Massed practice is the idea of teaching only one activity for a few hours a day many weeks in a row. Then moving onto a second activity for a few hours a day many weeks in a row, then moving onto another activity, and so on. The alternative would be to do each activity every day for less time each day and for a much longer time period.
Doman’s How Smart is Your Baby is set out that you do many many activities only a few times a day for many months. I am feeling very overwhelmed trying to get it all done in a day. It might be easier to focus one one item for 3 weeks (maybe crawling), then move onto another (maybe outline BIT), etc.
In your opinion/experience what is the better way to learn/teach?
How Smart Is Your Baby is one of the Doman books I haven’t had a chance to read yet. Which programs are you trying to do everyday?
Can you simplify it to juse 2 programs?
Physical and EK outline Cards? Your baby will soon be beyond the outline cards anyway, so if you already have them, I’d use them, even if just 2 times a day, or even 1 time a day.
I highly doubt that doing “massed practice” for several HOURS a day will be beneficial. Every Doman program should be done in several SECONDS a day. A few minutes at most…
Which programs are you doing with your baby?
I’d pick 2-3 programs to start with, depending on her age and work from there.
I would think that massed practice would be difficult for a young one. Its hard enough to keep their attention for a short period of time let alone a long period of time.
I dont’ think this would be beneficial at all because once you lose their attention then much isn’t being learned.
I remember hearing in one of the Tweedlewinks overview course mp3 that there were two classes. One class tried to spread all the flashcard sessions throughout the day, and one class did one large session of flashcards and educational stuff in the morning and one in the afternoon. The class that did two sessions did much better all around then the class that spread it out throughout the day. They looked forward to their lessons and when they were busy exploding they would not be interrupted to learn. Both were fun activities for them. The class that did it throughout the day had higher levels of behaviors, aggression, and especially biting.
Food for thought
All I know is what I see at my son: he likes English lessons very much. So, I use LR - a session, continue with phonics (Starfall) or some music (Trebellina or, more recent, HBO - Classical Baby), read a story or we sing along and dance on different songs etc.
I can keep his attention by using the same background - English - but changing the subject - reading, phonics, music, dance, art etc. When we need to take our eyes off the screen (I mean when I need to change his attraction point) we can play naming the actions, objects in English in the same time.
The same thing with other languages. The more I know, the more I try to continue his lessons by talking to him, naming objects when he’s near me or watching me in the same day and after he had his lesson(s).
It seems to me that the more he is emersed in a language, for instance - through different activities that he likes very much - the more he’s learning it. (Same goes with everything I want to teach him).