Practice

Focus

Principal Metaphors

• Knowledge is … competence
• Knowing is … performing
• Learner is … an actor (individual)
• Learning is … improving (a competence)
• Teaching is … coaching

Originated

Synopsis

• Skill – a developed ability – that is, one associated with Practice. Within education, some commonly mentioned types of Skill include:
  • Basic Skills – most commonly, the “3 Rs,” reading, ’riting, and ’rithmetic – that is, operational fluency with reading, writing, and arithmetic
  • Communication Skills – learned abilities to use language proficiently – which, in most situations, minimally entails appropriate vocabulary, adequate grammar, inclination to listen, and capacity to read with comprehension
  • Motor Skills – mastery of control and accuracy in deliberate bodily movements
  • Social Skills – learned abilities to interact with fluid competence within social settings

While somewhat problematical, tasks associated with Practice are often distinguished from those associated with learning:

• Learning Task – an activity intended to introduce learners to new information or a new skill
• Practice Task – an activity involving rehearsal intended to render information more routine or a skill more automatic

Types of Practice:

• Blocked Practice – a general notion that can be applied to a focused on thorough study/practice of a single topic/skill. It is often contrasted with Interleaving Learning.
• Cross-Training – a type of Practice that involves engaging in a deliberately selected diversity of activities with the intention of deriving benefits than none of the activities afford individually. In the context of personal athletic performance, Cross-Training typically involves a range of physical activities designed to address skill level, fitness, and flexibility all at once. In the context of an organizational functioning, Cross-Training across tasks and roles might be aimed at organizational robustness and adaptability. Subtypes of Cross-Training include:
  • Cross-Education – a type of Cross-Training that is involves improving the skill of one part or zone of one’s physical body through Practice of another part
• Deliberate Practice (K. Anders Ericsson) – the sort of practice that enables extraordinary performance. Associated with Expert–Novice research, Deliberate Practice is cognitively demanding and thus typically articulated in contrast to mindless repetition. It is aimed not just at fluidity, but an awareness of the nuances that enable and amplify a competence. Key aspects of Deliberate Practice include well-defined goals with well-sequenced sub-goals; regular, high-quality feedback from an expert teacher/coach; frequent and extensive engagement over a long term. Closely related constructs include:
  • Desirable Difficulty (Robert A. Bjork, 1990s) – a sort of practice that is both challenging and engaging. Advocates assert that Desirable Difficulty is motivational, enhances retention, deepens understanding, and enables transfer.
  • Effortful Practice (Effortful Processing) – a mode of rehearsal in which there is both a genuine risk of failure (which keeps things from being boring) and a likelihood of success (which helps to minimize frustration). Properly structured, the failures associated with Effortful Practice are informative, not discouraging. Effortful Practice is often included as an aspect of Deliberate Practice. Associated constructs include:
    • Effort Paradox – the counterintuitive phenomenon where increasing effort does not necessarily lead to improved performance or outcomes – and in some cases, it can even lead to worse results. The Effort Paradox is often linked to the Yerkes–Dodson Law (under Motivation Theories).
  • Optimal Conflict (Robert Kegan, Lisa Lahey, 2000s) – situations that can dramatically increase learning because of the following conditions: (1) a challenge that is personally compelling (2) but persistently frustrating, (3) thus triggering awareness of current limits (4) but not overwhelming in part due to the presence of necessary supports.
• Distributed Practice (Distributed Learning; Spaced Practice) – a structured mode of study that involves engaging with manageable amounts of content, spread out over time (contrast: Massed Practice; not to be confused with the Distributed Learning of Technology-Mediated Individual Learning). It is associated with:
  • Lag Effect (Arthur Melton, 1960s) – an improvement in ability to recall information that can happen when the lag – i.e., the time between repeated exposures to that information – in increased during a period of study
  • Principle of Distributed Repetitions – the suggestions that, to be most effective, Practice should be spaced out over time and blocks of practice should be separated by other activities
  • Repetitive Learning (Drill; Systematic Repetition) – the systematic repetition of identical or highly similar motions or practice exercises, aimed at mastery of a skill or procedure
  • Trial-Spacing Effect – the observation that learning is typically faster when consecutive learning trials are distributed in time rather than massed in time
• Distributed-Practice Effect (Massed-Spaced Effect; Spacing Effect) – the phenomenon associated with Distributed Practice – namely, that short and spaced study sessions lead to better mastery than long and continuous ones. Several theories have been proposed to account for the Distributed-Practice Effect, including:
  • Consolidation Theory – the suggestion that one creates additional representations of an item when it is encountered again (and so spaced practice is effective because it presents multiple encounters)
  • Deficient Processing Theory (D.L. Hintzman, 1970s) – the suggestion that one pays more attention to spaced repetitions of an item because the item is not continuously active in memory (and so spaced practice reduces the likelihood one will become inured to – and forgetful of – an item)
