Kim’s Summary of (half) the 42 Practice Perfect Rules

Rethinking Practice

Rule 1: Encode Success

Most classes or coaching sessions lead students to mediocre outcomes because the leader has participants encode failure, or practice the wrong way. There are two common mistakes that lead to this issue:

1. The teacher does not check for understanding enough, and cannot provide precise feedback
2. The teacher puts participants in situation where they will fail, saying, “Failure is the best way to learn.”

In order for students to encode success, leaders must design practice sessions where students are successful demonstrating the skill during most of the drill. As the practice occurs, the teacher must regularly check for mastery, provide feedback, and simplify the drill as needed until participants can quickly, and reliably perform the same task over and over. Once students can reliably demonstrate the skill, the teacher can gradually add complexity, repeating the process again.

Rule 2: Practice the 20

Rule 3: Let the Mind Follow the Body

‘Let the Mind Follow the Body’ implies that skills and thought processes can be so embedded in our neural pathways that we can perform them without conscious thought. When we don’t have to think about something we are doing, we free up our cognitive space to focus more clearly on what is happening in the moment.

Both simple, and complex processes can be made automatic. In order to move complex tasks to our muscle memory, break down the task into smaller steps, and one at a time, embed each skill through deep practice.

Rule 4: Unlock Creativity… With Repetition

Rule 5: Replace Your Purpose (With an Objective)

When designing a practice session, don’t think about the purpose of the activity, instead determine a set of outcomes you (or your students) should reach by the end of the drill. Then, transform these outcomes into objectives. A well written objective has 7 characteristics (5Ms + 2Rs).

The objective is...

• Measurable
• Manageable
• Made First
• Most Important
• (provides) Mastery Guidance
• Relates to previous and upcoming objectives
• (is) Returned to when mastery is lost

Rule 6: Practice Bright Spots

The term ‘Bright Spots’ is from Switch by Dan and Chip Heath

Rule 7: Differentiate Drills from Scrimmage

A scrimmage should be used as an assessment, and it helps you answer the question: am I ready for the game, yes or no? If no, what skills need improvement?

A drill allows you to focus on practicing one skill or a set of skills to encode success, and you test if the skills are integrated in a scrimmage.

Drills are more effective at skills building than scrimmages.

Rule 8: Correct Instead of Critique

How to Practice

Rule 9: Analyze the Game

In order to know what to practice to become a master in your field, you need to ‘analyze the game’ by observing top performers, recording the skills, habits and mindsets that the top performers have in common, and then rank and write down those skills so you have your curriculum.

Rule 10: Isolate the Skill

Rule 11: Name It

Use pithy, memorable names to refer to the skills or techniques you and your team practice. Promote and monitor this shared language on your team.

Rule 12: Integrate the Skills

Rule 13: Make a Plan

When preparing for a practice session use objectives to plan every minute, rehearse and make changes to the plan before you execute, and videotape and analyze the actual practice session.

Rule 14: Make Each Minute Matter

Rule 15: Model and Describe

When teaching someone a new skills, both model and describe what you are doing.

Rule 16: Call Your Shots

Rule 17: Make Models Believable

No one will believe a technique works if it is modeled in the ‘perfect’ setting, so model skills in an authentic, or better yet, the actual setting,

Rule 18: Try Supermodeling

Rule 19: Insist They ‘Walk This Way’

For the student’s first few practice runs, have them replicate the model exactly before adding their unique spin to the skill.

Rule 20: Model Skinny Parts

Rule 21: Model the Path

Model the final product as well as the steps it takes to get there.

Rule 22: Get Ready for Your Close Up

Feedback

Rule 23: Practice Using Feedback (Not Just Getting It)

Build an organization where members practice using feedback by having very short feedback loops where people practice the new skill immediately, or commit publicly to when they will try the change.

Rule 24: Apply First, Then Reflect

Rule 25: Shorten the Feedback Loop

Fast and frequent feedback is key for people to encode success.

Rule 26: Use the Power of Positive

Rule 27: Limit Yourself

Too much feedback is overwhelming. Limit the amount of feedback you give so the person listening can take action.

Rule 28: Make It an Everyday Thing

Rule 29: Describe the Solution (Not the Problem)

When giving someone feedback, avoid statements that begin with the word ‘Don’t.’ Instead, tell the person what to do differently, and how to do it.

Rule 30: Lock it In

Summarize the Feedback

• "Tell me what I told you."
• "Let's both check our understanding."

Prioritize Feedback

• "What's the most important thing we just talked about?"

Next Action

• "Tell me the next thing you're going to do."
• "What will you do the next time you encounter this challenge?"

Culture of Practice

Rule 33: Make it Fun to Practice

• Make it a team activity
• Find fun in the objective
• Make it a friendly competition

Rule 34: Everybody Does It

• Leaders most model and engage in practice
• Ask for feedback as the leader
• Use language that is warm but insists that everyone will practice