We all know it's no fun to fail. Sometimes when we are afraid of failing at something, we don't give our best effort because failure seems certain. Correspondingly, students are more engaged when they can try tasks and be protected from adverse consequences for their initial failures.
As teachers, we want our students to try new things without fear from negative consequences, punishment, or feelings of inadequacy. But, we also have the urge to grade everything students do. When students are graded on tasks where they lack knowledge and skills, there is that chance for failure and the hesitation associated with it.
Instead of grading students' initial attempts at a task that involve new knowledge and skills, teachers and students can diagnose the reasons for initial failure or examine what could be improved and make plans for another try or revision. So, student receive feedback and are provided opportunities for improvement. The consequences of an initial failure are then not adverse--they lead to a better product or learning.
Technology naturally protects learners from adverse consequences. Almost every software application has the Undo command. This allows users to try something. If what is tried ruins the document, a simple menu command can Undo the damage. Also, if something is ruined, users can usually revert to a saved or backup copy.
I've always noticed that students write more and are more likely to revise if they use a word processor. This makes lots of sense. In order to revise writing that is handwritten on paper, the whole thing needs to be handwritten again. Most all students view this rewriting as an adverse consequence. However, when students can revise their work on a computer without having to recopy the whole thing, the consequence of having to revise isn't nearly as unfavorable as rewriting by hand.
Another way to help shield students from negative consequences is providing practice quizzes. I used the free MyStudiyo service to embed the web widget below:
MyStudiyo makes it easy for teachers to create their own quizzes and place them on a website, blog, or wiki. A quiz questions can include images and video. Students can even make their own quizzes to help them study. When my students used electronic quizzes, I told them that once they get 100% twice in a row, they knew their stuff and were ready for the graded test. It didn't matter how many times they needed to take the online practice quiz because they received instant feedback on their efforts and could try again with no adverse consequences from the teacher. Students who get 100% on the practice quiz are much more confident when it comes to the graded test.
Here are some additional ways to use technology to protect students from adverse consequences for initial failures:
- Write using online tools so teachers can easily provide feedback. For example, an eighth grade English teacher has students write persuasive essays using Google Docs. The students share their document with the teacher who can type her feedback into the document to guide the student's revision efforts.
- Compare initial attempts against other final products. For example, Spanish students use Comiqs.com to create how-to comic books. Comiqs provides access to thousands of projects made by its users, so students can see how their work stacks up to what others have done and make any changes for submitting their comic for grading.
- Design a digital draft. For example, a third grader is making a poster about his favorite book. Before constructing the poster, he uses a drawing program (like KidPix) to plan out how his poster will look. This way he can be sure he has room for all of the required information and the teacher can give feedback on the draft before he finalizes the project.
What are ways you protect students from adverse consequences for initial failures? Please leave a comment!
Another quality that 
. Ferdinand from Singapore.
