Problem Solving: Learning from Experts and Novices.

ABSTRACT One approach to the study of cognitive processes highlights the distinctions between expert and novice problem solvers. This approach attempts to discover how experts and novices differ in the way they organize, retain and use domain related knowledge. It appears to some that what is learned from expert-novice research can help teachers to teach problem solving more effectively to students. This paper discusses some of the results of a study involving experts and novices in the domain of elementary mechanics. Also included is a brief review of research that has characterized differences between expert and novices as well as some general implications for instruction. (CW)