The Gap Between Demonstration and Performance
A Most-Effective Teaching Tool
Swen Nater

Two Stories
Story 1
Coach Wooden in practice, addressing the group:

Gentlemen, I’m introducing a new drill. I need Bill, Keith, Greg, and Tommy behind the baseline with Greg first. [He takes the basketball and stands in front of Greg, facing to the court.] When I blow the whistle, dribble fast to the free throw line extended and come to a jump stop in balanced position. Go fast and test your balance with the quick stop. [Coach demonstrates in semi-slow motion.] On the next whistle, make the pivot on the right foot and stay on balance. [demonstration] On the last whistle, pass the ball to the next person in line, run straight toward him, and make a quick change of pace and direction to get back to the end of the line. [demonstration] The next player waits for the whistle to start. Any questions? OK men, let’s walk through it. [Four minutes pass as all four players do the drill at half speed while Coach explains and corrects.] OK. We won’t do the drill now; we will do this drill tomorrow.

Story 2
When visiting Coach Wooden at his Encino condominium, he asked me, “Swen, would you mind driving me to see Nellie?” (Mrs. Wooden had died years before and Coach visited her grave on the 21st of every month, the day of the month she died.) I agreed and was honored. As we pulled out of his garage (me driving), he said, “Now let me give you directions.”

Strangely, he gave me all of the directions at one time. Because we took the back way (not Highway 101), there were many (about 10) right and left turns all signaled by landmarks like flower shops and gas stations.

I was doing great up to the third turn but forgot the next one. I interrupted our conversation and asked, “Coach, where do I go now?” Out of the corner of my eye I saw him turn and look at me with an astonished countenance. Acting confounded and putting on his stern fatherly voice with a slight smirk, he said,

I gave you the directions, Swen. Weren’t you listening?

Smiling, I dropped my head and said, “I guess not, Coach.” He teasingly chuckled, patted my thigh, and told me where to turn next. 

The Gap Between Demonstration and Performance
For Story 1, the day after Coach demonstrated and explained the drill, we performed it almost perfectly. If Coach had us do the drill full speed, immediately after his demonstration, it would have been a mess. I know because I’ve been in those situations with other coaches. The question is: What happens during that 24-hour gap that improves the quality of performance?

Why the Gap Works
I discussed this with Ronald Gallimore and, based on what I remember of the experience, we came up with two positive things that happen during the gap. One is social and the other cognitive. Socially, performance after the gap improved because of peer pressure and competition. I wanted to know the drill because I didn’t want to be the one to screw it up. If I was the only one that didn’t get it, I would feel like I didn’t belong. Cognitively, performance improved after the gap because of visualization and rehearsal. The first time Coach announced the drill was going to be run the next day, I was surprised. The next time I watched very carefully and, during the gap, rehearsed what I saw and visualized myself doing it correctly.

Using a gap between demonstration and performance increases production per minute. In other words, it takes less time to demonstrate and run the drill the next day, than it does without the gap. In the latter, it may take several days before the players get it right. Using the gap, Coach was able to get the same result in one day.

Application to School
Following are two ideas of how The Gap from Demonstration to Performance can work in a school.
1. The first day of school, take the students outside, show them how to line up and enter the classroom as a quiet and orderly group, and tell them that the next day that’s how they’re expected to do it.
2. When teaching long division, demonstrate by doing two problems on the board, and list the steps (Fitting, Multiplying, Subtracting, Dropping). Have them do the second one with you. Give them homework complete with the steps and tell them that there will be a quiz the next day.
3. Demonstrate the steps and process of creating a simple speech (Introduction, 3-point Body, and Conclusion). Tell them that the next day, you’re going to put them in small groups and each group must make a speech. You can give them the topic if you like.

Conclusion
I did actually return to Coach’s condo about one month later but it wasn’t on the 21st. When I heard he wanted to go out to dinner with me, I got excited, not because I love Sizzler, but because I would have a chance to redeem myself in the area of following directions. I was licking my chops (not because we were going to Sizzler) in the car as we pulled out of the garage. Anxiously (perhaps too much because Coach caught on to what I was doing.), I asked, “OK Coach. Give me the directions.” Again, out of the corner of my eye I saw his head turn toward me. My anticipation of my redemption grew as I waited for him to give me all the directions, step-by-step. He waited about 10 seconds and then said,

No. I’ll just tell you where to turn as we go.

Darn it!