Overview
Highlighting mistakes in a test or assignment and learning from them can help students prioritize their understanding of the content rather than anxiety over their performance or grade. This practice also builds students' metacognitive awareness by breaking down and learning from initial, incorrect attempts at solving problems. Doing so helps them see mistakes as a normal part of the learning process, while becoming more independent learners.
Through this activity you will be able to:
- Identify student error patterns and trends.
- Support students in recognizing and reflecting on mistakes throughout the learning process.
- Strengthen students' understanding of content and processes by correcting their mistakes.
- Emphasize the importance of the learning process rather than the endpoint.
- Develop a routine that can be used on a regular basis to support students to improve and do well in the class.
Conducting the Practice
Select an assignment to use for highlighting mistakes and make a plan to review in a timely manner to ensure that students have the opportunity to review and respond to mistakes while the content is still fresh.
- Note: in written assignments, the word "mistake" may evoke low-level errors like typos, which may not yield substantive discussions. In those cases, we recommend considering mistakes as anything a teacher or a peer grader has identified as not contributing to the overall argument, not following the requested structure, lacking in detail, etc. In these cases, you may choose to use language like "growth opportunities" which evokes higher-level thought processes, rather than the word "mistakes."
In the first review of an assignment, highlight where in the workflow the student made a mistake, not just the incorrect answer. Do not make any other comments yet. In the second pass, look at the task as a whole to see if there are patterns. Is the student making the same mistake over and over again? Are they making many different types of mistakes?
Once you've reviewed the work of several students, look for patterns across the whole class. Are there any common mistakes?
Before you return students' work, show the class a common mistake for group reflection and ask students to identify and understand the mistake.
Return students' work. Ask them to review the highlighted mistakes. If they don't understand them, invite them to discuss with you or a peer.
Give students an opportunity to correct their work for credit.
Acknowledge students' learning and growth from the mistakes they made, and point out the progress that they are making as they deepen their understanding of the unit.
This practice was adapted from the Feedback for Growth Guide developed by the Learning and Development Group at the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research in partnership with PERTS.