ABSTRACT
Within the Model of Domain Learning (MDL), knowledge and knowing serve as central driving forces in learners’ progression toward greater proficiency within a domain. Herein, we draw on the extensive philosophical and psychological literatures exploring the construct of knowledge and the process of knowing as a way of exploring the role of these constructs within the MDL. As part of this endeavor, we systematically examine how researchers have defined subject-matter, domain, and topic knowledge in the extant literature published between 1988 and 2016. This charting highlights not only the definitions of these important constructs but also trends in the nature of how these terms have been operationalized in research over time. Specifically, we review the various kinds of knowledge that have been studied, how that knowledge was measured, and the major findings pertaining to knowledge emanating from the mounting body of empirical research undergirded by the MDL. To conclude, we forward several considerations for future research that would further extend understandings of knowledge and the process of knowing as well as the ways in which learners can be better propelled from acclimation toward expertise.
