Keen to get a good handle on what reflective practice can do for me, I’ve been exploring the work of Anders Ericsson, and his concept of Deliberate Practice.
This has been a pivotal step in changing my perception and comprehension of the potential value that can be delivered by investing time in reflective practice. I think I’m beginning to properly get it.
While much of the material relating to reflective practice that I have previously consumed has helped me to form some level of understanding, I’ve found it to be a bit woolly, and difficult to draw solid conclusions that I can confidently apply to my own performance improvement efforts. However, I connected with Ericsson’s work on achieving expertise through the application of Deliberate Practice. he outlines a cyclical structure of definitive iterative steps that I can take in order to realise incremental progress toward mastery in any field, including my chosen field of app development:
- Have a well defined specific goal.
- Practice with intense focus – no distractions.
- Seek immediate feedback on your practice.
- Frequent discomfort – adjust your goal to push you slightly beyond your capability.
Quality mentoring to oversee this process will further expedite learning.
Ericsson dismisses the commonly held belief that an innate talent is the primary factor that dictates success (which gives me hope!), and offers the alternative theory that the key requirement is adaptability – a ‘gift’ which we all possess. He goes on to say that we are all ‘Homo Exercens’ – the practising man, committed to self-improvement.
He also clarifies that while practice is an integral part of improvement strategy, it is not an effective stand-alone strategy. He labels this approach “Naive Practice” and describes how spending hours repeating the same actions over and over again, will only deliver limited improvement, and never achieve expertise.
My Journey to App Success 