Deliberate Practice

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Why it works

Research on expertise (Ericsson and others) distinguishes deliberate practice from ordinary repetition: deliberate practice targets specific weaknesses just beyond current ability, is effortful and focused (not comfortable or automatic), includes immediate feedback, and involves constant adjustment based on that feedback. Simply repeating what one can already do, or practicing without focus and feedback, produces little improvement. For teachers, designing practice that is deliberate, breaking a skill into components, targeting the specific areas of weakness, keeping it appropriately challenging, giving immediate feedback, and having students adjust, produces far more learning than generic practice. It is more demanding but far more effective.

The research: Research on deliberate practice and expertise (Ericsson).

The run-of-show

Choose your slot. The agenda, timings, and length update to match.

The core activity: design deliberate, not generic, practice

Teachers leave with a deliberate-practice design targeting weaknesses.

Identify a skill and the specific components or weaknesses to target.
Design focused, appropriately challenging practice on those (not comfortable repetition).
Build in immediate feedback.
Have students adjust based on the feedback.

Focused, effortful, feedback-richDeliberate practice, targeting specific weaknesses, effortful, with immediate feedback and adjustment, builds real skill. It beats repeating what students can already do.

Facilitator notes

Target specific weaknesses, and keep it focused and appropriately challenging.
Give immediate feedback.
Have students adjust.

Repeating what students can already do builds littleUnfocused practice without feedback produces little improvement. Make practice deliberate, targeted, effortful, with feedback and adjustment.

Adapt it

Elementary: target a component, feedback, adjust.
Secondary: break down the skill, target weaknesses, feedback.
All settings: targeted, focused, feedback-rich practice.

Participant handout

One page for every teacher. Print it, or save it as a PDF.

K12 Academics · Professional Learning

Deliberate Practice: targeted and feedback-rich

Not just repetition: target specific weaknesses, keep it effortful, give immediate feedback, and have students adjust.

The skill and the specific components or weaknesses to target:
The focused, challenging practice I design:
The immediate feedback I build in:
How students adjust based on feedback:
Generic practice to make deliberate:

Make it stick

Targeted and feedback-rich:

Design deliberate practice.
Give immediate feedback.
Bring a deliberate-practice design to the next PLC.

Common questions

Isn't more practice always better?

Not if it is unfocused repetition of what students can already do. Deliberate practice, targeting specific weaknesses, effortful, with immediate feedback and adjustment, builds skill far more than generic repetition.

What makes practice deliberate?

It targets specific weaknesses just beyond current ability, is effortful and focused, includes immediate feedback, and involves adjusting based on that feedback. Comfortable repetition is not deliberate.

How do I design deliberate practice?

Break the skill into components, target the specific areas of weakness, keep it appropriately challenging, give immediate feedback, and have students adjust. It is demanding but effective.