PRACTICE PERFECT RULE #1: ENCODE SUCCESS

Practice Perfect: 42 Rules for Getting Better at Getting Better by Doug LemovErica WoolwayKatie Yezzi and Dan practiceperfectHeath (Sep 19, 2012)

  1. Engineer practice activities so that the success rate is reliably high; if the activities are especially challenging, ensure that they end with a period of reliable success so your participants practice getting it right.
  2. Check for mastery constantly.  If activities don’t result in reliable success, simplify temporarily so that participants start successful; then add complexity.
  3. Focus participants on the “fastest possible correct version” or the “most complex right version possible” for any activity.

Practice makes permanent — wrong practice just means you are getting better at more wrong. Make sure you are practicing right. Singers always practice with good body alignment, breathing….  Piano students always practice with good posture, good hand position, …. How you practice matters!