TC Summary: Ch. 8, Emily Cottam

The Talent Code: Chapter 8, “The Talent Whisperers”

Emily Cottam

Chapter Summary: According to Daniel Coyle, the greatest teachers listen more than they talk and have intense focus on what they see in front of them, and spend more time providing “small, targeted, highly specific adjustments” for their students than providing excessive amounts of praise. Truly skilled teachers are not only knowledgeable in their field, but they are able to adapt their teaching style to every individual student. An effective way to teach/coach a student is to demonstrate and explain (i.e. “This, not that.”). Sometimes, a teacher’s value lies not only in their ability to teach their student a particular skill, but rather to inspire the student to become intrinsically motivated to master that skill, which is a critical part of the foundation of learning. 

Key Concepts:

The most effective form of coaching isn’t providing a long-winded stream of instruction, but rather short and highly specific adjustments. 

Demonstration and explanation are both important tools that can be applied in combination with the above concept. 

Key Terms:

Small, targeted, highly specific adjustments

Demonstration and explanation

Making Connections: I have noticed in my own lessons, whether they be piano or vocal lessons, my teachers are so effective because their teaching style matches that of the above description; they spend less time with unnecessary praise and more time with consistent small adjustments, which is essentially myelination--do something until there’s a mistake, correct the mistake, and try again.