If you pay attention to online education posts and writings, you will often see a divide between two schools of thought: inquiry-based instruction and direct instruction. I’ve struggled with the frequent arguments for and against each approach. But when I keep things simple at the core, I’m reminded that productive practice can be a mainstay of any classroom as long as I pay attention to the classroom conditions that set the tone for such practice. In fact, in my August newsletter (SIGN UP HERE!!!), I highlighted two interesting studies on these very topics (you can read more on instructional practices here and on retrieval practice here).
First, what works is very fluid. In a dynamically evolving educational landscape, the way we prepare students and assess their learning is driven by the myriad of students and backgrounds we encounter in a diverse classroom. Second, practice, in its various forms, can have very different purposes and consequences. This was elegantly explored in an article for The Teaching Professor by Stephen Chew, where he elegantly reminds us that, regardless of which instructional camp you subscribe to, “there are different kinds of practice that have different learning consequences.”
Moreover, understanding the differences can only serve to improve teacher practice. Chew points out three kinds of productive practice studied extensively by psychologist Anders Ericsson:
- Naïve practice
- Purposeful practice
- Deliberate practice
In this post, I want to focus on the narratives we create by the classroom conditions we establish. Any teacher interested in improving their practice should be engaging in almost constant self-assessment. On a micro level, this could happen from class to class. On a macro level, one could reflect weekly, monthly, or at the end of a semester.
If you are looking for the best place to start, I would suggest starting a dialogue with students. My experience has shown me time and again that students crave a structured environment involving purposeful and deliberate practice. However, I’m afraid the overwhelming norm I observe in schools is a default to naïve practice. The promises of technology platforms and ever-evolving AI resources have caused some to forget that the conditions we create in our classroom drive good instruction and set the environment in which learning is likely to take center stage.
The tricky part is learning to evaluate the conditions we set. I must constantly ask myself, my co-teachers, and administrators to observe the conditions they see in my classroom and adjust accordingly. That is my challenge to you. Here are three ways to create favorable practice conditions for students.
Establish Clear Learning Targets and Success Criteria
It’s hard to hit a target when you cannot see it. That is the essence of this first condition. Clearly communicate with students what they are learning and how they can measure their progress towards success. Some practice tips include:
- Making learning targets/success criteria visible
- Using “I can” statements
- Regularly checking for understanding use low-stakes assessments
Insist on Reflection and Self-Assessment
Students must routinely examine their learning process. In doing so they can identify strategies that work and those that don’t. Additionally, when students reflect on their progress, they engage in self-assessment, a powerful predictor of success in any domain. More simply, it’s about knowing what you don’t know.
Create a Culture of Growth
Build an environment where students can expect difficulty and embrace mistakes while receiving support from their teacher and peers. Trust the process, right? Students should see that their effort towards improvement holds more weight than their innate ability. Some ways you can do this right away include:
- Normalizing hard using language such as “this might seem difficult, but that’s ok!”
- Sharing your own learning struggles and progress
- Incorporating revisions such as “Success from Errors” or “I used to think …, but now I know …”
Final Thoughts
If it’s true for students, why wouldn’t it be true for us too? Creating engaging classroom conditions for enhanced student practice is constantly a focus of my keynotes and workshops. I can’t think of a better way to make these classroom conditions come to life than if we all focus on three consistent actions: assess, reflect, adjust.
Reference
Chew, Stephen. (2025). Practice Is Essential for Developing Expertise (but Often Misunderstood).