  • Encoding Variability Theory (Charles Bird, 1970s) – the suggestion that spaced practice will likely mean that an item will be associated with a wider variety of stored, and so it will have more and/or stronger retrieval routes
  • Retrieval Effort Hypothesis (M.A. Pyc, K.A. Rawson) – the suggestion that spacing of practice compels more effortful retrieval, which leads to deeper processing of the item
  • Semantic Priming (B.H. Challis, 1990s) – the suggestion that one is always more primed for a subsequent presentation (compared to a prior presentation), which results in less processing. However, with spacing, more processing becomes necessary, strengthening the retrieval route for that item.
  • Study-Phase Retrieval Theory (R.L. Greene, 1980s) – the suggestion that one retrieves earlier recollections of an item with they encounter it again (and so spaced practice strengthens the retrieval route for that item)
• Guided Practice – various meanings, but most often understood as that interactive portion of a formal lesson that follows teacher-led introduction of new content and that precedes independent student work or Homework
• Interleaving Learning – a structured shifting among multiple topics or skills, typically across complementary disciplines. It is often contrasted with Blocked Practice.
• Massed Practice (Cramming) – the presentation and repetition of what is to be learned within a brief span of time (contrast: Distributed Practice)
• Mastery Learning is an instructional strategy built on the premise that each student must demonstrate a high level of competence and confidence with prerequisite topics before moving to more advanced topics.
• 100-Hour Rule (Rule of 100 Hours) (Anders Ericsson, 1970s) – the assertion that small amounts of consistent daily practice (estimated at between 15 and 20 minutes per day, or totalling about 100 hours per year) are usually sufficient to support “expert” performance (understood as ranking in the top 5% of practitioners)
• Overlearning (Hermann Ebbinghaus, 1890s) – originally defined as the number of repetitions needed in order to recall memorized material with 100% accuracy. It is currently more loosely defined in terms of practicing after the point of desired or required proficiency. Associated constructs include:
  • Spaced Overlearning – a mashup of Overlearning and Distributed Practice (see above)
• Productive Failure (Manu Kapur, 2000s) – a precursor of the notion of Productive Struggle that focuses on complex, technology-dense learning situations while formalizing four necessary and interdependent aspects of the learning design: (1) invoking prior knowledge, (2) highlighting key features of new concepts, (3) exploration of those features, and (4) integrating those features into the new concept.
• Productive Struggle (Healthy Struggle) (2010s) – effectively, a mash-up of notions of Effortful Practice, Mindset, and Grit. It refers to a problem-based mode of Practice through which it is hoped the learner will develop both perseverance and insight while grappling with unfamiliar subject matter. Associated constructs include:
  • Zone of Productive Struggle (2020s) – a blend of the construct of Productive Struggle and research into the role of success in maintaining interest and motivation (see, e.g., 85% Rule for Optimal Learning, under Optimal Learning), positing guidelines for balancing difficulty and ease in the design of learning tasks
• Rote Learning – approaches that emphasize repetition and memorization, with the goal of quick and accurate recall. It is typically encountered in contexts and disciplines where uncritical mastery of a mechanical skill or a block of information is useful.
• Repetition Principle – One of the more problematic discourses on matters of both Practice and Rote Learning, the Repetition Principle began as the realization that repeating an assertion a sufficient number of times will convince some of its voracity. That truism of propagandists and advertisers devolved into a principle of teaching – namely, that a specific number of repetitions with lead to robust learning. That number varies from context to context. Some examples include seven for marketers to convince consumers of a product’s worthiness, 17 for a new word to enter long-term memory, and 25 physical reps to train a muscle to a desired motion. The science behind all such notions is dubious.
• Speed Learning – a range of methods intended to increase memory (usually defined in terms of extent and precision of recall) without overly compromising understanding. While sometimes associated with Rote Learning, it typically involves active questioning and higher-order thinking skills.
• 10,000-Hours Rule – a notion that rose to prominence in the early 2010s. It concerns the extent of focused practice necessary to achieve world-class performances. While rooted in research into experts across multiple realms, the notion is most often invoked as just a reference just to quantity – as opposed to quality – of practice. Moreover, the over-simplified datum ignores the contribution of good teaching to expert performance. Thus, while hinting at an important truth with regard to practice, it is readily debunked if taken literally.
• Thinking Routine – a brief and regularly used strategy integrated into classroom activity that is intended to support specific contents, skills, and/or habits
• Training – a term typically applied to the teaching and learning of skills. When used narrowly and deprecatingly, Training tends to be associated with repetitive practice, Rote Learning, and limited reflection.
• Work–Rest Cycle – a routinized pattern of skilled performance and intermittent breaks, generally regarded to significantly improve accuracy, interest, and productivity

Effects of Practice:

• Automaticity (Effortless Processing; Routinization)– owing to extensive Practice, action sequences that are so well learned that no conscious control is needed for expert execution. (Note: Automaticity is often, but not always, conflated with Habit. See below.) Automatized action sequences are often considered in two categories:
  • Automatic Performance (Routinized Behavior) – behaviors that have been rehearsed sufficiently to be performed without thinking about them
  • Automatic Thoughts (Routinized Thoughts) – thoughts that have been rehearsed so often that they are habitually repeated
  • Educated Intuition – perception, impression, or insight that is rooted in experience but that arrives suddenly as a strong conviction (without conscious awareness of its origins)
• Cognitive Entrenchment (Eric Dane, 2010s) – effectively, the opposite of the 10,000-Hours Rule (see below), pointing to the manner in which deep, Practice-based, domain-specific expertise can sometimes cripple the expert’s ability to adapt to new circumstances or solve unfamiliar problems.
• Generation Effect (David Payne, James Neely, Daniel Burns; 1980s) – the well-documented realization that struggling to produce one’s one answer, even if incorrect, enhances understanding and subsequent learning. Often associated with Desirable Difficulty (see above).
• Habit – those patterns of thinking and acting that are routinely and (most often) uncritically engaged. Associated discourses include:
  • Habit Theory (Habit Psychology) (William James, 1910s) – an umbrella category that collects those discourses concerned with the formation, perpetuation, and interruption of habits – that is,  Importantly, the domain recognizes that the vast majority of habits are healthy or benign, as habits are necessary to offload conscious thought (and thus enable effective functioning in the world).
  • Habit Formation Theory – perspectives that focus on the creation, maintenance, and/or improvement of habits. A broad range of frames are brought to bear in Habit Formation Theory, and they vary according around such matters as one’s conscious choice and one’s deliberate control of habits.
  • Habit Reversal Training – perspectives that focus on interrupting, replacing, and/or extinguishing undesired habits. Most methods are based in Behaviorisms and or Psychotherapy.
  • Mediational Learning (Edward Lyndon, 1990s) – a strategy focused on changing already-established habits or interpretations. The “mediational” in the title refers to the necessity of conscious awareness in such situations, as habits tend to be resilient. The theory offers direct advice on focus and dealing with emergent tensions in ways that support change. Three levels/types of skill mediation have been identified in the education literature:
    • Old Way New Way (Edward Lyndon, 1990s) – a Mediational Learning strategy that is focused on altering and/or unlearning everyday habits of acting and thinking
    • Skill Mediation (Edward Lyndon, 1990s) – a Mediational Learning strategy that is focused on altering complex skills that have become habitual (and therefore resistant to modification), such as those associated with sport, study, or work
    • Conceptual Mediation (Chris Dawson, Edward Lydon, 1990s) – a Mediational Learning strategy that is focused on affecting one’s default explanations and theories of various phenomena. In particular, Conceptual Mediation has been focused on enabling learners to discriminate between commonsense perspectives and scientific concepts, aimed at supporting one’s embrace of the latter.
  • Subcortical Learning – any learning, especially Habits, associated with areas of the brain below the cortex. (Note: The cortex is where higher-level functions take place.)
  • Unlearning – the deliberate process of replacing obsolete and/or inappropriate habits or skills with others that are more fitted to current circumstances
• Learning Curve Theory (Acquisition Curve) (Hermann Ebbinghaus, 1880s) – a graphical interpretation of the relationship between practice (e.g., experience, rehearsal, etc.) and the extent of learning (a.k.a., quality of performance, level of expertise, achievement, etc.). As illustrated below, a range of trajectories is posited, the most common of which involves rapid learning at the start and settling into a plateau when a satisfactory level of mastery is attained. A frequently encountered variation involves a slower beginning, as the learner develops an awareness of what is to be learned. Contemporary versions, associated with more complex learning, tend to incorporate multiple plateaus (and occasional dips).

  Associated constructs and discourses include:

