Middle Leader News
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Do we celebrate mistakes with our children?
Perhaps it might not align with how we experienced learning back when we were at school, but I wonder what would happen if teachers, students and parents started to see mistakes and challenges as a way to improve how our students learn?
As Sam Hannant mentioned in his newsletter article last week - when we surveyed our year 4-6 students, only 12.5% of them wanted to be challenged in their learning. This highlighted the need for us to educate our students on the importance of the struggle in learning. We also believe we need to provide more opportunities for our students to fail, feel challenged and make mistakes. We need to ensure this happens in a supportive learning environment, and that we have the right level of challenge – not too easy, not too hard.
The Learning Pit
The first image is an example of ‘The Learning Pit’, which is used to explain to children that the process of learning should be a challenge. We talk about getting down and dirty in the mud, and that it is ok – it’s what learning should look like! Many of our classrooms have their own versions of learning pits that they use in their lessons.
Types of Mistakes
Another great resource is the website below that details four types of mistakes. Not all mistakes were created equal! Some lead to much greater learning than others. Teaching children about these types of mistakes and which ones are the best kind will help them more aware learners.
Perhaps, instead of asking your child how their day was, give some of these questions a go:
- What challenged you in your learning today?
- What was something you couldn’t quite do yet at school today?
- What did you learn from a mistake you made?
Have a wonderful day!
Warm Regards
Nicki Prentice