USU Pedagogy 3630 - F23

The part in these chapters that caught my interest was the fact that some people can fall into "deep practice" without even noticing it. It connects to another point, which is if someone really likes something or is passionate about it, deep practice to imitate that thing can occur. It was the same for the clarinetist who liked that song she "deep practiced," and for that kid who wanted to learn a move with the soccer ball. It is very difficult to effectively practice something that someone couldn't care less to learn. Deep practice and I suppose myelin sheath layer generation come accidently in these cases, where someone isn't thinking about the practice, they just do it. The hard part then comes when you realize people aren't always in that "zone" and therefore may not get that level of practice very often.  What then are some ways to get "in the zone" of practice and how can someone make that a more common occurrence in their own p...

  The second chapter of “The Talent Code” is somewhat technical in nature, describing the so-called “deep practice cell” in the brain called myelin. Myelin, author Daniel Coyle explains, is “the insulation that wraps [nerve fibers] and increases signal strength, speed, and accuracy.” The more frequent circuits are fired, the more myelin optimizes the circuit. One of my favorite sentences in this chapter is “Struggle is not an option: it’s a biological requirement.” The struggle is what builds myelin. Coyle also points about that skill is like muscle. Another aspect of this chapter that stood out to me is that the theory that short-term memory can only keep track of seven independent pieces of information was proven to be wrong. I think this chapter is quite inspirational. The teachings of this chapter directly imply that essentially anyone can learn to sing. Coyle quotes Dr. Ericsson saying “there’s no cell type that geniuses have that the rest of us don’t.” Simply st...

  The first chapter of “The Talent Code” introduces deep practice. We should practice, author Daniel Coyle says, at our “sweet spot,” which is the level at which we are prone to make mistakes and be able to correct them with focused effort. In this way, our practicing becomes much more effective than it otherwise would—that is, it becomes more effective than if we practice in a more comfortable place. Among the examples Coyle gives is the example of the Link trainer for pilots. With this trainer, pilots were able to practice flying with only instruments where it was safe to make mistakes. This allowed the pilots to critically analyze the root causes of the mistakes, practicing deeply. Coyle also points to the (now somewhat previous) success of the Brazilian soccer team, which success he attributes to deep practice. I found this chapter to be quite agreeable. In my own experience, learning requires struggle. In the math courses I have taught, my observation is that tho...

This book is fascinating! I have always been a massive nerd for this kind of scientific reasoning behind music! The chapters cover deep-practice and how this process creates myelin- a cell production that encases the things we learn so that they become neurological embedded into who we are and our ‘talent’. I put ‘talent’ in quotations because while reading I came upon a personal question of, “You mean I could have been a LeBron James or an Einstein? Being quote-on-quote ‘born with talent’ is an old wives tale?”  Essentially, the answer is more yes than no.  The answer really is found throughout the entire two chapters- Coyle does this by citing many different forms/examples of deep-practice from a type of soccer called futsal all the way to dank recording studios in the middle of no-where towns- but he really highlights the exact answer in the end of chapter two when mention Anders Ericsson. Ericsson discovered this formula that through using myelin: deep practice x 10,000 ho...

Summary (or what I took as important points): Recalling is a better way to learn than rereading. Sometimes ways of practice should change to increase interaction (like in futsal). Deep practice leads to more efficiency. These things help increase the myelin sheath, which is what develops a skill as it insulates neural pathways. This process does decrease with age, which is why it is harder to learn things later in life. The ten year/ten thousand hours rule is not universal, and memory can be improved. Response: I found this reading very frustrating. While I largely understand the research and ideas presented (and have seen them come up in my own research/courses), the author writes in so many metaphors and similes that, at times, this book seems like it probably could have been summed up in a concise article. This was a very wordy way of saying things at times. I also find us reading a book like this in class ironic. After all, we are currently at a university that doesn't even rea...