Learning Commons:Content/Learning Challenges/Failure

From UBC Wiki

The Problem

I failed a course. You've failed your first big exam or maybe an entire course or two. Now what? First off, failure it not unique to you, it is common. It can often be one of the most powerful teachers we have. Recovery (and even using failure as a catalyst to learning), requires a shift in perspective. Instead of beating yourself up, ask "what can I learn from this?" In order to make good decisions about what to do next, you need to understand what happened. Here are some common scenarios that may lead to your first "bomb:"

Waiting too long to seek help

This is a common mistake for first year students who are often nervous about meeting with their profs outside of class. You may feel like you will be judged or that your questions are stupid. It may be helpful to know that your questions will likely not be new to your professors - they've likely heard it before from many students before you and can offer some immediate and specific advice to help you. Remember that your professors and TAs are here to help you learn and they want to see you succeed.

Not doing the work

Maybe you got by in high school when you skipped the readings or didn't work through problem sets outside of class. But in university, you are aiming for deep, conceptual understanding. This kind of learning takes practice over time and in many forms. After all, you are preparing to use what you've learned in a professional setting after you graduate - so you need to spend the time to learn it well. You may need to ask yourself why you are not making time for the work outside of class. The answer to this question will lead you to a strategy for improving your self discipline.

Not going to class

Every student makes decisions about when, why and whether or not to go to class. Missing too many classes can be de-motivating, especially of you are missing important lectures or learning activities that help you make sense of the course content. Again, you need to ask yourself (and answer honestly), why you are missing classes. Conflicting schedules, poor health or sleeping habits can be contributors and are fixable.

Ineffective study methods

Cramming, multi-tasking, re-reading (without self testing) are all methods that fool us into thinking we are learning and being productive with study time. Reflecting on your own study methods and a willingness to try new approaches is a good first step.

The Myths

The following myths about learning are relevant to the challenge of failure.

Myth 5: Planning is a waste of time.

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Being a self-directed learner requires planning.

Answering the 5 questions from the graphic above can help to build a disciplined approach which will help you tackle your academic work.

Planning can also help you develop a workable schedule for studying. "Research shows spacing study episodes out with breaks in between study sessions or repetitions of the same material is more effective than massing such study episodes. Massing practice is akin to cramming all night before the test." (Clark and Bjork, 2014).

Planning reduces stress, helps you avoid cramming, and builds skills in metacognition. Planning is an important part of any career or occupation, so learning to plan well contributes to your overall competency. Even learning to plan takes practice, so start early!





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Bust the Myth

  • Target your studying: try to study key themes, and take what you know about the exam structure into account when you're planning. If you know you'll have an essay, write outlines! If you have to solve problems, go over homework or make up your own.
  • Review or practice throughout the term. Without regular review, you may have to re-learn a large portion of the course right before the final.

Reference:

  • Clark, C.M., Bjork, R.A. (2014) When and Why Introducing Difficulties and Errors Can Enhance Instruction, in Benassi, V. A., Overson, C. E., & Hakala, C. M. (Editors). (2014). Applying science of learning in education: Infusing psychological science into the curriculum. Available at the Teaching of Psychology website: http://teachpsych.org/ebooks/asle2014/index.php.

Myth 6: Failure should be avoided at all costs.

"Every success is built on the ash heap of failed attempts." This reminder from Prof. Michael Starbird (U of T at Austin) offers a good reason not to fear failure. Failure doesn't often feel good, but it may be your best teacher. In fact, in their book 5 Elements of Effective Thinking, professors Edward Burger and Michael Starbird, say that failure is, in fact, an important foundation on which to build success. But, as they point out seeing failure as an opportunity for learning requires a fresh mindset. "If you think I'm stuck and I'm giving up; I know I can't get it right, then get it wrong. Once you make the mistake, you can ask, why is THAT wrong? Now you're back on track, tackling the original challenge." Failure is an important aspect of much creative work - though it goes by a different name - iteration. Iteration is important in refining, working though problems, starting small and refining until more can be added. Iteration is a feature of work in design, science, technology and really any field where innovation is important.


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Bust the Myth

  • Use failure as an opportunity to re-think: Ask yourself, why did you get it wrong, what happened? What is an alternative approach? How might a new approach be more successful? Watch Prof. Michael Starbird's video about making mistakes as a strategy for learning: The Second Element of Effective Thinking: Making Mistakes.
  • Give yourself permission to fail . When working through problems or studying unfamiliar concepts - consider allowing yourself to fail 9 times before getting it right. This may free your mind to think creatively about solutions without the pressure to "get it right" and you may find that repeated failures while learning, may actually lead you to new insights about the problem that you can take into other contexts.

Reference:

The Strategies

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Strategies that work!

  • Diagnose your problem: Reflect on the behaviors that caused you to lose focus on your learning. You might even try making a two column list - on one side list the easy fixes - the things related to health, sleep, exercise that you can change by setting up some different habit and sticking to a plan. In the other column, list the things that you will need to change about the way you are studying, planning or seeking help - these things may take a little more effort and preparation to change.
  • Come up with a workable plan and set realistic goals for building better learning habits.
  • Focus on building a daily plan to with short focused chunks of studying and small rewards. Gradually increase your study time to meet your needs.
  • Seek help early in the semester during your profs office hours or from your TA.
  • Use our Assignment Calculator to help plan those big research papers and projects.
  • See the Links section for resources from College Info Geek - for some specific planning approaches to try.
  • Take steps to build effective study strategies.
  • Space study sessions. Start studying now and keep studying as you go along. Use your time-management skills and tools. Recall improves when studying is spread out over time. By spreading out your studying, you can avoid mental exhaustion and having to cram before exams. So, try practice testing after you have read material, and take study breaks to let yourself to relax, mentally and physically.
  • Test yourself on key concepts/practice problems. Testing encourages deep, elaborative processing. This is because every time you retrieve something from memory, you’re essentially re-learning it. The act of testing itself creates different pathways for retrieval, and the more paths to the knowledge you create, the likelier it is that you’ll find a way there when you need it. Recent research showed subjects who read a passage and were immediately tested on it retained about 50% of the passage a week later. A control group who simply re-read several times, or crammed for the test, retained basically nothing. (Karpicke and Blunt, 2011)

The Toolkits

The Links

Videos

Health and Wellness at UBC:

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