Posted on September 1, 2011 by admin

“Practice puts your brains in your muscles.“ Sam Snead

If an activity requires an immediate automatic response, then a great deal of repetition and practice is typically necessary. However, the need for practice and its effectiveness for some skills can be highly individual. There are times when too much practice will adversely affect performance when it counts.

The questions are: “How much practice is necessary and sufficient to achieve the desired skill level?” and “When does practice defeat the intent of improving performance?”

We know that, given the choice between a new surgeon with limited practical experience or a surgeon with years of practice to hone essential surgical knowledge, skills and dexterity, we are much more likely to choose the seasoned surgeon.

However, we also know that an athlete who practices too much right before an event can deplete necessary physical resources and become too exhausted to perform well.

In this case, the adage: “Practice makes perfect” is not always accurate.

Certainly, it takes a lot of practice to achieve the physical dexterity that is required to master playing an instrument, participating in a sport, or performing activities that require hand-eye coordination. It also takes a lot of practice to know what to do in emergencies and how to handle safety issues.

In these cases, learning occurs by rote and repetitive conditioning. Intensive practice is needed until the movements and procedures are automatic and essentially hot wired into the brain. This way, when an occasion calls for action, it can be swift and instinctive. This is particularly necessary when it would be ill advised or even dangerous to take time to think through the situation before acting.

However, it is also true that some learning does not always benefit from memorization and repetitive practice. Sometimes, a little practice can accomplish or demonstrate the necessary mastery. Sometimes, too much practice can shut down the desire to learn. And sometimes, practice can get in the way of actual performance. For example:

1. Practice simply for the sake of practice.

Historically, there has been an assumption in elementary education that students should have a lot of practice, particularly with regard to reading, writing and mathematics.

It makes a lot of sense to have students practice saying the alphabet or doing the multiplication tables over and over again so that this knowledge becomes second nature.

However, it does not make sense to have students practice more than is essential to mastering or demonstrating mastery of a knowledge or skill. For example, when students are given assignments to complete 20 math problems when 5 or 8 would be sufficient.

In this case, practice simply for the sake of practice can result in student boredom, disinterest, and diminishing attention to detail. It is counterproductive to learning.

How much practice is really necessary?

2. Practice without conscious intention to learn.

We have either experienced ourselves or known others who had to practice an instrument and ended up hating to play that instrument. Being forced to practice a certain amount of time will be ineffective if the student is not focused on learning from that practice.

It is comparable to having a student write 100 times: “I will not throw spitballs at Judy (or Tommy).” Rather than reinforcing the desired moral understanding, the student simply looks for the easiest way to fulfill the assignment. That may be writing “I” on every line, then “will” on every line- breaking up the task and obliterating the meaning of the exercise.

“The more practice, the better” is not always true.

3. Practice to prepare to give a presentation.

It is common knowledge that people who give presentations increase their probability of comfort and success with the presentation if they practice it over and over again. For some people, that is completely true.

Their practice may take the form of giving a pilot presentation in front of friends or family, visualizing themselves giving the presentation, practicing in front of a mirror, or reading the presentation aloud. The repetitive practice helps them to correct possible errors and gain confidence.

However, for other people, practice can be self-defeating. If they practice a presentation, when it comes time to actually give the presentation they lose spontaneity, sound rehearsed, or get confused (thinking they have said something they haven’t yet said).

If you have ever given the same presentation on the same or consecutive days, you know what can happen. You lose track of what you have said to the current audience, because you have so recently said it to previous audiences.

Practice does not always improve the quality of performance.

This is not to say that practice is a bad idea. As previously discussed, there are certain knowledge, skills and physical dexterity that require considerable practice to achieve rote memorization. The point is that practice does not always make perfect in every situation. For some skills, the amount of practice and its effectiveness may be highly individual.

May your learning be sweet.

Deborah

Tip #364: How to Facilitate Learning Activities

Posted on February 28, 2011 by admin

“Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice.” Herber J. Grant

In response to last week’s Tip on How to Close a Training Session on a High Note, Tom Jackson, Training Team Lead, Division of Strategic National Stockpile, Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, offered this great closing activity.

“I thought I’d share a closing activity that one of my old employees showed me and I’ve used quite effectively. I am always amazed at how much energy it creates for my wrap up. It may not work too well with large audiences, but for 10 – 50 folks, it seems to do just fine.

Here’s a wrap up activity that I think is pretty cool…I write the alphabet on a few flip chart sheets (takes 3 – 4) and at the end of the class, the participants have to give me something that they learned using the letters of the alphabet…for example…A – we learned about antibiotics, B – we learned about biological agents, etc.

