{"id":1187,"date":"2018-02-07T11:12:16","date_gmt":"2018-02-07T17:12:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.msudenver.edu\/sips\/?p=1187"},"modified":"2019-09-10T17:19:41","modified_gmt":"2019-09-10T23:19:41","slug":"sip-7-4-productive-failure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.msudenver.edu\/sips\/sip-7-4-productive-failure\/","title":{"rendered":"SIP 7.4 Productive Failure"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thirsty for a Strong Instructional Practice?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

As\u00a0educators, we\u00a0know that college as not just about learning disciplinary content\u2014it is also about\u00a0the\u00a0holistic\u00a0growth\u00a0that\u00a0helps\u00a0to form a mature,\u00a0well-rounded\u00a0person. Sometimes the achievement is measured by\u00a0\u201csuccesses\u201d\u2014persisting from semester to semester, earning a\u00a0strong\u00a0GPA, securing a coveted internship, etc. But sometimes the real lessons are found in a student\u2019s failure.\u00a0 It is our job to help students to\u00a0reframe their\u00a0slips and missteps\u2014both inside and outside the classroom\u2014that play an important\u00a0role\u00a0in their development.<\/p>\n

The idea of productive failure is related to Carol Dweck’s\u00a0concept\u00a0of\u00a0“growth mindset”<\/a>\u00a0(https:\/\/www.mindsetworks.com\/science\/<\/a>). Dweck, a prominent psychology professor from Stanford, suggests that students with a growth mindset believe that hard work and perseverance contribute to learning and achievement, whereas students with a fixed mindset may believe that achievement is a function of pre-ordained intelligence or ability. Put very\u00a0simply,\u00a0students\u00a0with a growth mindset work through setbacks in order to continue along the path to growth and achievement, whereas\u00a0students with a fixed mindset see setbacks or failures as proof of their inability to achieve.<\/p>\n

Manu Kapur<\/a>\u00a0(http:\/\/manukapur.com<\/a>),\u00a0a professor of education in\u00a0Switzerland,\u00a0has identified\u00a0a pedagogical style\u00a0called “productive failure”\u00a0that encourages growth mindset\u00a0by structuring lessons around\u00a0the setbacks the contribute to growth mindset.\u00a0In\u00a0this\u00a0approach,\u00a0which\u00a0is\u00a0problem-based and\u00a0Constructivist<\/a>\u00a0(http:\/\/www.thirteen.org\/edonline\/concept2class\/constructivism\/<\/a>)\u00a0at\u00a0its core,\u00a0students are offered opportunities to learn that involve using their prior skills and knowledge to\u00a0try to\u00a0solve new problems and complete new tasks\u00a0before\u00a0<\/i>being exposed to the content that will “give them the answer.” As they face the unknown, students\u00a0inevitably fail at their attempts to solve problems\u2014but they\u00a0draw\u00a0upon their own strengths and apply them to disciplinary content in a meaningful and connected manner, allowing them to immediately integrate and appropriate the new\u00a0material\u00a0once it is presented to them.<\/p>\n

Productive failure can be particularly helpful in fostering a sense of pride, even in the failure itself. When a student feels that they are\u00a0making a strong effort and\u00a0contributing\u00a0in a class,\u00a0no matter how, they are more likely to engage with their peers and the content material\u2014and this leads to better\u00a0outcomes.<\/p>\n

Constructed this way, exercises in productive failure increase content recall and skill mastery. Productive failure allows students to have a better understanding of the\u00a0why<\/i>\u00a0behind problem solving, instead of just focusing on the potential solutions. This understanding of systems can then be applied to other problem solving and critical thinking tasks.<\/p>\n

Take a SIP of This:\u00a0Productive Failure<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Here on some thoughts on incorporating productive failure in philosophy and action:<\/p>\n