Drawing on research into the positive effects of ‘deliberate practice’ on performance, this book will provide an interesting argument for education professionals keen to see beyond the idea of innate talent, and open to encouraging pupils that anyone – with enough hard work – can succeed.
Talent is overrated: what really separates world class performers from everybody else
Synopsis
In this accessible book Colvin asks ‘what is talent’: is it innate, or can it be taught? Drawing on a growing body of scientific evidence that shows that specific natural abilities don’t explain great performance, Colvin argues that with enough ‘deliberate practice’, most people can excel at any given activity.
Though the book does not focus exclusively on education, its central argument – that no one is inherently good or bad at certain things – can offer teachers a new perspective on how to help their pupils improve in their studies. Though pupils will not have the ’10,000 hours’ often cited as necessary to become an expert in a given activity, they can be instilled with an attitude that encourages practice and discourages giving-up if they don’t understand something straight away.