Practice perfect: 42 rules for getting better at getting better

✍ Scribed by Doug Lemov, Erica Woolway, Katie Yezzi

• Publisher: Jossey-Bass
• Year: 2012
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 288
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Rules for developing talent with disciplined, deliberate, intelligent practice

We live in a competition loving culture. We love the performance, the big win, the ticking seconds of the clock as the game comes down to the wire. We watch games and cheer, sometimes to the point of obsession, but if we really wanted to see greatness—wanted to cheer for it, see it happen, understand what made it happen—we’d spend our time watching, obsessing on, and maybe even cheering the practices instead. This book puts practice on the front burner of all who seek to instill talent and achievement in others as well as in themselves. This is a journey to understand that practice, not games, makes champions.
In this book, the authors engage the dream of better, both in fields and endeavors where participants know they should practice and also in those where many do not yet recognize the transformative power of practice. And it’s not just whether you practice. How you practice may be a true competitive advantage. Deliberately engineered and designed practice can revolutionize our most important endeavors. The clear set of rules presented in Practice Perfect will make us better in virtually every performance of life. The “how-to” rules of practice cover such topics as rethinking practice, modeling excellent practice, using feedback, creating a culture of practice, making new skills stick, and hiring for practice.

• Discover new ways to think about practice. Learn how to design successful practice. Apply practice across a wide range of realms, both personal and professional
• The authors include specific activities to jump-start practice
• Doug Lemov is the best-selling author of Teach Like a Champion

A hands-on resource to practice, the rules within will help to create positive outliers and world-changing reservoirs of talent.

✦ Table of Contents

Practice Perfect: 42 Rules for Getting Better at Getting Better......Page 7
Copyright......Page 8
Contents......Page 9
Foreword......Page 13
Preface: Why Practice? Why Now?......Page 17
Introduction: The Power of Practice......Page 25
Rethinking Practice......Page 45
Rule 1: Encode Success......Page 49
Rule 2: Practice the 20......Page 53
Rule 3: Let the Mind Follow the Body......Page 56
Rule 4: Unlock Creativity . . . with Repetition......Page 60
Rule 5: Replace Your Purpose (with an Objective)......Page 64
Rule 6: Practice “Bright Spots”......Page 68
Rule 7: Differentiate Drill from Scrimmage......Page 72
Rule 8: Correct Instead of Critique......Page 76
How to Practice......Page 79
Rule 9: Analyze the Game......Page 82
Rule 10: Isolate the Skill......Page 86
Rule 11: Name It......Page 90
Rule 12: Integrate the Skills......Page 92
Rule 13: Make a Plan......Page 96
Rule 14: Make Each Minute Matter......Page 100
Using Modeling......Page 107
Rule 15: Model and Describe......Page 110
Rule 16: Call Your Shots......Page 111
Rule 17: Make Models Believable......Page 116
Rule 18: Try Supermodeling......Page 119
Rule 19: Insist They “Walk This Way”......Page 120
Rule 20: Model Skinny Parts......Page 123
Rule 21: Model the Path......Page 125
Rule 22: Get Ready for Your Close-up......Page 128
Feedback......Page 131
Rule 23: Practice Using Feedback (Not Just Getting It)......Page 133
Rule 24: Apply First, Then Reflect......Page 138
Rule 25: Shorten the Feedback Loop......Page 141
Rule 26: Use the Power of Positive......Page 145
Rule 27: Limit Yourself......Page 150
Rule 28: Make It an Everyday Thing......Page 152
Rule 29: Describe the Solution (Not the Problem)......Page 154
Rule 30: Lock It In......Page 157
Culture of Practice......Page 163
Rule 31: Normalize Error......Page 167
Rule 32: Break Down the Barriers to Practice......Page 172
Rule 33: Make It Fun to Practice......Page 178
Rule 34: Everybody Does It......Page 183
Rule 35: Leverage Peer-to-Peer Accountability......Page 186
Rule 36: Hire for Practice......Page 189
Rule 37: Praise the Work......Page 193
Post- Practice: Making New Skills Stick......Page 197
Rule 38: Look for the Right Things......Page 200
Rule 39: Coach During the Game (Don't Teach)......Page 204
Rule 40: Keep Talking......Page 207
Rule 41: Walk the Line (Between Support and Demand)......Page 209
Rule 42: Measure Success......Page 212
Conclusion: The Monday Morning Test......Page 217
Rule 10: Isolate the Skill......Page 218
Beyond Monday Morning......Page 219
Monday Morning for a Mentee or Small Team......Page 220
Rule 7: Differentiate Drill from Scrimmage......Page 222
Rule 22: Get Ready for Your Close-up......Page 223
Monday Morning for Yourself......Page 224
Rule 4: Unlock Creativity......Page 225
Final Words on Practice......Page 226
Technique: Strong Voice......Page 229
Technique: 100%......Page 232
Technique: Cold Call......Page 236
Technique: Right is Right......Page 238
Technique: What to Do......Page 241
Technique: No Opt Out......Page 243
Technique: Positive Framing......Page 245
Technique: Format Matters......Page 249
No Opt Out Iterative Practice......Page 253
Strong Voice Lay-Up Drill......Page 256
Using Nonverbal Interventions Role Play......Page 260
Notes......Page 265
Acknowledgments......Page 269
About the Authors......Page 273
Summary of Rules......Page 275
Index......Page 279