Learning from failure
I let my students know that it is alright to fail(in the practical side). They are students, therefore they are learning and not experts at it already. I tell them that my expectation is that they take that experience and learn from it. Hopefully, the experience will give them confidence. I also encourage them to practice to give them confidence and they must trust themselves.
Kenny, great post and learning from making mistakes implies learning by doing which has shown to be one of the best ways to learn.
James Jackson
Many students will learn from their mistakes, some will need to make several attempts to "get it right" In a post grad school they are often given many chances to practice AND some actually get better at the task at hand.
Catharine, great topic. You are also teaching your students to be attentive to the details and the importance of analysis along with cause and effect. Great teachable moments!
James Jackson
I use failure as part of a tool for the students.
In baking, lots can go wrong. I have the students go over the steps they used in creating the product. By going through piece by piece they learn not only from their success but failures as well.
I could not agree more. I have been teaching baking and pastries for 13 years. I have found that always doing things right is not a great experience for my students. When they go off to work how will they know how to fix something if it goes wrong. I tell my student make all your mistakes while you are in school so I can teach you how to fix it.
Melissa Chapman
I often times teach a Math class which happens to be a majority of the students least favorite subject. Many do have math anxiety and are afraid they will fail. I always say practice makes perfect but I feel by doing problems over and over even if it is the same problem it gives them a little more confidence each time knowing that they can do it. They get stressed out when they fail a test or quiz but I reinforce that it was only 1 test or 1 quiz and now you have to see where you can improve and what you can do better for next time whether it be study more, study with a buddy or ask for a tutor. Someone did mention that you are not an expert and if that was the case you would not have a need to be at school. We all learn from failure in some aspect whether it be failing a test or missing a deadline because of poor time management. In any case, failure is not always a bad thing. It makes us more aware of our weaknesses, the areas we need to improve and hopefully it gives us determination to do better next time.
Peter, failure is not the only way to learn but can be a very useful tool. Be careful to over encourage your students to fail. Focus more on not being afraid of failure and reaching outside their comfort zones. Reaching beyond the normal boundaries can be more powerful than the focus on failure.
James Jackson
Life is full of failures, so the classroom enviroment is no different. We try to help students to understand that you only learn from making mistakes(and I make them too during demo's) and the best way to learn is to do it in class not in the real world, as those mistakes, if you learn from them can save you a lot of headaches.
School is also a learning enviroment where mistakes are the norm.
I encourage my students just to remember the pitfalls, the how's, where and the why's of their actions and how to make it better the next time.
MICHAEL, does your grading process reward students for learning from their mistakes? Such a grading process could go a long way towards teaching students the importance of taking chances and not making the same mistake twice.
James Jackson
Patricia, students can better learn this lesson if they are given an opportunity to turn their failures into success and their grade reflects what they have learned. Do you feel your grading process rewards students that learn from their failures? Please provide any level of description you can share as I am sure this would be of interest to many of our readers.
James Jackson
Leona, graphic design is a right-brain activity and the beauty can be in the eye of the beholder. Students may feel they have created a real piece of art but may not have met the design specifications of the assignment so this disconnect can cause distress in their ability to connect to the learning outcomes. I am sure you discuss with your students that you are not criticizing their artistic impression but it is your job to ensure they are meeting the requirements of the assignment as this is what will be taking place in the "real-world". The customer is always right as they say and you play the role of the customer when they are submitting their impressions of the assignment to you for review. Having such discussions with your students may provide them some level of understanding that making mistakes is not an attach on their skills but is a means of better understanding how to read a set of criteria and then creating a design that meets the scope and specifications of the client, or in the case of a classroom setting, the assignment.
James Jackson
I tell my students, when we make mistakes we learn by our mistakes. We seem to remember for the next time.
I discuss with the classroom of students, that failure will occur in Lab. It is most important to recognize,understand and discuss how or why it failed; the process, method, measurment accuracy or ommission etc. This is called learning.
Paul, your bring forward a really important concept with respect to broadcast messaging versus actial education. Allowing students the opportunity to redo various assignments is a great way to evaluate their learning and their understanding. Just because a student reads a chapter in a book and you as the instructor "lecture" on the material in no way guarantees that a transfer of knowledge is taking place. Having students demonstrate their understanding is a much more effective technique of measuring transfer of knowledge, skills, and understanding.
James Jackson
We often learn more from our missteps than we do from our first time success. One technique I have employed is the power of the redo. in a composition course, this can be an effective way for students to rethink an approach, correct usage and mechanical errors or to find more concise and direct ways of expressing ideas. I like to work with questions rather than directions when I evaluate writing assignments: Is this the most direct way to say this? Who is actually "being a home healthcare provider" in this sentence? This puts the student in control of his own writing and helps the student develop a personal writing voice.
Norma, mistakes in the classroom are opportunities to learn. Mistakes in the real-world can be more costly. Good that you have your students making their mistakes and learning from them in the safety of your classroom. : - )
James Jackson
Indeed, if students always produce perfect products they will never learn how to fix something that is not right. Some of my students most memorable class encounters is learning that making a mistake is ok, and learning how to fix it opened a whole new world for them, as well as reminding them to never let it happen again.
failure is the greast way the student has to measure their succes. when they know it will fail they strive to make it better over and over agian.failure con be the best motivor in thec food servies industry. it will make them step up and except the challange to succed.
I totally agree with justin. Sometimes a student is headstrong and thinks their way is the way it should be done. I let them learn by the mistake that they make. After they realize the reason it needs to be done the way it was explained to them you can see the lesson they learned in the expression on their face. I then ask them what they would do different the next time. With these type students, letting them learn from there own mistakes saves alot of repeated discussions on why things are done the way they are done. I have never had a student try the same mistake twice.
