Failure is something that I think we are naturally taught to avoid. Whether it is getting a question wrong or losing a game we usually connect failure with something negative. The more I think about my own experiences however, the more I realize that some of the times I have learned the most have actually come from failing. This is one of the reasons why I really like the idea of using failure as a learning strategy in the classroom. I don't want my future students to think that being successful means always getting everything right. I want them to understand that sometimes getting something wrong is exactly what helps us get better.
I've always been someone who gets motivated when I fail at something. If I can't do something, I usually want to keep trying until I figure it out or practically perfect it. I think a lot of this comes from my experience playing soccer. As a goalie, mistakes are very noticeable. If I made a mistake that led to a goal, there wasn't really anywhere to hide. Everyone could see what happened. I definitely made plenty of mistakes throughout the years, but I also learned from them. Instead of letting one mistake completely define how I played, I had to figure out what went wrong and what I could do differently the next time.
Looking back, I don't think I would have reached the level I did without those experiences. I eventually reached my goal of playing Division 1 soccer, but getting there definitely didn't mean that I did everything perfectly along the way. There were mistakes, bad games, frustration, and things I needed to improve. I think those experiences made reaching my goal mean even more because I knew how much learning had happened along the way. One of the ideas from us learning about failure that really stood out to me was that failure gives us information that success sometimes doesn't. It can show us what isn't working and push us to change what we are doing. I can really relate to that through my own experiences in sports.
Now that I coach soccer goalies, I get to see failure from a completely different perspective. I see goalies struggle with techniques all the time, and I have noticed that everyone responds differently. Some will struggle with something and almost immediately give up or stop caring about fixing it. Others become extremely frustrated with themselves because they want so badly to get it right. Neither reaction necessarily helps them learn, which is where I think my role as a coach becomes really important. I try to remind my goalies that they can do it, but they have to be willing to learn from what isn't working. I don't want them to see one bad attempt and decide that they aren't capable of doing something. I would much rather see them make the mistake, think about what happened, make an adjustment, and try again. In learning about failure, we discussed how making mistakes can build resilience and how being able to try again can build confidence. I think I see that happen firsthand when I coach.
This makes me think a lot about the environment I eventually want to create in my classroom. If a student is afraid of getting an answer wrong or feels embarrassed when they make a mistake, I think they could slowly start to disconnect from the classroom. They might stop raising their hand or avoid trying something difficult because they don't want other people to see them fail. To me, that would be a much bigger problem than simply getting a question wrong. I want every student to feel welcomed and included in my classroom, and I want them to actually be happy and motivated to come to school and learn.
Because of that, I think a big part of my responsibility will be changing the way my students look at failure. I want to openly talk about why failure is important and share some of my own experiences with them. I think students should know that their teacher has failed before too. When someone gives me a wrong answer, I also don't want my immediate response to simply be, "That's wrong." I would rather ask them how they got there or what their thought process was. Even if the final answer isn't correct, there might still be something valuable in how they approached the problem. From there, we can figure out what needs to change and try again.
One idea from the key presentation that really connected with me was productive failure. Rather than trying to eliminate failure from the classroom, teachers can create opportunities for students to make mistakes, ask different questions, try again, and use different strategies. I really like this idea because I don't think my job as a teacher should be to protect students from ever experiencing failure. My job should be to create an environment where it is safe for them to fail and then help them figure out what they can learn from it. I also think this applies to me just as much as it applies to my students. No teacher is going to be perfect. I'm sure there will be lessons I plan that don't go the way I expected, activities that students don't connect with, or times when I realize afterward that I could have handled something differently. I don't want to become a teacher who is afraid to admit when something didn't work. Teachers are constantly learning too. If I expect my students to learn from their mistakes, then I think I need to be willing to do the exact same thing.
That is one of the biggest reasons why I see failure as being so important in teaching. Failure doesn't have to be the end of something. It can just be information about what we need to do differently next time. The resources describe being wrong as an opportunity for change because it can show us what didn't work and give us clues about how we might improve. I want my students to leave my classroom understanding that getting something wrong doesn't mean they aren't smart or capable. It just means they haven't figured it out yet.
As a teacher, I want to celebrate the process of getting better, not just the final success. Whether it is my students learning something new or me learning how to become a better teacher, there will always be mistakes along the way. I don't think we need to be afraid of those moments. We need to be willing to learn from them, try something different, and keep going. To me, that is what makes failure such an important part of learning.
GiancarloV@OntarioTechU
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