I'm not convinced by this closet analogy for subject matter experts. Domain experts tend to have fully integrated, very differentiated and subjective ways to think about what they do.

It's not like a pile either but I think more like a network of associations, a mesh. When you hear chess grandmasters talk, they don't go by "the rook is worth 5 and the knight is worth 3 points" or some neat system, they trust on intuition that often brings together particular positions, old games, calculation and so on. Just like an expert programmer doesn't sit there with her copy of the Gang of Four in hand.

Experts often don't really think as much as they simply do, and they're process oriented. Which I think is also more important to teach.