Piano Players Among Us

A passage struck me from my homework this week. Wagner and Lane write in Chapter 9 of my text for adult learning and adult development wrote about age-related developmental tasks and that "these concepts underscore the idea that adults have the capacity to learn the skills and adaptive strategies needed to shape social contexts in ways that protect and enhance their developmental potential as well as their mastery strategies" (Hoare, 2011, p. 157). They go on to write about how adults use social contexts to are still a part of their lives. 

This section follows a passage regarding developmental regulation where the author writes about three assumptions of action theoretical models 1) developmental plasticity, 2) life-long gain-loss dynamics and 3) scaffolding of developmental tasks. 

It's that third assumption that struck me and helped me bring the two passages together. In the past, our organization is new to the concept of scaffolding complex ideas for learners to build understanding; taking simple concepts and building to complex ones. The idea of developmental scaffolding is new to me but one that appeals to me nonetheless. 

It linked for me a passage from another reading where Heckhasusen (2005) writes about aging and elder pianists who must make their practice sessions deliberate to stay sharp. She goes on to write about how this deliberate practice can lead to patterns and habits that "effect subcomponents of the skill" (p. 252). This deliberate practice makes me think of scaffolded practice opportunities and the developmental scaffolding Wagner and Lane reference specifically. 

My own mother, in her late 70's now, practices piano religiously. She was never a "top performer" as Heckhausen references, but I can see when she is following rote memorization of her favorite tunes vs trying new pieces as a part of "deliberate practice." I think it's intriguing that older adults like my mother have an intrinsic motivation to do better and stay sharp and find those that best fit their needs and developmental plasticity. 

Other than these that I've referenced, are there any other deliberate practice opportunities out there that others notice? As I mentioned in my first post, I too play the piano, much like my mother (although she is much better than I), while my wife loves crosswords and puzzles to stay sharp. I see this as a part of deliberate practice to promote developmental plasticity as well. 

References

Heckhausen, J. (2005). Competence and Motivation in Adulthood and Old Age: Making the Most of Changing Capacities and Resources. In A. J. Elliot & C. S. Dweck (Eds.), Handbook of competence and motivation (pp. 240–256). Guilford Publications.

Hoare, Carolyn (Ed.) (2011) The Oxford Handbook of Reciprocal Adult Development and Learning. 2nd Edition. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN: 978-0199736300.