This is the last post of a three part series about Daniel Coyle's book The Talent Code
A challenge for any coach, teacher, and certainly parent is
how to inspire motivation in children. How do you motivate a child to
know why things like practice, discipline, determination, etc. are
important? The answer to this can be elusive and different depending on the child.
We might be surprised however by what Daniel Coyle’s The
Talent Code informs about this.
Imagine the following: every action you undertake
repetitively and with concentration gets reinforced in your brain in a way that
makes it more likely to happen the exact same way at any later time we need to
do it again. That’s good right! Maybe not. The expression
“perfect practice makes perfect” reminds us that if we practice something
poorly then we are likely to reproduce it poorly, but Coyle offers another
premise that, on first glance, is confusing.
In order to achieve Coyle’s “deep practice” (the condition
where accelerated learning occurs) one has to make mistakes! This does
not seem to jive with “perfect practice makes perfect” unless you consider how
these two things go hand in hand, and it’s in this detail where greatness
in coaching and teaching are found.
Imagine the athlete or musician by himself, practicing one of his sport- or instrument-specific skills. Let’s say
chords for the musician, or free throw shooting for a basketball player.
Next, let's say both simply go through practice for the sake of
repetition. They each go through their routines 200 times without being
deeply engaged in their process. Some might call this "going through the motions" which means that their focus is not nearly as intense as it could be to scrutinize their actions.
Next imagine the athlete or musician whose intensity to examine the
minutia of every movement through each portion of his practice is maximal. Imagine
also that this student has so much self-awareness that when asked what any part
of his body was doing during the motion of practice he is able to describe with
exacting specificity and in sequence what his body movements were AND what
his thought process was.
The more intense student might make more mistakes than the
less intense and his result might even look worse, but as Coyle
explores the learning curve of students who are deeply intense about their practice, the ones who are deeply
engaged, who have a vision of a perfect repetition, and who recognize how their practice diverges from that exemplar reinforce greater accuracy in learning with
each repetition than the students who 'go through the motions.'
To be clear, what Coyle observed is that these students learn more from making mistakes and that IT IS THE MISTAKES that reinforce getting closer to the exemplar. The moral; learning to attack mistakes, by understanding why we make them, helps us grow past them so they aren't repeated.
I know what you, the adult, is thinking. This isn't rocket science, but in the mind of an 11 year old, mistakes are things to be avoided at all costs. They don't talk about them, they don't examine them, and they don't even want to think about them. And where does this come from? It can come from their internal stigma, it can come from teachers and parents, and it can come from peers. That's why culture is so important. The culture of an educational setting recognizes that all have to be consistent in creating a safe environment for risk taking and that fosters a "LOVE OF LEARNING."
To be clear, what Coyle observed is that these students learn more from making mistakes and that IT IS THE MISTAKES that reinforce getting closer to the exemplar. The moral; learning to attack mistakes, by understanding why we make them, helps us grow past them so they aren't repeated.
I know what you, the adult, is thinking. This isn't rocket science, but in the mind of an 11 year old, mistakes are things to be avoided at all costs. They don't talk about them, they don't examine them, and they don't even want to think about them. And where does this come from? It can come from their internal stigma, it can come from teachers and parents, and it can come from peers. That's why culture is so important. The culture of an educational setting recognizes that all have to be consistent in creating a safe environment for risk taking and that fosters a "LOVE OF LEARNING."
One of my favorite examples of this genius is from the old television sit-com "WKRP in Cincinnati." The episode is titled "Venus and the man." In the episode, one of the show's characters teaches a young man about the atom. He makes a bet with the young man that he can teach him the basics of the atom in 2 minutes and convinces him to stay in school rather than drop out. What's special about the teaching in this video is that it not only backs up its claim of teaching the atom, it reinforces for the students the importance of "LOVE OF LEARNING." It connects what is (for the student) something that is unimportant with the WHY of why it's important to know it. Great teaching recognizes this need for fertile ground.
The teacher, DJ Venus Flytrap, importantly knows the content of teaching the atom, but equally, and perhaps more importantly, he knows how to CONNECT the student to the importance of learning.
Of course, the student is also an important part of this equation. Any parent recognizes how frustrating it can be to want desperately to teach something to a child who has little interest to learn. This is why we speak so often about LOVE OF LEARNING as one of our character strengths.
'Deep practice' is a condition achieved when:
- the student has a vision of what is the exemplar,
- the student has a model of how the exemplar can be achieved,
- the student acts with determination, focus, and intensity that allows her to use mistakes as stepping stones toward getting closer to the exemplar,
- the student has an intrinsic love of learning that opens up a deep appreciation of self-scrutiny
In next week's post I'll connect this to Carol Dweck's Mindset and I think you'll see why Dweck makes the case that aiming for the exemplary effort is more important than achieving the exemplary result!
American Education Week - Wow - Thank you!
End of Week Notes
American Education Week - Wow - Thank you!
- Thank you to all of our parents who participated in our American Education Week celebration. We take pride in two things; critically reflecting on how we teach to continually improve and being transparent in showing our community how we do this!
- We appreciate your support in so many ways and we are so humbled to be able to work as education professionals in such a supportive community!
Congratulations to Fran Vincent - NYS Health Teacher of the Year
- BCMS' very own Fran Vincent, 8th grade Health teacher, was named NYS Health Teacher of the Year. Congratulations Ms. Vincent!
Congratulations to our NYSSMA All-State Musicians
- They will be performing this weekend in Saratoga - Congrats and good luck! BC Proud!
Congratulations to the BCMS History Bowl Team
- The history bowl BCMS team, competing against a group of High School teams in Princeton, NJ, came in 3rd place overall and qualified for the national competition. Outstanding effort by the team!
Turkey Trot Thank You
Thank you to our PE staff for organizing another successful Turkey Trot and to our 6th, 7th, 8th grade students who participated. Congratulations to all on a great effort!
Thank you to our PE staff for organizing another successful Turkey Trot and to our 6th, 7th, 8th grade students who participated. Congratulations to all on a great effort!
Picture Re-Takes are Tuesday, November 24th!
Next Week's special Events - Please check the Calendar Below for Fireworks, the Annual 5K race, and our school schedule
THE WEEK AHEAD!
Monday, November 23
- No Late Buses
Tuesday, November 24
- Picture Re-Takes on Auditorium Stage
- Late Buses
Wednesday, November 25
- School Closed - Offices Open
- Fireworks at MS (7:00 PM) (after Turkey Trot registration)
Thursday, November 26
- Thanksgiving - no school, buildings closed
- Turkey Trot (5K) BCMS
Friday, November 27
- Vacation Day - Offices Closed
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
