TRANSCRIPT: Handling Failure In & Out Of The Classroom
Speaker: Amy Baldwin
Handling Failure In & Out of the Classroom
[host, Amy Baldwin, on the left]
1. [signpost saying failure]
2. [sign pointing to the right saying in]
3. [sign pointing to left saying out] Text on screen: Amy Baldwin
Hi. I'm Amy Baldwin, I'm a university professor and administrator. This workshop is on handling failure in and out of the classroom.
What Failure Is [host to the left]
[circle of icons, bell, exclamation point, several lightbulbs, projector screen and hourglass] [check mark in center of circle]
Text on screen:
[bell icon] A wake-‐up-‐call [exclamation point icon] Feedback
[several lightbulbs icon] Opportunity for change
[projector screen icon] Indication of a need to change direction or tactics
Let's talk about what failure is. Failure is sometimes considered a bad word, but failure can mean a wakeup call, it can help you understand what you need to do differently. It also can be feedback about a skill or your effort. It can be an opportunity to make changes. It can be an indication of a need to change directions or tactics. Failure is always a temporary state.
What Failure Isn’t [host on left]
[circle of icons, ruler, graph going up, finish line, lock] [x in middle of circle]
Text on screen:
[ruler icon with red line through it] measure of your self-‐worth
[graph going up icon with red line through it] Reflection of your potential [finish line icon with red line through it] Final stop on your journey
[lock icon with red line going through it] a permanent state
Now let's talk about what failure isn't. Failure is not a measure of your self-‐worth. It is not a reflection of your potential. It is not a final stop on your journey, it is not a permanent state.
Why is it Important to Talk About Failure
[host on right]
[circle of icons people, cup with hot tea, person climbing stairs grabbing flag] [question mark in center of circle]
Text on screen:
[people icon] Normalize
[cup of hot tea icon] Reduce stress, anxiety and fear
[person climbing stairs grabbing flag icon] Understand success
Why is it important to talk about failure? First of all, talking about failure helps us normalize it. Everybody has failed at something, and everybody will probably fail in the future at something else. Talking about it helps us reduce stress, anxiety, and fear about that failure.
[theater icon with thumbs up on screen] [theater icon with thumbs down on screen]
[icon of person with speech bubble with thumbs down and smiley face in it] [icon of three people with smiley faces above their heads]
Talking about failure also helps us understand success. I want to give you an example. I talked with a former student not too long ago who said all of his college professors talked about student success. What they didn't talk about was what student failure looked like and what could be learned from it. He believed that if we talked more about failure and talked about it in positive terms as well, that that would reduce anxiety and stress and fear about failing.
Failures in the Classroom
[host on right]
[circle with calendar with exclamation mark icon on top and icon with X in circle] [classroom of people with teacher in front in center of circle]
Text on screen:
[calendar with exclamation mark icon] Missed Deadline [X in circle icon] Fail
• Assignment
• Test
• Course
• Entire term
Certainly there are all types of failures, but let's focus specifically on failures in the classroom. For example, you may fail to meet a deadline and therefore get penalized for it. You may fail an assignment or a test. You may fail an entire course or an entire term.
Let’s Hear From Some Students
Text on screen: Audio only slide, need to film some students for this.
Let's hear from some students who've experienced some of these failures.
Failures Outside of the Classroom [host on left]
[Circle of icons, award, lunchbox, classroom, school building] [icon of person in center of circle]
Text on screen:
[award icon] Losing a scholarship
[lunchbox icon] Rejected of an internship or job
[classroom icon] Rejected from an organization [school building icon] Suspended from college
There may be some other types of failures you may experience in college and those can be ones outside of the classroom as well. For example, losing a scholarship can be considered a failure. Getting rejected from an internship or job. Getting rejected from an organization or program, or even getting suspended from college.
How to Handle Failure [host on right]
[circle of icons, handshake, stopwatch, head with question mark in it, balance, arrow pointing right, up and left, megaphone]
[head with gear in it icon in center of circle] Text on slide:
Stop. Reflect and Reset
[stopwatch icon] Don’t make any hasty decisions [head with question mark in it icon] Be honest [balance icon] Be prepared to make tough decisions [arrow pointing right, up and left icon] Make Changes [megaphone icon] Ask for help
[handshake icon] commit to reaching out
How should you handle failure? First of all, you need to stop, reflect, and reset. Don't make any hasty decisions. Be honest with yourself about why you failed. Be prepared to make tough decisions and changes to your routine. Determine what kinds of changes you need to make and then make them. Also, ask for help. Identify who on campus or in your life can help you make these changes and commit to reaching out to them.
Strategies [host on left]
[three sign posts with icons, paper and pencil on right, book in middle and stack of books on left]
Text on screen:
[sign post of pencil on paper] Failed a test
What do you need to do?
• Review your exam
• Speak to your professor
• Continue going to class
Now let's talk about how to handle failure in college. First, consider a failed test; what do you need to do? Review your test and determine why you failed. Talk to your professor immediately for additional feedback. Continue to go to class, do the work, and make those necessary changes.
[sign post of book] Failed a Class
What do you need to do?
• Determine why you failed
• Speak to your professor
• Review college policies
• Talk to an advisor or financial aid counselor
Next; fail a class. Strategies could include review your work during the term and determine why you failed. Talk to your professor for feedback about the whole course. Review your college's policies for failing a class or earning a low GPA. Finally, talk to an advisor or a financial aid counselor to determine what your next steps should be.
[sign post of stack of books] Failed a Term
What do you need to do?
• Remember it’s a temporary setback
• Determine why you failed the term
• Review college policies
• Talk to an advisor & financial aid counselor
Possibly you failed the entire term, this could result in an academic probation. Remember, much like failure this too can be a temporary state. Review your work done during that term and determine why you failed multiple classes. Review your college's policies on probation. Once again, talk to an advisor and a financial aid counselor to determine the next steps and useful resources you can utilize on campus.
Additional Tips
[host on left]
[circle of icons, calendar with check mark, three people with one speech bubble above them, flexed bicep, one person speaking to another, open book, check list]
Text on screen:
[three people with one speech bubble] Gather feedback [flexed bicep icon] Reflect on strengths and weaknesses
[person speaking to another icon] Talk to professors, advisors & counselors [open book icon] Review courses & college policies
[check list icon] Create plan for improvement
[calendar with checkmark icon] Review in context of long-‐term goals [hour glass icon switches to graded paper with an A]
Failure is temporary and often necessary for success!
Let's review how to handle failure; gather feedback from tests, from other people, and form your own self-‐assessment. Reflect on your strengths and weaknesses; what do you do well and what changes do you need to make. Talk to professors, advisors, and counselors to get additional feedback and to find other resources available to you. Review courses and college policies. Create a plan for improving your performance and do it. Put all of this in perspective of your long-‐term goals. Remember, failure is not a permanent state. It's temporary and it's often necessary for success.
Reflection Activity
[host on left]
[icon of head with question mark in it] Text on screen:
Think of a time you failed. What happened?
What caused the failure? What changes did you make?
What positive experience came from your failure?
Think of a time that you failed at something. What happened? What do you believe caused your failure? What changes did you make as a result of your failure? What positive experience came from your failure?
Personal Examples
[host on left]
[Circle of icons papers with magnifying glass, hour glass, and gauge] [icon of hands holding a lightbulb in center of circle]
[speech bubble coming from host] Text on screen:
Failure
Only studied lecture Didn’t study effectively Didn’t study enough
Strategy
Reviewed test and made changes Talked to professor
Formed study group
Wrapping up, I want to share a few failures that I experienced in college, in part to show you that I survived and you can too. One of the first failures I had was a test, I failed a test because I only studied the lectures and not the assigned readings. I looked at the test when I got it back and realized what I had done and I made changes to study everything, not just my notes on the lectures.
The second time I failed in college, I actually studied a lot, I just didn't study the most effective way. When I got my test back and realized that what I thought I did well on I actually didn't, I used that opportunity to talk to the professor to find out what other things I could be doing differently.
Finally, not that long ago as a graduate student I failed a test because I didn't study enough. What I learned from that and what I did differently was I formed a study group and was much more successful on the other tests in that class.
Conclusion
[host on left]
[icon circle of people]
[icon of person climbing stairs and grabbing flag]
Text on screen:
Failure is an important part of success!
I hope my stories of failure help you realize that it's pretty normal to fail in college. Using that information and that feedback that you get from failing, and using that to make improvements and make changes is all a part of the process. In fact, failure is a very important part of the process of success.