Practice

Practice is an activity designed to enhance performance. Practice goes beyond repetition—it’s about refining performance, pushing boundaries, and achieving mastery. Mere experience isn’t practice. Effective practice involves a task, specific conditions, and a defined standard.

Practice = Tast + Conditions + Standard

Pattern Ingredients

• A defined task
• An established standard of achievementA module that has been purposefully designed to enable reuse  in different courses across the college and/or organization. More

When To Use

• A learner needs to perform a task the “right way” to an established standard of achievementA module that has been purposefully designed to enable reuse  in different courses across the college and/or organization. More.

Is Practice the Right Approach?

1. Are there specific, measurable performance standards or benchmarks for the skills or competencies being taught in your course·       One self-contained portion of a program ·       Assigned 1-4 Competency Units ·       Contains on average 2-4 competencies. More? (For example, industry standards, professional certifications, or widely accepted best practices)
2. Can the desired skills or competencies be broken down into distinct, teachable steps or components, allowing for focused practice and feedback on each step?
3. Does the subject matter require learners to demonstrate consistent proficiency or mastery in performing a particular skillA word or short phrase that communicates discrete, discernable value that an individual can acquire or demonstrate. A skill describes the foundational applied capabilities and/or behaviors of an individual for a given task, occupation, or need. A skills report is generated by skills architect. Skills are then analyzed and grouped by category by S.A. and the EPD. More or competencyA measurable, assessable capability of an individual that integrates knowledge, skills, abilities, and dispositions required to successfully perform tasks at a determined level in a defined setting. A single or set of verified competencies with a defined market value that prepares the learner for a specific professional or academic skill or task. Competency badges are typically offered as part of More?
4. Are there readily available resources, tools, or scenarios (e.g., case studies, real-life situations, or simulations) that allow learners to practice the skills or competencies in a controlled and structured environment?
5. Is it possible to design objective assessments or evaluations that effectively measure learners’ progress and proficiency in the skills or competencies being taught, providing them with clear feedback for improvement?

Let’s explore SRD’s different approaches to practice:

1. Deliberate Practice: Keep learners in their Zone of Proximal Development with targeted tasks and immediate feedback. Concentration and motivation are critical.
2. Retrieval Practice: Challenge learners to recall information from memory, boosting retention and understanding.
3. Spaced Repetition: Review material over increasing intervals to solidify learning in long-term memory.
4. Interleaved Practice: Mix tasks and topics in a single session, enhancing adaptability and comprehension.
5. Transfer Practice: Apply knowledge across diverse contexts, fostering real-world adaptability.
6. Katas: Perfect skills through practiced sequences, enhancing muscle memory and technical prowess.