Conceptualizing an expert teacher’s expertise in a lesson design study in Shanghai

Abstract

This paper proposes a conceptualization of an expert teacher’s expertise by coordinating a subject-based behaviour/cognitive analysis and a social-culturally situated analysis. Data from our Lesson Design Study in Shanghai, China, included lesson plans, transcripts of the video-recorded lessons, and transcripts of commentary on the lessons by the expert teacher was analysed. This showed the attunements of the expert teacher to the affordances and constraints of the activity system. This conceptualization of the ‘dual nature’ of the expert teacher’s expertise contributes to a deep analysis of the unique and significant functions of the expert teacher in China.