BarroMetrics Views: The Talent Code Revisted
In ‘A Quiet Revolution in Learning Theory‘, I introduced Myelin and Daniel Coyle’s learning model, ‘Deep Practice’.
In this blog, I’ll spell out the ramification of these ideas.
Currently, a trader’s education comprises of:
- One to four day’s seminars with perhaps a period of support after the seminar.
- Three to Six week webinars with a period of hand holding after the webinar.
The hand holding takes the form of answering questions and analysis by the instructor. The student rarely sends in his input.
- Mentoring courses lasting from three months to two years. For obvious reason, these tend to be at the top of the price range.
The education is akin to the air pilot training of the 1930s. Coyle recounts that the most able of the army’s pilots were dying in crashes. The education pilots received consisted of:
- The instructor taking up a prospective student in a plane. The pilot would then execute a series of loops and rolls. If the student did not get sick, he was admitted to air school.
- He then received some blackboard instruction and ground school. This was followed by
- Solo flying.
(Do you see the similarities with the trading education received since time immemorial? We go to seminar; we open an account; we start trading. Is it any wonder so many fail?)
The turning point for air safety came when Edwin Link built a flight simulator. Its use brought about the fantastic drop in fatalities and is responsible for today’s great air safety record The Coyle model is the trader’s Link Simulator.
If we adopt the Coyle model, trader education will split into two parts:
- The theory aspect and
- A ’simulator’ portion where the student learns to apply the theory.
Used effectively, the Coyle model will prepare the newbie trader for trading in much the same way as the simulator provided the training for novice pilots. My gut feel is we’ll see similar success rates.
Refer this blog post to a friend or colleague…