For some of the more difficult letters, you can lightly pencil in a suggestion (they won’t be able to see it, but it helps things go quickly). I do however change the alphabet a little and place “X” as the last letter and I tell them that one’s for me…At the end we come to “X” and I write “eXpectations” and I point to the flip chart sheet that listed their expectations we opened the course with. I read the expectations and ask them if we covered them…when we get to the last “yes”, I finish with, “Together we met all of our expectations. We did a good job, so let’s give ourselves a round of applause.”

You’d be surprised how much energy people get from that little activity and it is a great finish. Then you hand out certificates at the back of the room as people leave. Shake their hand and thank them for coming.”

What a wonderfully creative and easy way to end a program with an energetic recap of the key learning. Thanks, Tom!

Today’s Tip focuses on how to facilitate learning activities.

Facilitating learning activities involves more than simply giving the learners directions for an assignment. In order for the learning experience to be effective, the learners need to: (1) see a completed worked example, (2) practice completing partially worked examples, and then (3) work either independently or in small groups to complete a third example.

If a trainer attempts to facilitate a learning activity by handing it off to the learners without modeling what they are expected to do, one of two results will occur. The more likely result is that the learners will interpret the assignment with varying degrees of accuracy and end up working through the activity incorrectly. The less likely result is that the learners will miraculously intuit what the trainer wants and perform the activity correctly.

In the former case, the learners will be frustrated, the training time will be wasted, and the trainer will have to correct the situation by providing the demonstration of the desired process that should have been given at the very beginning. In the latter case, the learners will not endear themselves to the other learners who floundered in the activity.

Cognitive load research has shown that effective learning occurs more easily when there is a clear progression. The first step in learning begins with the review of a completed worked example. This gives the learners a model of the expected process or outcome.

The next step in learning has the learners practice completing partially worked examples. In one practice example, the first part of the problem might already be completed so that they need to complete the last part of the problem. In another practice example, the last part of the problem might already be completed so that they need to complete the first part of the problem. Once they have mastered how to complete each part of the problem, they are ready for the last step.

In the third step in learning, the learners work independent of trainer guidance or input to actively complete an entire problem on their own. At this point, they have the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to successfully apply what they have learned.

A key adult learning principle is that the trainer should become increasingly less involved in the learning process (fading) so that the learner will perform the learned skill or process with increasing independence. This three-step learning process produces this desired adult learning outcome.

May your learning be sweet.

Deborah

Tip #362: How to Build Learners’ Confidence in Their Own Competence

Posted on February 14, 2011 by admin

“One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.” Arthur Ashe

If learners lack confidence in their mastery of new learning when they leave the classroom, they are much less likely to apply this new learning back at their work site. As a result, the prime mission of every trainer should be to build the learners’ confidence in their own competence.

There are three closely related approaches that a trainer can take to accomplish this. Together, all three approaches will ensure that the learners have the preparation they need.

First, plan for the learners to demonstrate their learning in the classroom.

When designing the curriculum, the learning objectives should identify what the learners will do both to learn and to validate their learning during the learning session.

For example, the learning objectives for a program on coaching might include that the participants will: explain how to prepare to conduct a coaching session, discuss how to script the coaching conversation, outline the steps involved in conducting the coaching conversation, and prepare, script and conduct a coaching session.

The learning objectives for a program on sexual harassment might include that the participants will: describe examples of sexual harassment, and outline what to do in different situations that result in sexual harassment.

Second, ensure that the learners are able to get immediate feedback regarding their mastery of the new learning.

By definition, participatory learning activities enable learners to practice and, at the same time, assess their ability to use new learning.

For example, learners can check their level of comprehension by responding to a questionnaire, quiz, or case study, completing a writing assignment or giving a short report or presentation on the topic.

They can test their ability to apply the new learning by using it in a hands on exercise, problem solving activity, simulation or role-play.

Third, provide practice opportunities for learners that require them to assume increasing responsibility for their learning.

Brain studies have found that learners need three examples or iterations to learn new skills or concepts. Therefore, ideally they should have at least three practice sessions.

In the first practice session, the trainer can walk the entire group of learners through a new process or procedure. In the second practice session, the learners can work in small groups so that they can support each other. They still have access to the trainer if they have any questions. In the third practice session, the learners should work independently or, if that is not practical, then in pairs or triads.

The learners’ reliance on the trainer will be gradually decreased as the learners’ confidence in their own competence increases. By the time of this third practice session, the learners should be sufficiently prepared to perform without the assistance of the trainer

Planning for learners to demonstrate their learning in the classroom, using learning activities that provide immediate feedback regarding learner mastery, and providing for practice that gradually increases learner responsibility and independence will help to build the learners’ confidence in their own competence.

May your learning be sweet.

Deborah

Category Archives: practice

Tip #390: Practice Does NOT Always Make Perfect

Tip #364: How to Facilitate Learning Activities

Tip #362: How to Build Learners’ Confidence in Their Own Competence