The Learning Power Locked Up in Mistakes

We’ve had a great reaction to the videos we’ve been sharing about Mojo (from Class Dojo) and his learning journey – which is teaching our children all about growth mindset and how using it can help us to learn in a better way.

This week, the video we are sharing with the children is all about the Magic of Mistakes – and its something we feel really strongly about – teaching children that, rather than being afraid of making mistakes, by embracing them we can learn more, better and deeper!

“If you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You are doing things you have never done before, and more importantly, you are doing something.” Neil Gaiman

Here are some fantastic facts about the power of mistakes – and why making them is important!

Mistakes force us to explore alternatives.

When everything goes right, people tend to think less creatively.

Making mistakes forces us to try other things, explore new approaches.

Mistakes teach us what DOESN’T work, and help us to find new ways of doing things that work even better than our original plan!

We remember and learn from mistakes better than we do from getting the answer right.

We all remember a version of the same experience - we are asked a question, and, confident we know the answer, we go ahead and give it - only to find out that it is wrong. The fact is that, because we are naturally inclined not to want to make mistakes, we learn MUCH better when we do - so that we don't have to make them again!

An American study showed that the more convinced one is that the answer is right, the better the learning when we find out that it's wrong.

Mistakes can be powerful learning experiences if we remember this, meaning that even though we will never learn to like making mistakes, we can harness them to make sure our learning is powerful and deep.

Mistakes offer us an opportunity to build character and develop our Growth Mindset.

It is human nature to fear mistakes - in a long distant past, making mistakes was often the difference between living and dying! It is ingrained in us to want to get things right.

As we are learning through these videos, if we can teach ourselves to face the fear of mistakes and to come to see mistakes as a natural part of the learning process, we will become better learners throughout our lives - more creative thinkers who keep trying no matter how tough it gets!

At My Primary Tutor, we strongly and passionately believe that growth mindset and confidence go hand in hand - and that developing them will naturally create children who are stronger, more powerful learners. That's why we have developed our flagship programme, Emotions First, to help children who struggle with confidence and mindset around learning. We can help your child to become a better learner - if you'd like to find out more, have a look at our dedicated page, or get in touch at myprimarytutor@yahoo.com