CEP 811

The Learning Journey Through Failing and Making

3/21/2020

Failure is a fascinating concept for discussion. As an event, we never want to experience it, nor do we want to see people in our lives go through it. However, as we get older and look back at our own failures, we develop a strong appreciation for the gifts failure has given us. Many students have not yet learned the powerful role that failure experiences play in their learning. That’s where we teachers are instrumental.

Last year, I had a conversation with a parent that helped shape the way I viewed student failure. I served as a National Junior Honor Society advisor, and we had just finished the selections process. One student candidate met all pillar requirements except for scholarship. His G.P.A. did not quite meet the required threshold, and as advisors, we had to adhere to all bylaws. I was devastated to learn he had not made it and immediately called his father to give him a heads-up about the rejection letter coming home. The father’s response was something I will always remember. He said, “This is a great learning experience for my son. Sometimes in life, you don’t get what you want when you want it. Sometimes you have to work harder.” This was not the response I normally received in these situations, so I think his words impacted me even more.

This father’s insight solidified my view about failure and inspired me to ensure that I create a classroom environment where failure is a means to an end; a necessary step towards achieving a goal. Education is a journey, and the concept of iteration is integral. Students must know when mistakes are made they will receive supportive feedback and the opportunity to try again. It’s the information gained from the errors made, that foster new knowledge. By fostering an iterative mindset, I am encouraging students to become risk-takers and innovators.

I value out-of-the-box thinking. I want my students to be creative in thought and practices. This begins with establishing trusting relationships. This is vital to implementing a safe experience for risk taking in the classroom. Purposeful dialogue, collaboration, and critical thinking are integral to my instructional framework, supporting the Constructionism theory in education. Constructionism is, “putting the learner in the center of the learning activity and having them actually construct an understanding of whatever concept we are teaching them” (Udacity. 2016).

When students can be makers and critical thinkers while collaborating with peers, they are taking ownership of their learning. As learning strategist, Holly Clark, says, “Teachers must be the guide on the ride” (Clark, 2019). As an educator, I must step back and provide student-driven lessons and experiences. In learning by doing, I am implementing the maker movement philosophy, and the result is, innovative thinking. I need to encourage students to be makers by providing activities, including project-based learning and Hyperdoc assignments. When teachers “pour knowledge into a student’s head, they are impeding students’ ability to participate in authentic and collaborative experiences” (Udacity. 2016).

Seymour Papert, who pioneered the ideas behind Constructionism, stated, “The role of the teacher is to create the conditions for invention rather than provide ready-made knowledge” (Roffey, 2016). With this idea in mind, along with elements of the Constructivist theory, such as scaffolding and social participation (O’Donnell, 2012), I, as a 21st century educator, must utilize educational technology tools in a way that closes Richard Culatta’s “digital divide” (Culatta, 2013) and encourages students to be creators. In addition to educators, administrators can facilitate this implementation by providing training that will give us the tools we need to utilize “technology to reimage learning” (Culatta, 2013).

As an educator, I must model safety in taking risks and leaving my comfort zone. Remembering that I, too, am a lifelong learner and by maintaining a mindset of continued growth, my students will benefit from all that 21st century learning has to offer. There will, of course, be growing pains on my part. This brings us back to the experience of failure. In a setting where failure is viewed as an opportunity for growth, both my students and myself, some pretty amazing outcomes are inevitable.