Who Subject Specialists Are and Why to Ask Them
Who Subject Specialists Are and Why to Ask Them
Who they are
- The most commonly used source of objectives.
- Often textbook writers who plan courses and propose objectives.
The criticism
- The objectives they propose can be too technical, too specialized, and inappropriate for most learners.
Two questions that keep them useful
- What can your subject contribute to learners who will not specialize in your field?
- What can your subject contribute to the layman or general public?
The third source of objectives is the subject specialist: the person who knows a field deeply. They are, in fact, the most commonly used source of objectives, which makes how a developer handles them especially important. Used well, they are invaluable; used carelessly, they pull a curriculum toward content only future specialists would need.
Who they are and the criticism they draw
Subject specialists are often the textbook writers of a field. They share their reflections actively and openly, plan courses of study for schools, and propose the objectives schools should attain. Because they are so available and so willing, they have become the default source many developers reach for first.
But they draw a sharp and fair criticism. The objectives specialists propose are often too technical, too specialized, and inappropriate for a large number of learners. A specialist naturally thinks about producing more specialists in their field. Left unchecked, that produces a curriculum that suits the few who will go deep and fails the many who will not.
Experts in a field, often textbook writers who plan courses and propose objectives
They share their reflections openly and are readily available, so developers reach for them first. The risk is that their objectives can be too technical for most learners.
The two questions that keep specialists useful
The fix is not to ignore specialists but to ask them the right questions. Two questions turn a specialist’s expertise toward the needs of ordinary learners:
- What can your subject contribute to the education of young learners who are not going to be specialists in your field?
- What can your subject contribute to the layman, or the general public?
Answering these assures that the specialist’s contribution stays useful. The questions work because of what specialists actually have to offer. They possess considerable knowledge of a specialized field, and they have had the chance to experience what the field has done for them and for the people they have worked for. That knowledge and experience let them suggest objectives, in terms of the discipline’s content and skills, that will genuinely help learners, as long as the questions point that expertise at non-specialists.
What can your subject offer non-specialist learners, and what can it offer the general public?
These questions turn a specialist’s deep knowledge toward ordinary learners. They work because specialists have the knowledge and experience to answer them well once aimed the right way.
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