Discussion Post: Law Diminishing Returns
While practice may never make perfect, it does improve performance indefinitely, although at diminishing levels. Timed measurements of workers using a machine to roll cigars found that, after four years of practice that involved thousands of trials, proficiency continued to improve (Crossman, 1959). Similarly, a series of twelve practice sessions on manipulating an angled laparoscope reported dramatic improvements in the time to completethe task from the first to the last practice session (Keehner, Lippa, Montello, Tendick, &Hegary, 2006). Figure 10.7 shows the average improvement over practice sessions, along with the distribution of results at each trial among individual participants. First, you can see that the greatest performance improvements occurred on the first five trials. Second, you can see that the performance differences among individual participants were large on the first few practice sessions but diminished as practice continued. Over time, effective practice exercises even out initial variations among individuals, resulting in consistent performance. Diminishing skill improvements over time is referred to as the Power Law of Practice, which has been shown to apply not only to motor skills like the laparoscopic task but also to intellectual skills such as writing (Rosenbaum, Carlson, & Gilmore, 2001).
Task
The Law of Diminishing Returns says that continuous practice creates continuous improvement, even though improvements may be in smaller and smaller increments.
1) If this is true, should anyone receive a grade of 100% on test, paper or demonstration of skill? Obviously, with Diminishing Returns, none of us every gets it perfect.
2) Are such scores counterproductive in that they create a sense of "being done" or "right" that stops our learners for continuing to practice?
3) Should we eliminate tests and scores because they are artificial and deter continuous development?
The response must include a reference list. Using Times New Roman 12 pnt font, double-space, one-inch margins, and APA style of writing and citations.