Errors: The "invisible" 800 pound gorilla blocking the road to learning
Some teenagers were discussing the strategies they use when a teacher asks a question they cannot answer. With a smile, one boy said, "You know what I do? I raise my hand." Seeing the amazed expressions that he hoped he would get, he immediately elaborated. "It works. If the teacher doesn't call on me, she thinks I know the answer. And if she does call on me, I say, 'Excuse me. I didn't hear the question.' Of course, she repeats the question. But she never stays with the same student for two turns. So she calls on some other student and never realizes that I didn't know the answer."
This student, like most students, is attuned to one of the most harmful forces that exist in the teaching/learning setting. That force is the destructive power of error in learning. Ironically, it is a force that is almost totally unrecognized--even though it permeates classrooms everywhere. Perhaps error is so obvious that it seems unnecessary to mention it. Regardless of the reason, error is rarely given the attention it merits. It is the invisible 800-pound gorilla who doggedly blocks the path to learning.
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