Making Mistakes
I let the students know it is ok to make mistakes.Just dont let them beat you up from them but learn from them.Then as class continues i will bring up mistakes i made in the field that pertain to what we are learning that day.
Bill--
You are absolutely correct that we can learn a great deal from mistakes if we truly consider the lessons. Keeping the 'real world' examples in front of them helps.
Susan
Students might not realize that making mistakes is part of the learning process. If you learn from the mistakes you will be better at what you are attempting to do. The key is learning from the mistake and not to keep making the same mistake over and over again expending a different result. When you as an instructor share some of your hard learned lessons from the field it seems the learning process is relevant to them.
I agree the students need to see that even the instructor has made mistakes and then you need to tell them what you learned from that mistake. Not all mistakes end in some sort of unfavorable condition. Many times making a mistake makes you a better worker because you take the time to check your work and try not to repeat the mistake. I often tell students that their mistakes often tell the instructor where a lesson might be weak or where the instructions might not be clear. If several students are making the same mistake then something is wrong and that by finding these mistakes it can bring about positive change.
I not only bring up the mistakes, but examples of struggling with a particularly difficult problem, and how I was able to solve it.
John--
So true! Seems we all learn much more from our mistakes than our successes and those lessons stay with us much longer.
Susan
Every failure is one step closer to success. Mistakes while learning are to be expected and although not encouraged they should be welcomed. Mistakes make strong memories. These memories help us not to make them again. I always tell my students that I can never seem to remember all the questions on a test I got right, but I can tell you the ones I got wrong. A MISTAKE IN TRAINING IS ONE AVOIDED IN THE FIELD.
Bonnie--
This is great! They say you learn more from mistakes than successes...doesn't always feel like that :) Sharing yours with the class let's them know you are human and, as you point out, they can learn from your stories.
Susan
I always share mistakes that I have made while working in the field of medical assisting. My students know that I am only human as well, and that I have learned from my mistakes. They also see that I was once where they are, and that I have grown over the years. They also may remember my story and not make the same mistake I made.
Norm--
That is great! I know students like to know that they aren't the only ones who have/will make mistakes. Showing them that you are human in that regard is helpful. Telling them what you learned from it is extremely important. Hopefully, they will not make the same ones.
Susan
i also tell of the mistakes i've made in the field, then the lessons learned from those mistakes.
Patrick--
That is an excellent adjustment in how we think. Mistakes are that--learning experiences. If we got much better and asking students to analyze what they learned from this situations, they may also change their paradigm.
Susan
Maybe, instead of calling them mistakes, we can just look at the trial and error as just part of the learning process. We all bumped our butts a couple of times learning how to walk. I don't know if those were mistakes or if falling down is how you learn to walk.
Just make sure you also include some examples of things you have done well in your career.
I believe it is very important to share mistakes made, this is where the learning comes from, mistakes are fine and to be expected. Make that mistake made a learning experience.
I agree with you I think students need to know that it is only normal to make mistakes and it will happen that way they feel normal.
I do the same and how I fixed the mistake I made. Often I share those things we see everyday that we are doing incorrectly and how to improve. If we laugh at it many times they won't make that mistake again and it helps them remember it at test time.
I often tell my students that making mistakes may end up being that best education they can get, if they understand what they did and how not to do it again.
Scott--
That is wonderful that you give personal, work-related examples.
Susan
