Where it is used
Each entry identifies the volume, edition, chapter or appendix in which the work appears.
The evidence behind the series
Follow the research.
Explore every source.
Browse the scientific research and professional literature used across all seven volumes of The Science of Learning for Educators.
7book volumes
8author ranges
1searchable library
Search the collection
Find a paper, author or idea.
Choose an author range, search a title or concept, or narrow the collection by source type. Open any result to see where it appears in the books, read its evidence summary and follow available source links.
1 reference
-
- Vol 1 RE: Chapter 6
deliberate practiceexpert performanceperformance feedbackerror correctionpractice organisationindividual differencesJournal article Evidence summaryAt a glance
Ericsson, Krampe, and Tesch-Römer argue that high-level performance is largely explained by the accumulated effects of deliberate practice: structured activities specifically designed to improve performance, requiring concentration, feedback, error correction, and repeated refinement. Studies of violinists and pianists relate attained performance to retrospective estimates of solitary practice and examine how training is constrained by effort, motivation, and recovery.
Key ideas
The authors distinguish deliberate practice from play, paid work, and mere repetition, and propose that continued improvement requires tasks beyond current reliable performance. They also review evidence across domains and challenge accounts that treat exceptional performance as a direct consequence of fixed innate capacity. The paper does not establish a universal ten-thousand-hour rule, nor does it show that practice alone explains every individual difference. Its retrospective and correlational evidence requires cautious causal interpretation.
Why it matters
Its enduring contribution is a testable framework linking expert achievement to the content, quality, duration, feedback, and developmental organisation of practice rather than to experience counted only in years.
A transparent research trail
More than a bibliography.
What it contributes
Evidence summaries explain the central idea and why the source matters to educators.
How to access it
Entries link to lawful full text where available, or to a publisher, library or purchase page.
Edition abbreviations
- TE
- Teacher Edition
- PE
- Practice Edition
- RE
- Research Edition
Citation checks
References are checked against publisher records, scholarly indexes, DOI or ISBN metadata, repositories and author records where available. An entry marked [Citation not verified] preserves the wording found in the relevant volume without attributing findings to an unconfirmed work.
From sources to a coherent pathway