  • Continuity Theory – the assumption that sophisticated learning arises in linear, step-by-step processes. The pervasiveness of this belief is evident in the Learning Curve.
  • Discontinuity Theory (Discontinuity Hypothesis) (Karl Spencer Lashley, 1930s) – a perspective on learning that emphasizes the role of sudden insight, which is interpreted as abrupt perceptual reorganization – in effect, challenging some foundations assumptions of the Learning Curve
  • Exponential Learning (various authors, and quite recent) is a notion invoked in multiple ways, but that always relies on the visual metaphor of a Learning Curve in the shape shown below. Variations include (1) the suggestion that triggering a desire to learn about a given subject will result in such accelerated learning; (2) a program in which course assignments are structured in a way that allows learners to draw on and elaborate students’ work in previous iterations of that course; (3) a shift in strategy to assess of learning, away from looking for increases in scores and toward looking for amplified impacts; and (4) a characterization of the relationship between the drawn-out, flattish process of learning the basics that, once mastered, enables rapid, steepish learning.
  • Forgetting Curve (Ebbinghaus’s Curve of Retention) (Hermann Ebbinghaus, 1890s) – a visual representation that is purported to show how a memory weakens over time when it is not practiced or rehearsed. That weakening is typically characterized as an exponential decay (and often described in terms of half-life – i.e., the time required to reduce to half of the current strength).
  • J Curve (J-Shaped Distribution) – a commonly observed pattern of skill improvement when training for a difficult task, starting with a modest initial dip in performance as one grapples with unfamiliar complexities of the activity (slight downslope), followed by modest-but-steady improvement (slight upslope), followed by rapid progress to mastery (steep rise)
  • Learning Plateau – a descriptor emerging from the images associated with Learning Curve Theory (see above) that refers to moments of little no or perceptible learning
  • Power Law of Practice (George Snoddy, 1920s) – in everyday terms, improvements in one’s performance tend to be rapid and significant when one begins to practice, and increasingly minor with more extensive practice – which, in effect, is a description of the first of the Learning Curves shown above. In more technical terms, the logarithms of “number of trials” and “reaction time” are inverse-linearly related, generating a Power Law Distribution (see Complex Systems Research.)
  • Serial Position Curve (U-Shaped Learning Curve) (Francis E. Nipher, 1870s) – the observation that, when provided with a list of information, one recalls the first items and the last items with greater accuracy. (See Primacy Effect and Recency Effect, under Connectionism (of Behaviorisms).)
• Learning Loss (Summer Learning Loss; Summer Slide) ­– a decline or regression in academic performance associated with lengthy breaks in focused practice, such as might occur during summer vacation. Learning Loss is not a universal phenomenon – but, when and where it happens, extents vary according to subject area, grade level, and socioeconomic status.
• Multitasking – engaging in multiple attention-demanding activities at the same time, requiring rapid switching of conscious focus – and, somewhat ironically, potentially reducing efficiency while increasing the likelihood of errors. However, such issues can be mitigated with appropriate Practice, which should reduce demands of consciousness across each of the activities.
• Warm-Up Effect – inaccurate performance of already-learned competencies at the start of a session, followed by a rapid shift to greater proficiency

Commentary

Authors and/or Prominent Influences

Status as a Theory of Learning

Status as a Theory of Teaching

Status as a Scientific Theory

Subdiscourses:

• Automatic Performance (Routinized Behavior)
• Automatic Thoughts (Routinized Thoughts)
• Automaticity (Effortless Processing; Routinization)
• Basic Skills
• Blocked Practice
• Cognitive Entrenchment
• Communication Skills
• Conceptual Mediation
• Consolidation Theory
• Continuity Theory
• Deficient Processing Theory
• Deliberate Practice
• Desirable Difficulty
• Discontinuity Theory (Discontinuity Hypothesis)
• Distributed Practice (Distributed Learning; Spaced Practice)
• Distributed-Practice Effect (Massed-Spaced Effect; Spacing Effect)
• Educated Intuition
• Effort Paradox
• Effortful Practice (Effortful Processing)
• Encoding Variability Theory
• Exponential Learning
• Forgetting Curve (Ebbinghaus’s Curve of Retention)
• Generation Effect
• Guided Practice
• Habit
• Habit Formation Theory
• Habit Reversal Training
• Habit Theory (Habit Psychology)
• Interleaving Learning
• J Curve (J-Shaped Distribution)
• Lag Effect
• Learning Curve Theory (Acquisition Curve)
• Learning Loss (Summer Learning Loss; Summer Slide)
• Learning Plateau
• Learning Task
• Massed Practice (Cramming)
• Mastery Learning
• Mediational Learning
• Motor Skills
• Multitasking
• Old Way New Way
• 100-Hour Rule (Rule of 100 Hours)
• Optimal Conflict
• Overlearning
• Power Law of Practice
• Practice Task
• Principle of Distributed Repetitions
• Productive Failure
• Productive Struggle (Healthy Struggle)
• Repetition Principle
• Repetitive Learning (Drill; Systematic Repetition)
• Retrieval Effort Hypothesis
• Rote Learning
• Semantic Priming
• Serial Position Curve (U-Shaped Learning Curve)
• Skill
• Skill Mediation
• Social Skills
• Spaced Overlearning
• Speed Learning
• Study-Phase Retrieval Theory
• Subcortical Learning
• 10,000-Hours Rule
• Thinking Routine
• Training
• Trial-Spacing Effect
• Unlearning
• Warm-Up Effect
• Work–Rest Cycle
• Zone of Productive Struggle

Map Location

Please cite this article as:
Davis, B., & Francis, K. (2024). “Practice” in Discourses on Learning in Education. https://learningdiscourses.com.