Learning from our Mistakes

"Mistakes are proof that you are trying!" - a quote on the front of the wall in my class!

When did students become so afraid of making a mistake? Has our current education system and standardized testing policies forced students to be less creative and lack critical thinking and problem solving skills? In a world that is evolving and advancing quickly - our students are going to be left behind in a dust storm that engulfs them. 

As I have reflected on my teaching and instructional practice, I have found that I am slowly beginning to transition to exploratory learning. Students need to be cut loose and explore problems on their own, develop their own understanding, and share their ideas with others.  Right or wrong, these are the skills that today's students are going to be asked to display in the work force of the future.

One of our favorite class activities has become "Passing the Problem". This activity asks students to explain how they would solve a given problem on their slip of paper.  They only have a short amount of time to come up with a possible solution and explanation. They staple their answer to the back, and then pass the problem to the next person.  When they get the next problem, they ARE NOT allowed to look at any of the previous solutions.  Students should create their own solution and process.  After about 4-5 problems, students then switch problems one more time. However, this time they look at all the possible solutions and choose one that they think would best solve the problem or is most clear.  We then share our problem and solution with small group and the class.

This activity is usually done between chapters as we are trying to transition from one unit to the next.  The amount of Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Mistakes that occur are invaluable to student growth. Illustrating that having the correct answer isn't always important has helped students grow in math. They have become more willing to try and explore before complaining about not understanding. I can only hope this will help them in the world that awaits their future!