Individual Deliberate Practice

Overview

Practicing until achieving several error-free attempts is critical for retention. When learners work independently to repeatedly recall and practice new material (retrieval practice), they become fluent in the skill and are able to recall it automatically.

Use It in the Classroom

Watch how this 5th grade teacher uses the "I do, we do, you do" model to teach descriptive writing. After modeling what he expects from the write-up, he leads the class through guided practice in smaller groups, providing feedback. From 5:33, you can see how he creates space for independent and individual practice, allowing the students to demonstrate their understanding.

Engaging in independent practice after guided practice helps reduce the cognitive load and encourages Long-term Memory storage. Developing this fluency is crucial to establish knowledge and concepts that are the foundation for subsequent learning. Teachers can support student learning by interweaving (formally interleaving) reviews of older content and providing feedback to ensure accurate retention of material.

Design It into Your Product

Videos are chosen as examples of strategies in action. These choices are not endorsements of the products or evidence of use of research to develop the feature.

Learn how One Minute Reader App integrates individual practice to promote reading fluency. By having learners reread the story, this product supports fluency through their practice of Morphological Knowledge, Phonological Processing, Syntax, and Orthographic Processing skills.

A developer can support fluency by creating short practice problem series. Repeated practice of the new material supports greater Speed of Processing and consolidation of the skill in Long-term Memory.

View References

Resources

Below are additional examples, research, and professional development. These resources are possible representations of this strategy, not endorsements.

Examples

Achieving Deliberate Practice

Concrete and actionable tips to achieve deliberate practice

Examples

Independent Practice

Description and suggestions for implementing independent practice

Examples

What Is Independent Practice?

Explanation of the importance of independent practice, including examples

Research

Cognition & Memory

Topic that includes cognitive science theories about how the brain processes information on Digital Promise's Research Map