Triple-I course teaches first-years expertise
Led by two professors and a coach, The Art and Science of Expertise shows students how to merge their passion with science.
Expertise is an emerging discipline which studies how individuals realize their full potential. Gaining that expertise, though, is more complicated than simply spending a significant amount of time doing or learning something. There are actual mechanisms — art and science — that go into the development of expertise in any field.
A new Triple-I – ideas, information and inquiry – course reserved for first-year students provides the theory and practice, art and science to help them achieve their goals through expertise.
IDST 125: The Art and Science of Expertise is co-taught by UNC School of Education professor Jeff Greene, sport administration professor Erianne Weight and UNC women’s soccer coach Anson Dorrance.
The class “gives them the knowledge and tools they need to figure out how to pursue expertise in something in a really specific and targeted way,” said Greene, a leading researcher in educational psychology and learning science. “What we are teaching helps students pursue whatever it is that they’re passionate about. I think that’s important. It gives students autonomy and agency.”
The lessons of IDST 125 help students realize the goals of UNC-Chapel Hill’s IDEAs in Action curriculum to strengthen their ability to think critically, work collaboratively and communicate persuasively.
“It’s amazing, and humbling, to hear from students about how this course helped them improve their performance on the athletic field, in the classroom, in entrepreneurial ventures and even in competitive dance,” Greene said.
Busting the 10,000-hour myth
One thing to know about expertise is that the rule popularized by author Malcolm Gladwell in his book “Outliers” – that someone needs to practice a skill for at least 10,000 hours to become an expert in it – is widely misunderstood. A good deal of time does go into becoming expert, but it’s the deliberate practice that makes the difference.
That’s where understanding how to perform at the highest levels and lessons from a career of enabling the success of world-class athletes converge. Many, if not all, of the concepts talked about in the class are already incorporated in some way in athletic programs, including ones at Carolina. In class, the three instructors are also coaches, guiding students along a process or processes of development.
“You need coaches or loving critics or people that you respect to help accelerate the process so you can get there as fast as possible,” said Dorrance, who has led Carolina’s women’s soccer team to 22 national championships. “Throughout the course of the semester, what these students are learning is how to get to work instead of giving up on a dream.”
Growing expertise in expertise
Looking to the future, the trio is writing an invited article for the Cambridge Handbook on Expertise, surveying all the expertise experts out there and asking them how they think a class like IDST 125 could become a curriculum.
“A course like this is an important overview of the field. We’d love to be able to scaffold a full curriculum with more specific in-depth courses in performance psychology, data analytics, group dynamics, performance physiology, communication, and innovation where students can merge their passion with science,” Weight said.
Even though this is only their second year teaching the course, the three hope the class can create new opportunities for students at Carolina and beyond. “It’s a really rewarding class to teach. Whether one of our students is an athlete, entrepreneur, musician or scientist, it’s really fun to watch them learn how to accelerate their development and apply it to their lives,” Greene said.
