Learning for professional expertise: Towards new ways of conceptualising conceptual change

Abstract

Fast changes in scientific evidence, digital tools and other reconfigurations in professional knowledge work make issues of conceptual change in professional expertise critical. In this commentary, I argue that bringing conceptual change research into the domain of professional expertise is a practically important but conceptually challenging task. It can unlikely be achieved without significant theoretical and methodological advancement of current conceptualisations of conceptual change. Building on the contributions to this special issue, I make two suggestions. First, conceptual change research should be aligned with the change challenges that experts encounter in today’s world. Second, this research should take into account the inherent role of experts’ conceptual knowledge to support their actions.