You launch a project at work, but it doesn’t produce the results you were hoping for. You start learning a new skill, but find that it takes a lot longer to master than you expected. You turn in an assignment, and it comes back with low marks. What words first come to mind when you process these outcomes? Failure? Loss? Opportunity? Asset? Doyou feel your confidence plummet, or your resolve strengthen?
If your educational experiences have been all about getting “the right answer,” then you may see any loss of points as a failure. You may also think of your capacity as something fixed and unchangeable; for example, you’re either able to master something or you’re not.
Based on the experiences of students who have successfully completed competency sets, we in the Flexible Option program advocate a different point of view based on two core ideas:
- Sticking with a project over time is a better indicator of success than perfect performance.
- We are all more likely to learn and benefit from mistakes when we see ourselves as changeable, trainable, capable people.
We’re not the first to foster these beliefs, and we encourage you to investigate the work of others who promote the power of persistence and openness in education: