Teaching and Learning From Mistakes: Teachers’ Responses to Student Mistakes in the Kindergarten Classroom

Abstract

In Kindergarten classrooms, teachers work to help students learn new information and skills but, as non-experts, students often make mistakes. Making mistakes and, subsequently, receiving corrective feedback are assets to the learning experience (Huesler & Metcalfe, 2012). Young children tend to be open-minded about mistakes, but around age five or six, they begin to develop a fear of failure – a sensitivity about making errors that can constrain their choices during learning (McClelland, 1958; Conroy, Coatsworth, & Kaye, 2007). Furthermore, previous research has indicated that student-teacher relationships exert a strong influence on the student academic and social learning experience (Pianta, Hamre, & Stuhlman, 2003). That said, presently little is known about the features of mistake-related, teacher-student interpersonal interactions in Kindergarten classrooms, and how the classroom context and community influence the responses to student mistakes during instruction.

The purpose of this dissertation study is to more deeply explore and articulate how Kindergarten teachers respond to mistakes in real-world, classroom contexts. An analysis of teacher interviews (Study 1) yielded five central themes that illustrate common ways Kindergarten teachers respond to student mistakes. Then, the method of portraiture (Study 2) was used to create rich narratives reflecting the nature of day-to-day responses to mistakes for two teachers and their respective classroom communities.

These studies offer in-depth elaborations of how teachers respond to mistakes in practice. The work is both a foundation for further research on mistakes and learning, and a resource for practitioners, school leaders, and policymakers. In particular, this research has implications for the initial training and ongoing professional feedback provided to teachers. Taken together, the two studies can be shared with teachers, particularly those working in early childhood settings, to help them better understand the strategies used by others to help students learn from their mistakes.