Week 4: The Role of Drill & Practice

What is Drill & Practice?

The term drill and practice is defined as a method of instruction characterized by systematic repetition of concepts, examples, and practice problems. Drill and practice is a disciplined and repetitious exercise, used as a means of teaching and perfecting a skill or procedure. 

An instructional practice that can be used to promote the acquisition of skills and knowledge through repetition.

As an instructional strategy, drill & practice is familiar to all educators. It "promotes the acquisition of knowledge or skill through repetitive practice." It refers to small tasks such as the memorization of spelling or vocabulary words, or the practicing of arithmetic facts and may also be found in more sophisticated learning tasks or physical education games and sports. Drill-and-practice, like memorization, involves repetition of specific skills, such as addition and subtraction, or spelling. To be meaningful to learners, the skills built through drill-and-practice should become the building blocks for more meaningful learning.

What is its purpose?

Drill and Practice activities help learners master materials at their own pace. Drills are usually repetitive and are used as a reinforcement tool. Effective use of drill and practice depends on the recognition of the type of skill being developed, and the use of appropriate strategies to develop these competencies. There is a place for drill and practice mainly for the beginning learner or for students who are experiencing learning problems. Its use, however, should be kept to situations where the teacher is certain that it is the most appropriate form of instruction.

 

Download Files

drill-and-practice-in-maths.pdf (0.26 MB )