![]() If a mistake’s “purpose” is to give us information, then the best mistakes are the ones we design. ![]() Understanding the different types of mistakes, the contexts in which they are valuable, and when they should be avoided contribute to establishing a strong learning culture. There will certainly be times when students need to perform and errors should be minimised, but these performance situations need to be clearly identified to distinguish them from learning situations. In a learning culture, mistakes are expected, encouraged and used to help students grow. We must ensure our classrooms develop a learning culture. In these environments, all mistakes are seen as Performance Mistakes, so they tend to be avoided. Unfortunately, many schools and organisations have established a performance culture: a culture where people are expected to demonstrate what they can do, error free. In performance situations, they are to be avoided. In learning situations, mistakes are to be expected and embraced. This highlights why it’s so important for us to distinguish between learning situations and performance situations. When they happen, we interrogate them and tease out the information they contain to help us grow. Stretch Mistakes occur during learning situations – times when we deliberately seek to push our limits, knowing that mistakes are likely. They are what we usually mean when we talk about encouraging or celebrating “mistakes”. Stretch Mistakes happen when we deliberately stretch ourselves into our Learning Zone. someone can show us carefully how to do something right the first time), Stretch Mistakes are an almost inevitable part of learning. ![]() After all, if we could do better than our best, we’d call that our best!Īlthough we don’t have to make mistakes (e.g. When we stretch beyond our current best, trying new and more difficult things, we will make mistakes. However, Aha Moment Mistakes can be difficult to create and sometimes easily missed because they provide information the student wasn’t looking for. Their unexpected nature can make them highly memorable, and they can contribute significantly to the learning process. Aha Moment Mistakes can be hugely insightful. Perhaps, for example, by exploring the different ways that wires, globes and batteries connect, students can “discover” how a circuit works.Ĭonstructivist teaching methods work in a similar way, with teachers deliberately challenging students’ beliefs with new information to create an unexpected (for the student) moment of curiosity and discovery. One of the tenets of play-based learning is that teachers construct situations where learners can discover new information for themselves. Play-based learning is centred on the principle of Aha Moments. But when he noticed the mould had killed the bacteria, it created a learning opportunity by providing new and unexpected information – and, in the process, created a powerful new way to fight disease. The mould that grew on the agar dish he was using to grow bacteria was a mistake. Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin is an example of an Aha Moment Mistake. Sometimes, mistakes happen, and we suddenly have insights we never expected. ![]() Or maybe you were cooking and unintentionally used the “wrong” ingredient, but it worked out great? Have you ever suddenly and unexpectedly learnt something new? Perhaps you accidentally pressed a button on your computer, and something unexpected but useful happened? ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |