BEYOND EXPERTISE - THEORY, PRACTICE AND THE REFLEXIVE PRACTITIONER

This paper reconsiders Benner's book From Novice to Expert, in which t he expert is portrayed as a reflective practitioner who works intuitiv ely, drawing almost unconsciously on a repertoire of context-specific paradigm cases. In the light of more recent writings on informal, prac tice-based theory, it is suggested that there is a sixth level beyond expertise which is characterized by mindful practice and informal theo ry building. At this level, the practitioner constructs informal theor y out of practice, applies that theory back into practice, and reflexi vely modifies the theory as a result of the changed clinical situation . Seen in this way, theory and practice are two parts of the same proc ess, and the theory-practice gap is closed.