בין ניסיון למומחיות: מורה מומחה – מה הוא אומר?

In March 2008 an agreement was signed between the Israel Teachers Union and the government to inaugurate an educational reform package called Ofek Hadash (New Horizon). The purpose of the program was to institute educational and professional changes in elementary and junior high schools in Israel. Among other points, the agreement de fined levels of professional advancement for teachers, establishing a scale from 1 to 9; levels 7 to 9 were de fined as "expert level". Teachers who wished to reach the rank of expert were required to take special courses. This article presents one aspect of a broader study focusing on the perceptions of teachers (who attended courses for the higher rankings) regarding their expertise in teaching. Based on the findings from this and other studies, along with the accepted de finitions of researchers in education, I have formulated nine qualities that distinguish between an expert teacher and an experienced teacher. Teachers in the study described in this article related to only five of these. It should be noted that they saw experience in teaching as a wideranging concept, in contrast with the efforts of education researchers to break it ,down into specific factors, namely, accumulated knowledge, personal theories .and practical insights

It would appear that teachers' perception of expertise in teaching is primarily intuitive, and that they lack awareness of certain aspects of the concept. As a result, they do not draw a precise distinction between a longtime, experienced teacher and an expert teacher. Identifying and modeling the full range of components that make up expertise in teaching can enable teachers to de fine the concept for themselves, display respect for their experience as teachers, which they see as the most signi ficant aspect of their expertise, and help build a path .toward personal progress