other hand, experts report a higher level of knowledge simply because they have practical and theoretical experience within the field of study. The authors assert that a person will take almost 10 years to become an expert. In most cases, experts are people with a Ph.D. whereas Novices are undergraduate students. Note that when experts and novices are in the same field of study, it means that they have a different perception of how they view knowledge (Hansson et al. 2017). For example, the novice has passive expertise which is gained through every-day experience whereas experts have formative expertise which is gained through studying a certain field for many years. Thus, experts have a greater discipline' knowledge and so it is easier for them to see the gap in their knowledge.
Article 2: Use of theory as a framework to support the research
In the second application of the theory "from novice to expert" Bazrafkan et al (2019) assert that supervisors play a significant role in assisting students in their research project. Also, supervisors are expected to help students develop competencies such as team skills, specialist skill, and more. However, the article states that for supervisors to achieve their goal, they must have knowledge and experience (Bazrafkan et al, 2019). In this article, the purpose of the study is to examine the expertise development process. The findings show that supervisors can supervise students due to their accountability. Accountability means that supervisors are experts in identifying and meeting the needs of the students. Another point is that supervisors have self-efficacy which is derived from experiences, personal interest, and self-awareness (Bazrafkan et al, 2019).On the other hand, novice supervisors are unable to take effective supervision due to lack of time, structural shortcomings within the institution, changes in the education environment, increased workload, and lack of information and skills. These supervisors require incentive rules and regulations. They also require enough time for training and updating their knowledge (Bazrafkan et al, 2019). A point to note is that an expert supervisor can supervise students since they have the acquisition of competency. They can evaluate and observe students and they can solve problems. They are also able to apply multiple strategies such as interactive accountability, self-efficacy, self- evaluation, and more (Bazrafkan et al, 2019). On the other hand, novice supervisors are faced with changes such as inadequate time for self-improvement, organizational change, work overload, poorly structured rules, and more.
Conclusion
Irrefutably, the articles have applied the theory to research and have shown that expert students and supervisors in education settings have substantial knowledge and hence they can interpret information and better solve problems. Experts and novices in a variety of fields have different perceptions of knowledge. For example, experts have more accumulation of knowledge and novice have insufficient knowledge. Also, expert supervisors have a great supervisory power merely because of accumulating experience. On the other hand, novice supervisors have not acquired professional practices and they are in the process of developing patterns of practice. They depend on rules and procedures. They also experience barriers to knowledge development and therefore they are constantly challenged.
References
Bazrafkan, L., Yousefy, A., Amini, M., & Yamani, N. (2019). The journey of thesis supervisors
from novice to expert: a grounded theory study. BMC medical education, 19(1), 1-12.
Hansson, I., Buratti, S., & Allwood, C. M. (2017). Experts’ and novices’ perception of ignorance
and knowledge in different research disciplines and its relation to belief in certainty of
knowledge. Frontiers in psychology, 8, 377.
