TedTest

From the Ted Talk by Annie Bosler and Don Greene: How to practice effectively...for just about anything

Unscramble the Blue Letters

Mastering any physical skill, be it performing a pirouette, playing an instrument, or twhonirg a bbesaall, takes practice. pcaticre is the repetition of an action with the goal of improvement, and it hlpes us prreofm with more ease, speed, and confidence. So what does practice do in our brains to make us better at things? Our brains have two kinds of neural tissue: grey matter and white matter. The grey matter processes information in the brain, directing signals and sensory stimuli to nerve cells, while white matter is mostly made up of fatty tissue and nerve freibs. In order for our bodies to move, information needs to tvarel from the brain's grey mttaer, down the spinal cord, through a chain of nrvee fibers called axons to our muscles. So how does practice or rpoteitein affect the inner workings of our brains? The axnos that exist in the white matter are wrapped with a fatty substance called myelin. And it's this myelin covering, or sheath, that seems to change with practice. Myelin is similar to insulation on electrical cables. It prevents energy loss from electrical signals that the brain uses, moving them more efficiently along neural pathways. Some recent studies in mice suggest that the repetition of a physical moiotn increases the layers of myelin saethh that insulates the axons. And the more layers, the greater the insulation around the axon chains, forming a sort of superhighway for information connecting your brain to your muscles. So while many athletes and performers attribute their successes to muscle memory, mcluess themselves don't really have mreomy. Rather, it may be the miiyaletonn of neural pathways that gives these athletes and performers their edge with faster and more efficient neural pathways. There are many theories that amtpett to quantify the number of horus, days, and even years of practice that it takes to master a skill. While we don't yet have a magic number, we do know that mastery isn't simply about the amount of hours of practice. It's also the qultiay and eefeivcnfstes of that practice. Effective practice is consistent, intensely focused, and targets content or weaknesses that lie at the edge of one's current abilities. So if effective practice is the key, how can we get the most out of our practice time? Try these tips. Focus on the task at hand. Minimize potential distractions by turning off the computer or TV and putting your cell phone on airplane mode. In one study, researchers orevsebd 260 students studying. On aavegre, those students were able to stay on task for only six minutes at a time. Laptops, smartphones, and particularly Facebook were the root of most dnatosciirts. Start out slowly or in slow-motion. Coordination is bliut with repetitions, whether cercort or incorrect. If you gradually increase the speed of the quality rtoepeitns, you have a better chance of doing them coerlcrty. Next, fueneqrt repetitions with allotted breaks are common practice habits of elite proerrefms. Studies have shown that many top athletes, musicians, and dancers spend 50-60 hours per week on activities related to their carft. Many divide their time used for effective practice into multiple dialy practice sessions of limited duration. And finally, practice in your barin in viivd detail. It's a bit surprising, but a number of studies sesggut that once a physical motion has been established, it can be reinforced just by imagining it. In one study, 144 basketball players were ddiveid into two groups. Group A physically practiced one-handed free throws while Group B only mentally pceaticrd them. When they were tested at the end of the two week experiment, the ierntaeditme and experienced players in both groups had improved by nearly the same amount. As scientists get closer to unraveling the serctes of our barins, our understanding of effective practice will only improve. In the meantime, effective practice is the best way we have of pushing our individual limits, anciihevg new heights, and maximizing our potential.

Open Cloze

Mastering any physical skill, be it performing a pirouette, playing an instrument, or ________ a ________, takes practice. ________ is the repetition of an action with the goal of improvement, and it _____ us _______ with more ease, speed, and confidence. So what does practice do in our brains to make us better at things? Our brains have two kinds of neural tissue: grey matter and white matter. The grey matter processes information in the brain, directing signals and sensory stimuli to nerve cells, while white matter is mostly made up of fatty tissue and nerve ______. In order for our bodies to move, information needs to ______ from the brain's grey ______, down the spinal cord, through a chain of _____ fibers called axons to our muscles. So how does practice or __________ affect the inner workings of our brains? The _____ that exist in the white matter are wrapped with a fatty substance called myelin. And it's this myelin covering, or sheath, that seems to change with practice. Myelin is similar to insulation on electrical cables. It prevents energy loss from electrical signals that the brain uses, moving them more efficiently along neural pathways. Some recent studies in mice suggest that the repetition of a physical ______ increases the layers of myelin ______ that insulates the axons. And the more layers, the greater the insulation around the axon chains, forming a sort of superhighway for information connecting your brain to your muscles. So while many athletes and performers attribute their successes to muscle memory, _______ themselves don't really have ______. Rather, it may be the ___________ of neural pathways that gives these athletes and performers their edge with faster and more efficient neural pathways. There are many theories that _______ to quantify the number of _____, days, and even years of practice that it takes to master a skill. While we don't yet have a magic number, we do know that mastery isn't simply about the amount of hours of practice. It's also the _______ and _____________ of that practice. Effective practice is consistent, intensely focused, and targets content or weaknesses that lie at the edge of one's current abilities. So if effective practice is the key, how can we get the most out of our practice time? Try these tips. Focus on the task at hand. Minimize potential distractions by turning off the computer or TV and putting your cell phone on airplane mode. In one study, researchers ________ 260 students studying. On _______, those students were able to stay on task for only six minutes at a time. Laptops, smartphones, and particularly Facebook were the root of most ____________. Start out slowly or in slow-motion. Coordination is _____ with repetitions, whether _______ or incorrect. If you gradually increase the speed of the quality __________, you have a better chance of doing them _________. Next, ________ repetitions with allotted breaks are common practice habits of elite __________. Studies have shown that many top athletes, musicians, and dancers spend 50-60 hours per week on activities related to their _____. Many divide their time used for effective practice into multiple _____ practice sessions of limited duration. And finally, practice in your _____ in _____ detail. It's a bit surprising, but a number of studies _______ that once a physical motion has been established, it can be reinforced just by imagining it. In one study, 144 basketball players were _______ into two groups. Group A physically practiced one-handed free throws while Group B only mentally _________ them. When they were tested at the end of the two week experiment, the ____________ and experienced players in both groups had improved by nearly the same amount. As scientists get closer to unraveling the _______ of our ______, our understanding of effective practice will only improve. In the meantime, effective practice is the best way we have of pushing our individual limits, _________ new heights, and maximizing our potential.

Solution

performers
average
distractions
intermediate
observed
achieving
brain
craft
practice
daily
repetitons
built
fibers
correct
sheath
matter
brains
throwing
secrets
divided
memory
correctly
nerve
attempt
motion
suggest
myelination
frequent
helps
hours
axons
quality
vivid
perform
effectiveness
travel
muscles
repetition
baseball
practiced

Original Text

Mastering any physical skill, be it performing a pirouette, playing an instrument, or throwing a baseball, takes practice. Practice is the repetition of an action with the goal of improvement, and it helps us perform with more ease, speed, and confidence. So what does practice do in our brains to make us better at things? Our brains have two kinds of neural tissue: grey matter and white matter. The grey matter processes information in the brain, directing signals and sensory stimuli to nerve cells, while white matter is mostly made up of fatty tissue and nerve fibers. In order for our bodies to move, information needs to travel from the brain's grey matter, down the spinal cord, through a chain of nerve fibers called axons to our muscles. So how does practice or repetition affect the inner workings of our brains? The axons that exist in the white matter are wrapped with a fatty substance called myelin. And it's this myelin covering, or sheath, that seems to change with practice. Myelin is similar to insulation on electrical cables. It prevents energy loss from electrical signals that the brain uses, moving them more efficiently along neural pathways. Some recent studies in mice suggest that the repetition of a physical motion increases the layers of myelin sheath that insulates the axons. And the more layers, the greater the insulation around the axon chains, forming a sort of superhighway for information connecting your brain to your muscles. So while many athletes and performers attribute their successes to muscle memory, muscles themselves don't really have memory. Rather, it may be the myelination of neural pathways that gives these athletes and performers their edge with faster and more efficient neural pathways. There are many theories that attempt to quantify the number of hours, days, and even years of practice that it takes to master a skill. While we don't yet have a magic number, we do know that mastery isn't simply about the amount of hours of practice. It's also the quality and effectiveness of that practice. Effective practice is consistent, intensely focused, and targets content or weaknesses that lie at the edge of one's current abilities. So if effective practice is the key, how can we get the most out of our practice time? Try these tips. Focus on the task at hand. Minimize potential distractions by turning off the computer or TV and putting your cell phone on airplane mode. In one study, researchers observed 260 students studying. On average, those students were able to stay on task for only six minutes at a time. Laptops, smartphones, and particularly Facebook were the root of most distractions. Start out slowly or in slow-motion. Coordination is built with repetitions, whether correct or incorrect. If you gradually increase the speed of the quality repetitons, you have a better chance of doing them correctly. Next, frequent repetitions with allotted breaks are common practice habits of elite performers. Studies have shown that many top athletes, musicians, and dancers spend 50-60 hours per week on activities related to their craft. Many divide their time used for effective practice into multiple daily practice sessions of limited duration. And finally, practice in your brain in vivid detail. It's a bit surprising, but a number of studies suggest that once a physical motion has been established, it can be reinforced just by imagining it. In one study, 144 basketball players were divided into two groups. Group A physically practiced one-handed free throws while Group B only mentally practiced them. When they were tested at the end of the two week experiment, the intermediate and experienced players in both groups had improved by nearly the same amount. As scientists get closer to unraveling the secrets of our brains, our understanding of effective practice will only improve. In the meantime, effective practice is the best way we have of pushing our individual limits, achieving new heights, and maximizing our potential.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

ngrams of length 2

collocation	frequency
effective practice	5
white matter	3
neural pathways	3
grey matter	2
nerve fibers	2
physical motion	2

Important Words

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