Showing posts with label deliberate practice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label deliberate practice. Show all posts
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Saturday, October 30, 2010
More Deliberate Practice: New Research
Jonah Lehrer's excellent Wired blog,"The Frontal Cortex," reviews a recent study of deliberate practice and "how much deliberate practice can be replaced with periods of 'additional sensory stimulation,' or passive listening." Five extra points on the next regular quiz for posting (or emailing) a thoughtful response!
Friday, August 27, 2010
Focus, focus, FOCUS!
The ability to bring back a wandering attention over and over again is the very root of judgment, character, and will. An education that includes this ability would be education par excellence (adapted from William James).
Remember, it takes both you and me to make this education happen!
Remember, it takes both you and me to make this education happen!
Friday, July 9, 2010
Treat Your Mind as You Would a Private Garden
Possibly the best post ever from Study Hacks, this article tells you how to get in the zone in the first place.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
FAQ #1: "So, how do I make an A in this class?"
Here are some surprising examples from my classes last semester. Look at how far these students came!
• The student who made only Fs for her first quizzes and essays and who wrote the most ungrammatical, convoluted sentences I’d seen in years. She went to The Writing Center; she used the online exercises for the grammar textbook; she e-mailed me if she still didn’t get it. She learned to write clear, grammatical sentences; she excelled at organization and development of her essay.
• The student who read anything she could get her hands on. She began as a solid B, mainly because her grammar and usage weren’t perfect. She did the assigned exercises carefully and learned from them. She became the Peer Editor everyone in the class wanted for his/her peer editor. Her writing was outstanding in terms of content and clarity; she wrote with a distinct voice.
• The student who arrived in the United States for the first time only six weeks before class started. His early work earned Fs and Ds mainly because he was still thinking in his native language and translating; he had overwhelming English-as-a-Second-Language issues–his native language used a different alphabet from English, for one thing. He did as much work as Student #1. I would also see him, on quiz days, before class, reviewing and reviewing the assignment. When he was unsure of an assignment, he was too shy to ask in class, so he usually e-mailed me or asked for an appointment. He always prepared for the appointment with specific questions; he never wasted my time or his. (By the way, he worked 40+ hours weekly, often having to travel 50 miles each way to do so.)
• The student who made only Fs for her first quizzes and essays and who wrote the most ungrammatical, convoluted sentences I’d seen in years. She went to The Writing Center; she used the online exercises for the grammar textbook; she e-mailed me if she still didn’t get it. She learned to write clear, grammatical sentences; she excelled at organization and development of her essay.
• The student who read anything she could get her hands on. She began as a solid B, mainly because her grammar and usage weren’t perfect. She did the assigned exercises carefully and learned from them. She became the Peer Editor everyone in the class wanted for his/her peer editor. Her writing was outstanding in terms of content and clarity; she wrote with a distinct voice.
• The student who arrived in the United States for the first time only six weeks before class started. His early work earned Fs and Ds mainly because he was still thinking in his native language and translating; he had overwhelming English-as-a-Second-Language issues–his native language used a different alphabet from English, for one thing. He did as much work as Student #1. I would also see him, on quiz days, before class, reviewing and reviewing the assignment. When he was unsure of an assignment, he was too shy to ask in class, so he usually e-mailed me or asked for an appointment. He always prepared for the appointment with specific questions; he never wasted my time or his. (By the way, he worked 40+ hours weekly, often having to travel 50 miles each way to do so.)
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Deliberate Practice: How it can help you
How often do you watch a great athlete or musician you admire and think, "Of course he's great. He's a natural. Probably played that well at the age of three." You're right, but only partially so. Even the greatest in their fields share one habit in common: deliberate practice.
Deliberate practice is practicing with total concentration with a goal in mind. When Wayne Gretzky was a boy, his dad asked him what he was going to do that day. Gretzky said something like, "Go out on the ice and fool around." His dad said, "No, you're not. You're going to practice. Pick one shot and work on it."
That's when Gretzky started deliberately practicing–and never stopped. And that's what it can do for you. –And one more way to be like Gretzky: have fun doing something well.
An entertaining article on deliberate practice comes from Cal Newport at Study Hacks: "The Grandmaster in the Corner Office: What the Study of Chess Experts Teaches Us about Building a Remarkable Life."
This post will illuminate how deliberate practice relates to your writing: "Demystifying the Dissertation: What the Research Says." (Ignore the reference to "dissertations"; this is tremendously relevant to any studying, reading, writing, and editing.) Also, her "A Regular Writing Routine" offers suggestions to acquire regular writing habits.
My favorite is "Fake Rocks, Salamander Commanders, and Just Enough to Start," by the extraordinary and highly entertaining Merlin Mann. If you can't get yourself organized, see Mann's 43 Folders system, also on the site.
Deliberate practice is practicing with total concentration with a goal in mind. When Wayne Gretzky was a boy, his dad asked him what he was going to do that day. Gretzky said something like, "Go out on the ice and fool around." His dad said, "No, you're not. You're going to practice. Pick one shot and work on it."
That's when Gretzky started deliberately practicing–and never stopped. And that's what it can do for you. –And one more way to be like Gretzky: have fun doing something well.
An entertaining article on deliberate practice comes from Cal Newport at Study Hacks: "The Grandmaster in the Corner Office: What the Study of Chess Experts Teaches Us about Building a Remarkable Life."
This post will illuminate how deliberate practice relates to your writing: "Demystifying the Dissertation: What the Research Says." (Ignore the reference to "dissertations"; this is tremendously relevant to any studying, reading, writing, and editing.) Also, her "A Regular Writing Routine" offers suggestions to acquire regular writing habits.
My favorite is "Fake Rocks, Salamander Commanders, and Just Enough to Start," by the extraordinary and highly entertaining Merlin Mann. If you can't get yourself organized, see Mann's 43 Folders system, also on the site.
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