GlossaryGuide

Etym. deliberate (adj.) 15th century Middle English, from Latin deliberatus, past participle of deliberare to consider carefully, perhaps alteration of *delibrare, from de- + libra scale, pound.

Etym. practice (n.) 14th century Middle English practisen, from Middle French practiser, from Medieval Latin practizare, alteration of practicare, from practica practice, noun, from Late Latin practice, from Greek praktikē, from feminine of praktikos.

Definition

• A theory of general psychology that states the differences between expert performers and normal adults reflect a life-long period of deliberate effort to improve performance in a specific domain. (Ericsson, K. A).

• A systematically designed activity that has been created specifically to improve an individual’s performance in a given domain (Ericsson, Krampe, & Tesch-Römer, 1993).

Compare: MASTERY LEARNING