The practice stage is one of the most vital steps in the teaching and learning process. It allows learners to test their ability to apply the skills that they learned to new and novel situations. With enough practice, mastery is always possible. What are the different types of practice, and how are they used in the classroom? I am glad you asked. To find out the answer, keep reading.
- What is Guided Practice? – An activity in which students apply recently acquired information at a stage when the teacher remains available to assist. Teachers may give a great deal of assistance at the beginning of guided practice and slowly decrease their involvement as the student becomes more proficient.
- What is Independent Practice? – An activity in which students apply what they have learned without teacher assistance. This further informs the teacher about the accuracy of his or her perception about and actual effectiveness of the lesson. If most of their students perform well, then the lesson was fairly successful. If they don’t, then the teacher knows that they need to reteach the lesson and change their instructional approach. If most of the students performed well, the teacher must reteach the lesson to those who underperformed. This will involve differentiating instruction for each student.
- What is Structured Practice? – A method in which students practice what the teacher has demonstrated while the teacher remains involved. Like guided practice, except the teacher remains involved for the duration of instruction.
- What is Massed Practice? – A learning technique which involves the repetition of specific facts or skills over a concentrated period. With massed practice, educators don’t teach a skill once and move on when students master it. They practice the skill continuously, during a concentrated period, to ensure that student’s ability to demonstrate it becomes second nature.
- What is Distributed Practice? – A learning technique which involves the repetition of specific items at intervals over a designated period. With distributed practice, educators don’t teach a skill once and move on when students master it. They revisit and practice the skill, on a fixed schedule, to ensure that student’s abilities stay sharp.
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