The author reviews research indicating that discipline specialists and novices acquire knowledge differently. He argues that teaching professionals need to help students learn how to learn within general knowledge domains. The developmental/sociocultural perspectives of Vygotsky, Bakhtin, Luria, and others, which emphasize the inter/intrapersonal, sociocultural character of learning and the spiraling nature of learning through a "zone of proximal development," serve as a useful guide for assisting postsecondary teaching professionals in attempting to move students from performance to competence. (Contains 2 figures.)