"Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow" (Ralph Waldo Emerson).In the past, neurobiologists believed that the neurons (brain cells) and synapses (spaces between neurons), where electrical firings took place, were the keys to learning. But now brain researchers have discovered that myelin, the white matter that insulates the nerve fibers, plays a crucial role in learning. "Every human movement, thought, or feeling is a precisely timed electric signal traveling through a chain of neurons. . . . The more we fire a particular circuit [chain of neurons], the more myelin optimizes [grows around] that circuit" (Coyle, The Talent Code, 32). And the more myelin (insulation) for the chain of neurons, the faster and more easily information "glides" throughout the brain. (Think of myelin as the casing around electrical cords.) Repeated firing of neuronal circuits develops and improves a skill. From a neurobiological point of view, a skill is a neuronal circuit that has become faster and more fluent (increased myelination) through deliberative, also called "deep," practice.
Coyle, the author of The Talent Code, explains that myelin arrives in a series of waves throughout our lives with most myelin production occurring in the preteen years. Although myelin production is determined by genes, increase in myelination is also a result of cognitive activity. An implication of this fact is that genes alone do not determine IQ. We used to believe that intelligence was a fixed entity; it is not!
Around the age of fifty, we start to lose myelin. So how can we maintain and even increase our cognitive ability past the age of fifty? Deliberative (or deep) practice is the key. "If you fire your skill circuits the right way--by trying hard to do things you can barely [emphasis mine] do, in deep practice--then your skill circuits will respond by getting faster and more fluent [myelin will grow]" (Coyle, The Talent Code, 45).
The key to deliberate practice is struggle. One needs to practice repeatedly, but the practice has to involve struggle, errors, and reflection on how to do better the next time. This "edge" element, striving for a skill that is presently just beyond one's ability, is essential. What does this mean for the classroom teacher? Too often we "practice" with our students, but when they are having a difficult time we provide assistance (scaffolding). We are uncomfortable watching our students wrestle with a task before them, so we run to the rescue for fear that a student's self-esteem will be affected, or that they will "feel bad." Ironically, students need to feel uncomfortable and struggle; otherwise, they will not progress in their skill sets. Part of the American mindset is that we need to help our students as much as possible, but this approach is not conducive to cognitive growth--what education is all about.
We must make ourselves feel comfortable with watching our students become a bit uncomfortable as they struggle to learn. Encourage practice of skills that are just beyond their reach. It's the struggle that matters most. Coyle cites the difference between Japanese schools and American schools (93). In a 1995 study, researchers found that Japanese eighth graders spent 44 percent of their class time actively struggling with new ideas; whereas their American counterparts spent less than 1 percent of the time in that state. In fact, sometimes the Japanese teacher would purposely give the wrong answer so that the students had to grapple with a new idea (93-94)!
Coyle's book has an excellent explanation of what is involved in deliberative practice, supported by salient examples and research. I recommend you check it out. What you read may just revolutionize your own ideas about teaching and learning. You will become innovative as you brainstorm novel teaching strategies (and your own myelin production will increase). Your students will learn more, and so will you.
People who are experts in their fields report the following "sensations" during deliberate practice: attention, connection, building, wholeness, alertness, focus, mistake, repetition, tiredness, edge, awake (91-92).
Steps in deep, deliberative practice: 1. Pick a target. 2. Reach for it. 3. Evaluate the gap between the target and the reach. 4. Return to step one. (Coyle, 92)
For additional information about deliberative practice, check out the following links.
http://boscoh.com/books/towards-mastery-deliberative-practice-flow-and-personality-traits.html
http://expertenough.com/1423/deliberate-practice
http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2014/01/22/daniel-goleman-focus-10000-hours-myth/
Much of the information in this post was excerpted and adapted from The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle.