From Talent to Training: What Deliberate Practice Teaches Us About Great Teaching
Are great teachers born or made?
For years, many people believed that outstanding performers — in music, sport, or even teaching — were simply “naturally talented.” But landmark research by psychologist K. Anders Ericsson and colleagues (1993) turned that idea upside down.
Their famous study, The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance, showed that expertise is not the result of talent alone, but of thousands of hours of focused, purposeful practice.
What the Research Found
Ericsson’s team studied world-class violinists at the Music Academy of Berlin. They compared three groups:
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Elite violinists judged capable of international careers,
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Good violinists, and
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Violinists training to become teachers.
The difference between these groups was not “talent” or IQ. It was how many hours they had spent in deliberate practice:
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The best had accumulated 10,000+ hours of structured practice by age 20.
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The good had around 8,000 hours.
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The future teachers had about 4,000 hours.
The conclusion was clear:
Quality and quantity of practice explained the gap — not natural ability.
Ericsson called this the 10-year rule: it typically takes at least a decade of sustained deliberate practice to reach international-level expertise in any field.
What Does This Mean for Teaching?
Teaching is like playing the violin or training for sport. Just standing in front of a classroom every day (experience) does not automatically make us better.
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Routine experience = plateau. Without targeted effort, teachers often keep teaching at the same level for years.
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Deliberate practice = growth. To improve, we need structured opportunities to work on specific skills, get feedback, and refine them.
In Bangladesh, professional development often comes in the form of one-off workshops. These can inspire, but they rarely create lasting change. Ericsson’s research tells us that we need sustained cycles of practice, feedback, and refinement.
How Teachers Can Practise Deliberately
Here are five practical classroom tips inspired by deliberate practice research:
1. Set a Micro-Goal Each Week
Instead of “I will improve my teaching,” pick one focus:
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This week I will check every child’s understanding before moving on.
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This week I will practise using open-ended questions in maths.
Tip: Keep goals small and specific.
2. Seek Immediate Feedback
Ericsson found that feedback is essential — without it, practice stalls.
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Ask a colleague to observe just 10 minutes of your lesson and give feedback on your chosen skill.
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Use exit tickets from students to see if your questioning is working.
Tip: Don’t wait for formal observations — create your own feedback loops.
3. Repeat and Refine
Experts improve by repeating the same skill until it becomes automatic.
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Try your new questioning technique in three different classes.
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After each lesson, write down what worked and what didn’t.
Tip: Think like a sports player — each class is another training session.
4. Push Beyond Comfort, But Avoid Burnout
Ericsson showed that deliberate practice is effortful — it feels hard. But too much leads to exhaustion.
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Aim for one or two deliberate practice goals at a time.
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Don’t try to change everything at once.
Tip: Sustainable progress beats sudden overwork.
5. Work with a Coach or Peer
The best violinists had teachers who guided practice, corrected mistakes, and set challenges.
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Form a “lesson study” group with colleagues.
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After each cycle, share what you tried and what improved.
Tip: Improvement accelerates when teachers learn together.
Why This Matters in Bangladesh
Bangladeshi teachers face large classes, exam-driven curricula, and limited resources. This can feel overwhelming. But Ericsson’s research is encouraging:
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Expertise is built, not born. Any teacher, in any school, can improve.
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Small steps compound. Just 15 minutes of deliberate practice a day builds into hundreds of hours over a year.
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Support matters. Schools that foster collaboration and feedback will see faster teacher growth.
How EBTD Embeds Deliberate Practice
At Evidence-Based Teacher Development (EBTD), we design every programme around the principles of deliberate practice:
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Structured teacher modules – Each session focuses on one core teaching strategy (e.g., retrieval practice, behaviour routines).
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Feedback & reflection loops – Teachers test strategies in their classroom, get feedback, and refine them.
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Sustained learning – Courses run over weeks, not just one day, so that new habits have time to form.
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Leadership coaching – School leaders learn to create cultures where deliberate practice is normal, not exceptional.
In short: we don’t just train — we help teachers practise until great teaching becomes second nature.
A Final Thought
Ericsson’s research shows us that world-class expertise is not mysterious. It comes from years of structured, focused effort.
For teachers in Bangladesh, this means:
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Every lesson is a chance to practise.
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Every colleague is a potential coach.
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Every small improvement adds up.
At EBTD, we believe that from evidence to impact, deliberate practice is the path to inspiring classrooms and better learning for every child in Bangladesh.
The Full research paper can be downloaded here.
