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Characteristics
of Performance
From Grant Wiggins, CLASS 1994 workshop publication
Performance requires: |
1. | A repertoire; good judgement, adaptiveness, in light of a complex goal. |
2. | A 'whole' work that is more than the sum of its parts, fluid performance, sum of drills. |
3. | Opportunity to personalize; the work reveals a 'voice,' style, or 'signature' (while solving the problems at hand). |
4. | Rehearsals, refinement, feedback, revision, multiple opportunities to demonstrate control: known criteria and standards, multiple opportunities to demonstrate control. |
5. | Nonscriptable responses, not pat responses to exercises; mastery occurs via attention to criteria and standards, not by obeying recipes and step-by-step instructions only. |
6. | That impact, not process, is the key criterion. Performance is typically judged: by the effect on a real audience-in a specific context, whether it 'worked' to achieve the performer's intent and/or the audience/consumer's expectation. |
7. | That an excellent performance may likely have minor errors. The response to (and graceful/effective recovery from) error is often more important than the errors made. |
8. | Eventual autonomy-the coach on the sideline-where the performer can self-adjust. |