Mastery is in the Practice

“Deliberate practice refers to a special type of practice that is purposeful and systematic. While regular practice might include mindless repetitions, deliberate practice requires focused attention and is conducted with the specific goal of improving performance.” – Anders Ericcson.

In the digital age, we are used to accessing information at our finger tips due to easy access to the internet. The internet has increased our ability to gain information, work more efficiently and effectively, and to do more in the time that we have in our day. Whilst this easy access to information is convenient, there is still the requirement for young people to understand the need for skills to be repeated many times to achieve ‘mastery’. Anders Ericcson, a Swedish psychologist and Professor of Psychology at the Florida State University, has spent his life understanding the science of peak performance, among other things, and is well known for his theory on ‘The 10,000 Hour Rule’ where he suggests that it takes 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to achieve mastery.

“According to Ericsson’s research and logic, the sole reason you are not a virtuoso violinist, or an Olympic athlete, or another kind of world-class performer, is that you have not engaged in a process he calls ‘deliberate practice’.” – Lebowitz (2016).

According to Ericsson, ‘deliberate practice’ involves stepping outside your comfort zone and trying activities beyond your current abilities. While repeating a skill you have already mastered might be satisfying, it is not enough to help you get better. Moreover, simply wanting to improve is not enough – people also need well-defined goals and the help of a teacher who makes a plan for achieving them.

Year 9 St Catherine’s Music student, Catherine Chen, practised the piano each day for three hours in order to obtain her Associate in Music at the age of 15.

A perfect example of this is Year 9 St Catherine’s Music student, Catherine Chen, who received her Associate in Music, Australia (AMusA), the highest certificate for Piano available, at the age of 15. This required Catherine to practise the piano each day for three hours. Whilst this achievement might seem easy, Catherine worked with her piano teacher, who assisted her in her achievement, for the best part of one-and-a-half years, in addition to the hours of practice to reach the level required to even tackle this achievement. During this process, Catherine received feedback and worked hard to refine her pieces and knowledge, to present herself for her performance and test.

The cast and crew of the 2019 Senior School play, The Crucible, worked solidly for six months to deliver their exceptional performances in May, under the guidance of Mr James Brown, St Catherine’s Head of Performing Arts, and his team. Each character was rehearsed, coached, refined and rehearsed again, to create a masterpiece, and arguably one of the most highly regarded performances by St Catherine’s and St Kevin’s College. Whilst their rehearsals were held twice a week, all of our girls (and the St Kevin’s boys) practised their lines and performances in their own time to ensure their performance was at the highest standard.

The St Catherine’s Rowing program is an example of ‘deliberate practice’ where our rowers work solidly with their coaches to refine their skills.

Our Rowing program provides examples of ‘deliberate practice’, where our rowers work solidly, away from our gaze, on the Yarra, gaining feedback and guidance from their coaches to refine their skills. We see reward for effort at each regatta as our crews race to refine their skills and racing in preparation for the final regatta, the Head of the Schoolgirls.

As an Olympian and Australian Rowing Representative, it took 10 years of rowing to achieve my ultimate goal in the single scull in the Sydney 2000 Olympics. It looks easy right? What went into this achievement was 10 years of mastering how to move a boat, as efficiently and effectively as I could, under pressure, and working with my coach to refine the most effective technique, training program, psychology, strength and conditioning training, rest and recovery. To get to this point though, I rowed under many different coaches, with many different people and utilised the knowledge of professionals at the Australian Institute of Sport and the Victorian Institute of Sport to gain as much knowledge about my own physiology and gain as much experience as possible. My coach, Noel Donaldson, recognised for his work with the Oarsome Foursome, entered me in races with ‘open men’ to ensure that I could gain good racing experience in Victoria. This ensured I was on performance to prepare for the Olympic Final in 2000.

It took Mrs Gina Peele 10 years of rowing to achieve her goal at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

Malcolm Gladwell reflected on this research in his book titled, Outliers: The Story of Success. In his book, Gladwell acknowledges the time and practice of iconic rock band, The Beatles. Whilst The Beatles are well known for their music and hits of the 60s, and for being the best selling band in history, what is often overlooked, is the fact that The Beatles were not an overnight success story. They built their reputation in the late 1950s playing for hours, day in day out, in clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over a period of three years, with drummers changing intermittently during this time. Together they moulded their performances and songs and were guided by producer George Martin and manager Brian Epstein. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr practised and performed for thousands of hours to become the carefully crafted rock band that is known by generations for their fabulous music that we still enjoy today.

Preparing St Catherine’s girls for a future that allows for the instantaneous gaining of knowledge through the digital age, comes with a complementary set of skills, where our girls understand how to gain mastery and achievement through hard work and deliberate practice. In each of their goals, gaining feedback and knowledge from their teachers, coaches and respected others in preparation for their final goal, is a vital skill in life. It takes time and years to develop skills to put together the building blocks to obtain their final outcome. This is where the teachers in the classroom provide the vital building blocks for the skills and knowledge that are acquired in preparation for VCE and for life after school.

Reference:
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/anders-ericsson-how-to-become-an-expert-at-anything-2016-6?r=US&IR=T

Mrs Gina Peele, Director of Student Programs