This week, Steve and Matt are joined by Cal McDonald to discuss best practices for educating kids. In addition to being a black belt under Rob Biernacki, Cal is a specialist in creating educational frameworks for children. Cal shares his knowledge on the topic in a wonderful conversation with implications well beyond teaching children. This is one of our favorite conversations ever on the podcast.

Learning strategies discussed:

Effortful Retrieval: Make them work to pull concepts back out of their memories.
Chunking: Manage their cognitive load.
Interleaving: Shake it up to force them to recall techniques.
Varied Practice: The partner provides variable levels of resistance.
Elaboration: Connect things to what they already know.
Modeling: Demonstrate flawless technique because they will mirror you.

Mental models discussed in this episode:

Spaced Repetition
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/spaced-repetition/
Cognitive Load
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/cognitive-load/
Incremental Learning
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/incremental-learning/
Critical Control Points
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/critical-control-points/
Transfer of Learning
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/transfer-of-learning/
Interleaving
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/interleaving/
Growth From Discomfort
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/growth-from-discomfort/
Position Over Submission
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/position-over-submission/
Alignment Over Position
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/alignment-over-position/

IMPORTANT: BJJ Mental Models needs your help.

In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, the future for Steve and Matt is uncertain. Our gyms are closed, our income is impacted, and we need your help in order to continue providing free content. We've started a Patreon where you can support BJJ Mental Models. Please help us keep the lights on so we can keep your game sharp during this once-in-a-century crisis. Link here:
https://patreon.com/bjjmentalmodels/

Need more BJJ Mental Models?

Get tips, tricks, and breakthrough insights from our mailing list:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/join/

Get nitty-gritty details on our mental models from the full database:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/database/

Let them know you're an educated grappler with our merch:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/store/

Get the latest BJJ Mental Models updates from Facebook:
https://facebook.com/bjjmentalmodels/

Music by Enterprize:
https://enterprize.bandcamp.com/

Get Jake O'Driscoll's triple threat ankle lock course, FREE:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/jake

The Buckthorns: Fire, brimstones and the invasive aliens hiding in a pig's bladder