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The Trying Game | DLP INDIA – FOR BEST DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS



When a human being is faced with a problem to solve, a new situation, or anything outside of their normal paradigm, they can have one of three reactions. They can embrace the challenge and be successful, in full or in part or they can embrace the challenge and get it wrong. A third option, one linked to our innate genetic ‘fight or flight’ mode, is to shy away from that very challenge.

A tall levels of education, students are faced with these choices on a daily basis. Everything from meeting new classmates,having new teachers, going to a new school, or learning a new concept, can present a situation whereby they have to choose one of those three scenarios;do I run, can I succeed, will I even try!

No student can comprehend, analyse, or remember every piece of knowledge or skill, first time, every time.

A teacher has to empathise with this and instil a classroom culture where running away is never an option; this just does not happen here! Ideally there is an environment whereby the students are engaged enough, and comfortable enough, to try each and every new task. Getting it wrong is not wrong. In fact, it is normal, it is expected and as your teacher I am going to help you get it right.

This process is such a vital part of the learning cycle that it is a wonder that there still exists this idea of being ashamed in front of classmates, of being afraid of what your parents might say and being labelled a failure.

Jean Piaget, the Swiss psychologist and sociologist,identified the different cognitive stages that children go through as they mature. He observed that children would ‘grope’ for a solution or use a ‘trial and error’ problem solving process. Both of these systems lead to mistakes, both of these lead to learning opportunities. In a classroom this can include every student as they share the learning. This is how teachers must treat mistakes;you got it wrong so how can we fix it? Let’s look at it together. Gradually this fear of failure will disappear to be replaced by a yearning to try new things and shrug off any setbacks.

Just as Piaget taught us about cognitive levels, Benjamin Bloom, et al, provided a framework for teachers to explore and chart the progress of their students learning. Bloom’s taxonomy is an invaluable tool providing a visual challenge to both teachers and students and their ability to function at a certain level of comprehension. It’s an example of ‘OK, I can/you can do that, now what is next? How else can we apply that knowledge?’

Teachers can, and should, expect more from their students whilst offering support and guidance when things do not go wrong. Students will try more things because they are not afraid to fail – they’ll see it as a natural step on the march to success.

Doug Lemov, an American educationalist, advocates this approach in his excellent portrayal of teaching pedagogy called ‘Teach Like a Champion’. He expects his students to succeed and together they’ll find a way. The book is filled with tips on how to engage students;keeping them working, keeping them thinking, and keeping them enthused about trying something new. He advises us to keep asking for more, to only accept right is right’ answers, and to utilise every second of class time efficiently. Trying and failing should never be the final stage; a good teacher and a willing student will always master that learning opportunity.

Piaget and Bloom have made extraordinary contributions to the theory of learning and Lemov has shown us ways to implement them in a real classroom situation.

The brilliant physicist Albert Einstein put it extremely succinctly when he said ‘A person who never made a mistake, never tried anything new’. If an 11+ failure can change our view of the world, what can the rest of us do when we just try?


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