Creating Room to Fail in the Classroom
Guest post submitted by Dr. Katrina Keene Twitter: @TeachinTechGal
I Can’t Wait to Fail
I’m not sure there has ever been a time in my life where I’ve said I can’t wait to fail. I was brought up believing that failure equaled the end. Thinking back to tests in middle school and high school, if I failed a test, this was the end or the final grade. There were no redos. But interestingly enough, there were redos in other classes such as band and physical education (P.E.). If I didn’t make 1st chair in band, it didn’t mean I failed and it didn’t mean I received a bad grade. Band instructors always knew that everyone performed on different levels and we all had room to grow and increase our skill level. P.E. operated much like band. If I didn’t come in 1st place during the mile run, it only meant I needed to increase my physical activity and try again.
Failure, Turned Positive
I remember the day when the results were posted for chairs in my high school jazz band. There I was, a freshman, undeserving of a spot in the top band. Of course I expected to place in the lower band but much to my surprise, my name was beside 2nd alto saxophone in the top band. Although I didn’t expect this, it still felt like a bit of a failure not to be 1st. It was my dream to play lead alto in the top jazz band and go on to college on a music scholarship. Throughout that year, I worked hard practicing as much as I could. I took on challenges of transcribing music and learning how to “improv.” Although I wasn’t “first chair” or “lead alto,” this didn’t result in a bad grade, but rather I always received an A for working hard at MY level. When the next year rolled around, the hard work paid off and I sat lead alto for the next three years. I eventually got the music scholarship I dreamed about and went on to college to play in the top jazz band for 3 more years.
I question why more classes are not like band. Why don’t we give our students room to fail? As an adult, I often fail at some of the work I do. I view this as a learning process and strive to increase my abilities moving forward. By experiencing failure in band and P.E. as a teenager, I have learned to receive failure in a positive and constructive way as an adult.
Do-Overs Are Ok!
Part of being an educator is knowing our students both personally and academically. If a student received a failing grade on a test, I never used this opportunity as a “tricked-you,” rather this was the best opportunity to talk with the student and help them better learn the material. Re-taking a test was always an option because I wanted my students to leave my course with the skills and knowledge to move on to the next course. Some educators may view this as an opportunity for students to “not care” or take advantage of the fact that they had a “do-over”. Surprisingly enough, my students aspired to score as high as possible the first time because that was the expectation and want of my students. Those students who chose to re-take a test or re-do a project did so out of a genuine want and need to learn.
Room to Fail
I came across a student made video that brilliantly demonstrates the positive use of failure. In the video, Audri, a 7 year old student, builds a Rube Goldberg Monster Trap. Before launching the trap, Audri predicts how many times he will fail before succeeding with his project. This child’s sheer enthusiasm for failure brought this blog post to life and has helped me through some trying times in my career in regards to failure.
I encourage all readers of this post to think about failure differently as you move into the upcoming school year. We all need room to fail from time to time. Take it as a learning process and have the confidence to bring to your classroom what my band and p.e. Teachers brought to me; Failure is a process- not a means to an end.
