Skip to main content

It’s Okay to Make Mistakes!



By Jeanne Lazzarini, Math Master Educator/R&D Specialist, RAFT

I have often shared with my students that I make mistakes, and I have learned so much because of them! Sometimes I even purposefully made a mistake in a math lesson to see if students take notice! Let your students know it is okay to make mistakes, and when you do, your brain is developing new insights, new ways of thinking, and bursts of conceptual understanding!  





From an early age many of us are taught that it’s bad to make mistakes, to fear failures, and to avoid them all costs. However, the truth is that failure and making mistakes are a necessary part of growing up and of being successful and should never be avoided! 

So, you might ask, how do I encourage students to feel okay about making mistakes?  Talk with them about mistakes and failures, including:
·         Have students investigate “famous” people who have made mistakes, then share them with the class!  They’ll be very surprised at these stories of success from failures!  (see:  http://www.onlinecollege.org/2010/02/16/50-famously-successful-people-who-failed-at-first/ )
·         Encourage alternate ways of expressing thoughts; verbally, written, artistically, acted out, or whatever. Even if that thought is off-target, it often leads to other ideas that may not have otherwise been discovered!
·         Failure and mistakes teach us an approach may not be right for a particular solution, but opens the door to investigating alternate approaches.
·         Inspire stepping out of a “comfort zone” and trying something new! This leads to new insights and self-realization!  And each time you fail, your fear of failure becomes smaller, allowing you to take on bigger challenges!
·         Each failure brings you closer to your goals and makes you stronger and better.  This brings to mind the saying “Nothing ventured, nothing gained”….
·         Learn from your mistakes by thinking about where you can go beyond them to get better.  You will never fail as long as you
never give up! 
·         All “successful” people have failed and understand the value of not giving up! 
·         Research shows when students make mistakes, brains grow!


So, it is good to make mistakes, and it is very important to talk about this with your students! Share examples, encourage alternate ways of thinking through a problem, and you’ll see students blossom with a new enthusiasm for learning!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Science fairs: Nurturing the 21st century thinker

3D Tessellation model A bespectacled 6th grader enthusiastically explains ‘efficiency of 3D space tessellations’ with myriad equations and handmade tessellation patterns to address the needs of the packaging, storing, shipping and construction industry. Another middle school student, was inspired by his little brother’s telescope and built a simple vacuum chamber using a PVC pipe with a microphone and a speaker on both ends to find out how sound travels on Mars! This 8th grader from Granada Islamic School used an oscilloscope his mother found at an auction to measure the sounds. “I poke around and find junk to build my projects. It’s fun.” Science projects today have become fun for many students as they use more hands on activities to experiment and understand concepts. These two middle school students were among 996 participants at the recent Synopsys Silicon Valley Science and Technology Championship , where RAFT was one of the special judges. Moenes Iskarous, President, S

RAFT SAN JOSE CELEBRATES PI (π) DAY – 3.14, WITH A BOATLOAD OF FREE ACTIVITIES!

Come meet RAFT ’s Math Activity Developer, Jeanne Lazzarini, at RAFT San Jose who has a treasure chest of Pi-Day activities to share!  Not only will she be dressed as a Pirate (because Pi rates!), she’ll also offer you delicious pie to eat while showing you great Pi-Day Math activities to make and take, to use in your classroom to celebrate Pi day! The Pi-Day activities include RAFT Math Idea Sheet activities like Finding Pi , Wearable Pi and Pi Day Pin . Irrational number Pi, also written as π, is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, and is celebrated all over the world on March 14th because π is a number that begins as 3.14!  With the use of computers, Pi has been calculated trillions of digits past the decimal point! Pi is an irrational and transcendental number, and its digits continue infinitely without any repeating patterns of digits!  Pi has been used in many applications for over 4000 years! π rate activity days at RAFT! Join us at RAFT, San Jose

Why I Chose a Career in Education

There are many moments where I am reminded why I chose a career in education. These moments arise when I am engaged in conversation with other teachers, conducting professional development workshops, developing new lessons, or simply reading about changes and latest developments in the field. Education is a dynamic field, and it has provided me with many opportunities to positively impact the lives of young learners as well as provide inspiration and support to new teachers. One such occasion occurred in mid-April when I was invited by Dr. Rosalinda Quintanar to conduct a presentation to students in a class entitled Meeting the Needs of Second-Language Learners (EDTE 162), a course within San Jose State University’s Teacher Education Department and a credential requirement. The class consisted of approximately 30 credential candidates, and its primary focus is applying theory and practical classroom techniques for providing equitable access to content for English language learners.