Lesson Overview

Performance means the ability to do something well in a given context.

In learning, the ultimate goal is performance; however, achieving performance requires knowledge, making these two goals interdependent.

To grow performance, learners need systematic and distributed repetitions—practicing the task across spaced intervals—while engaging in reflective thinking (RT) improve their knowledge and their performance is a progressive and effective way.

Description

Performance means that an actor (person or group) can do something that is worthwhile and do this thing well enough for context (surrounding circumstances).

Level of Performance refers to how well a actor can do this thing.

Note: Here, I’m using “performance” to refer to the ability to do something that is worthwhile at an acceptable level. The term “performance” is also used to refer to one instance of doing something as in the singer’s performance was excellent.

Note: An actor refers to a person or a group. This is critical so that we can talk about how well a group performs as in how well a team or company gets their job done. I use the term “actor” purposeful because an actor has a role to play. Thus, performance refers to how well a person or group can play there roles.

Examples

Many actors are recognized for their performance.

• Roger Federer plays tennis exceptionally well.
• Apple is very good at designing, building, and selling technology products like the iPhone.
• Stephen King is a good writer. Earnest Hemingway was a good writer.
• The Alabama football team has been a good team over the last several years.

This next list presents some more examples of desirable performances:

• Make a lot of sales with little effort
• Develop a product that succeeds in the marketplace
• Start multiple successful businesses
• Conducting a survey that accurately describes the preferences of your population
• Write great novels and sell a lot of books
• Leading a startup such that it becomes a sustainable business
• Speaking French as a second language and doing so fluently
• Creating a marketing system that brings in huge amounts of revenue by attracting potential customers, turning them into paying customers, retaining them, and turning them into evangelists
• Make awesome hand sketches

Facts about Performance

• People who can perform well are always in demand. For example, a lawyer who consistently wins cases will get a lot of business

• Performance is learned. A person who excels at something (coding, marketing, engineering, skiing, sales, and so forth) does so because they learned how.

• Performance can and should be improved on an ongoing basis.

Resources

1. Theory of Performance.pdf by Dr Donald F Elger