Mindsets In the Classroom - Chapter 5: How Can Students Learn From Failure?

"...failure can be a reward, for it is through failure that we can learn the most."
from Meet the Robinsons..."You've failed!  From failure, you learn, from success...not so much."

Communicating this to students so that they actually believe it is what we need to strive for.  It has to be in our reactions and responses to mistakes to demonstrate that value of a mistake.  It's going to take a change in thinking from looking at mistakes as a bad thing, something to avoid, to something that is positive and embraceable.  Teachers need to model their reactions when they make mistakes to align with this message.

"When students consciously take the opportunity to learn from all of their errors, they will approach the unsuccessful task in a new way or with more effort."

"...successful people will often attribute their success to effort, an internal factor."

This is what I see that is lacking in today's classroom, or at least mine some of the time, the amount of effort to be successful.  While my job is to teach math, I also want to instill those good habits that will make every student successful down the road.  What are the best ways to teach/model how effort really does make a difference?  

"Intrinsic rewards refer to the personal satisfaction a person feels when something is accomplished.  Extrinsic rewards come from an outside place, usually a teacher or a parent who promises a "prize"."

This is exactly why I am so excited about the direction we are taking in the 2016-2017 school year.  A focus on the internal instead of the external. 

"The reward can be the praise students receive regarding the effort and persistence they put forth coupled with that positive internal feeling that we all get when we have mastered something new."

One thing I could try to do more is bring their personal feelings into this process.  In their interactive notebook, have them record their thoughts/feelings about a quiz grade,  the results of a project or problem, the effort they put forth to get to the end result.  Maybe by connecting how they feel towards their efforts can help make this about THEIR learning.  Something that THEY can own.

"Another element that has surfaced in literature surrounding motivation is the concept of autonomy, the freedom to decide."

Yes...this is something I have seen first hand this last year when I offered assignments with three different options, or projects with an open-ended way to arrive at the result.  Students love to have a choice.  

I love this next thought!  Being in a math classroom, this lingo will work perfectly!  "Every time teachers help students with an error, they should seize this opportunity to help students interpret the errors as "data" that will help them later, rather than looking at themselves through a lens of low ability."