Learning from your mistakes
I am an automotive instructor, I find that sharing my mistakes and showing me students how I learned from them, helps them be more secure in performing task in a lab setting. They learn by my examples that everyone will make mistakes but it’s what we learn from them is what’s important, I find that they do not feel judged and are very willing to share their mistakes with each other which helps everyone learn.
"The classroom time is best used to learn from your mistakes versus making mistakes in the working world." This is very true but many of our students are not secure enough to feel they can learn from it they try to hide it either out of fear of criticisms or failure. Many have never had a dad who could show them failing is actually make us stronger and wiser. In today’s world we see the senior generation as old and out of date, companies pay the younger ones and promote the younger ones sending a message of older is not wiser as I grew up with. It is unfortunate but sometimes I make a mistake and take full ownership in front of the class just to show them I am a person.
Megan , to create safe learning environment at any institution takes a total team effort. If the students trust the faculty but not the administration then they still may not feel safe. In the career college sector of higher education and in others the focus tends to be on student success is everyone's job not just the instructors. Same holds true for students feeling safe and able to fail freely so that they may learn more deeply.
James Jackson
Creating a safe learning environment where students feel ok not being right all the time is essential at our school. Many of our students have struggled at their previous traditional educational institutions so we take as many steps as possible to increase their sense of safety, motivation and perserverence.
I'm wondering if you have any suggestions for ways that staff members (as opposed to faculty) can support a safe learning environment?
Steven, I really like your post. May I use this as a reference for other instructors? Keep up the great work.
James Jackson
I have 4 reasons to love and learn from your mistakes:
1. Mistakes teach us valuable lessons
2. Mistakes makes us tougher
3. Mistakes keeps us humble
4. Mistakes provides constrast.
Sarah, life/death scenarios of course require a different take on learning from mistakes. This is true for many other professional settings. It is good to build a safe environment where students feel free to explore and learn from their mistakes but we also need to take full advantage of these teachable moments and associate how in the "real world" such a mistake could be catastrophic. A little stress on the student is not necessarily a bad thing but needs to be done with tact and always with professionalism. Excellent post and thanks sharing.
James Jackson
Learning from others mistakes can help so the student doesn't make mistakes of his/her own. I'm a medical setting this can be critical. Life or death even. But it can also take away some of the students confidence in trying things out for themselves. Sometimes the only way you can learn is to make mistakes, not just hear about them. There has to be a balance for the instructor and for the curriculum.
Devon, well stated. Learning from understanding our mistakes tends to yield deeper rooted memories and a better understanding overall.
James Jackson
Learning from mistakes in a cooking class, especially when there is chocolate being tempered or something similar is an remindable error, because the product comes out wrong or ruined. Explaining then what happened and how the mistakes effected the final product is good for students and generally easily remembered
Robert, you are correct and learning from mistakes inside a properly constructed curriculum and classroom is a large part of the overall learning process.
James Jackson
Making mistakes is part of the human condition. It's not always a bad thing...IF one can learn from it and try not to make the same mistake again.
I agree as well - I am a culinary instructor, and for my students the fact that even with the amount of experience I have I still make mistakes takes some of the pressure off them to be perfect. I believe that creates a more comfortable learning environment for them, especially when they see how to properly handle making the mistake (as in, not throwing a hissy-fit.....).
Kevin, well stated and you speak of a very common issue that many instructors face. For some instructors they feel their role is to just focus on the curriculum yet this is not what is going to make a true difference. We as instructors are life coaches regardless if we like that role or not it exists and teaching the curriculum is just part of the role we must face. Making mistakes is a reality of life as no one is perfect. It is how we take accountability and learn from our mistakes that differentiates the truly successful professional from someone who has to go from job to job because they just do not understand the importance of accountability. Thanks for sharing and keep up the great work.
James Jackson
"Better to use classroom time to learn from your mistakes versus making mistakes in the working world." This is very true but many of our students are not secure enough to feel they can learn from it they try to hide it either out of fear of criticisms or failure. Many have never had a dad who could show them failing is actually make us stronger and wiser. In today’s world we see the senior generation as old and out of date, companies pay the younger ones and promote the younger ones sending a message of older is not wiser as I grew up with. It is unfortunate but sometimes I make a mistake and take full ownership in front of the class just to show them I am a person.
GILDA, students in our sector come to us with varying levels of maturity. Good to bring these characteristics forward during classroom conversations so students can be made more aware of the behaviors of adults versus those of adolescents. Unfortunately maturity is not directly linked to chronological age so we as instructors need to lead by example and help students understand the acceptable behaviors of adults. The poor assumption is that someone who is 35 is more mature than someone who is 20 as this simply is not always the case. You are likely to experience 35 year old adolescents and 25 year old adults in today's higher education landscape.
James Jackson
Paul, better to use classroom time to learn from your mistakes versus making mistakes in the working world. This is one of the true values of coming to class on a regular basis and getting maximum time inside the classroom so mistakes can be managed in a controlled and safe environment.
James Jackson
As an instructor I have heard students using excuses for a mistake rather than accepting that a mistake has been made. Going forward students do realize a mistake was made and at some time acknowledge a positive outcome has been achieved.
I feel that relating mistakes made by others helps develop a learning experience. I further feel that students going through case studies, experiments, real life, that make mistakes, keep trying until they achieve success is the real key. The old saying "Try, try again!"
wayne, excellent post and well stated. Students tend to fear making mistakes as they relate mistakes for failing a subject. The more you can make them feel comfortable that making mistakes in the classroom is part of learning the better they will learn.
James Jackson
