The tight schedule of the school day might be controversial, but its unraveling in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic left students around the world scrambling to schedule their own time. Students who were used to being told when to eat, when to use the restroom, and when it’s appropriate to socialize had to establish their own routines in the wake of a sudden and unexpected increase in autonomy.
Learning from home also put additional pressure on these so-called “digital natives” to overcome novel hurdles to access learning in the first place. Students had to work through issues with Internet connectivity, the unfamiliarity of asynchronous learning platforms, and delays in the feedback loop, since questions were often being answered by teachers via email rather than face-to-face.
In short, students tried to replicate the entire school experience from their homes and, understandably, it wasn’t always a smooth transition for many.
On a Zoom session with my seventh-grade advisory, one student raised her hand and shared what many students were feeling: “I really am trying my best, but I just keep messing up. I miss deadlines, forget to read instructions, and don’t know where to submit my work. I try to fix it myself, but I don’t know where to start.” Since students have become responsible for so much more of their learning, there is simply more opportunity for error.
In an age widely defined by change, disruption, and uncertainty, one thing is for sure: Students will make mistakes. What is uncertain is whether, and how much, students will learn from them. As common as mistake-making is, learning from mistakes is not common at all. “Mistakes are the most undermined, undervalued way for learning to occur” (The Learning Network, 2019, para. 8). And yet, students need to possess the confidence, independence, and skill to both navigate and learn from their mistakes. In short, our students need to become mistake literate.
To be mistake literate, one must have an eye toward optimizing one’s learning by recognizing, reacting to, and repairing the mistake. The importance of such a mindset is echoed widely across academic literature and across the globe. Studies from the Philippines, Germany, and Hong Kong find a strong correlation between mistake-making and learning, and one study from the United States even concluded that “an unwarranted reluctance to engage with errors may have held back American education” (Metcalfe, 2017, p.12).
Now, more than ever before, mistakes are an inevitable part of the learning process. So, how can teachers put students in a position to feel comfortable and confident engaging with their mistakes, rather than turning away from them?
1. Be funny!
Research has found that humor can have a positive influence on learning from mistakes. “Humor has a much more disarming, leveling, humbling, and most importantly, comforting effect than many might admit. . .[A] professional playfulness can relax tensions and create a more collegial atmosphere for content exploration” (DeBrincat, 2015, p.20). This can be especially effective if a teacher uses mistakes as learning opportunities and explores the unintended issues that arise. If handled properly, humorous moments can offer springboards for inquiry.
A study done by The Learning Network provides anecdotal evidence to suggest that students agree with this sentiment: “The classes in which I succeed most are the ones where the teachers are very funny [when we make mistakes]” (Rickabaugh, 2019, para. 4). Ultimately, teachers set the tone for learning, so teachers approaching mistakes with a sense of humor can lead to students doing the same.
2. Be patient.
When it comes to mistake-making, students need to know they’re not alone, which can only happen in a classroom guided by a teacher who exhibits practicality and patience. “I can just remind [students] that imperfection is a part of life and a part of study, and that they should not paralyze themselves in pursuit of perfection. Instead, [students] should incorporate this reality in such a way that is beneficial to their learning experience” (DeBrincat, 2015, p.18). In short, a teacher who accepts the unavoidable reality of mistake-making is likely to give their students permission to do the same.
3. Be collaborative.
Finally, an appetite for peer collaboration is essential. To support students in learning from their mistakes, teachers cannot operate in a silo; students need to experience it across all their classes. Learning from errors requires strong teacher teamwork in terms of planning and implementation. “Teachers’ sense of shared responsibility and efficacy related to student learning typifies strong personalized learning environments [and is] associated with increased student engagement” (Impact of Student Choice and Personalized Learning, 2014, p.8).
By Zachary Cohen
Mr. Cohen is an educator, consultant, and blogger, specializing in personalized learning, school leadership, and Mistake Literacy. He is the Middle School Director at St. Francis School in Louisville, Kentucky, with more than a decade of teaching experience in independent and international schools in the United States, China, and South Africa. He was named an ASCD Emerging Leader in 2020, and is currently a doctoral candidate in Education Leadership and Management at Drexel University. You can follow Zak on Twitter at @cohen_zak.
Bibliography
DeBrincat, D. (2015). Yes, no, wait, what? The benefits of student mistakes in the classroom. The History Teacher, 49(1), 9–34.
Metcalfe, J. (2017). Learning from errors. Annual Review of Psychology, 68(1), 465–489. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010416-044022
Pane, J. F., Steiner, E. D., Baird, M. D., & Hamilton, L. S. (2015). Continued Progress: Promising Evidence on Personalized Learning. The Learning Network. (2020). What students are saying about how to improve American education. The New York Times.