Aiming for Consistency

This week we are going to talk about chunking and struggle. 

They are not very glamorous words, but they are necessary for the developing student. 

Chunking is taking one small part of the whole and perfecting it. 

The idea is to pick a single chunk that your child can perfect, not just improve.  The aim is for 100% consistency. 

Use the SAP method:

S - Smallest

     A - Achievable

           P - Perfection

Think of it as aiming for a small, defined part of the piece of music and then have your child put all of his/her effort into perfecting that very small chunk.  Do this every practice day.

The focus is not on big, quick improvements, rather on small daily chunks. 

And when your child is successful at this, the magic happens – the skill that has been learned lasts.

Will there be struggle?  Absolutely.  You are having your child engage in “deep practice’.  Deep practice is about struggle.

Struggle often feels like failure; however, with talent development, struggle isn’t an option – it’s a physiological necessity. 

The struggle and frustration your child will feel at the edges of his/her abilities are the sensations of constructing new neural connections, and that is where talent development begins.

Carolyn Biggs

Steps and Skips

Tips for the Developing Student

This tip is taken from  Little Book of Talent by Daniel Coyle.

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