Blog 4 Learning through errors

A very important part of learning is making mistakes. Teachers must make it their responsibility to inform their students that making mistakes is part of the process of learning, especially writing. I think linking prior knowledge with new knowledge is a way to establish a foundation based on learning from mistakes. As an educator I could easily draw a correlation between prior knowledge, new knowledge and learning from mistakes by revisiting the process of learning write each letter in the alphabet. If students can remember making mistakes during the time they were learning to write the letters of the alphabet, it may be easy to explain to them that they would not know how to write words, complete sentences or paragraphs without making mistakes on the most fundamental level.

Writing can be a useful tool in every phase of students learning. Writing can also be used to monitor students’ ability to process new information correctly. Writing offers students an alternative to demonstrate comprehension of the material they are learning. Many students fear that all writing will be graded so they differ from it even at moments when it will help them the most. "Writing to learn" is most successful when the opportunity to use writing to learn is informal.

The text addressed a conflict. It states "writing is the most intellectually demanding of the four modes of communication through language. Writing is the last of the four to be mastered". The text then says " obviously, writing is only going to be good as it is substantial". If the importance of writing is not stressed students will not seek to improve in this area. Students would worry that every piece of writing they produce will be formally graded without realizing that writing could have been used to help them learn.

I agree that in order for students to be confident that what they share is for their benefit the educator has to create a comfortable climate for them to participate. A piece of writing can reveal many flaws and personal characteristics of a student. Lack of knowledge poor grammar incomplete thoughts and ideas are things students have to be sure will improve if they are to submit a piece of work that will reveal these deficiencies. Students must be confident that they're educator has every intention to broaden their knowledge by allowing them to use informal writing as a device to teach and learn throughout the various phases of Education. When a strong student teacher bond is formed, educating students through their errors is more likely to increase the likelihood that writing will be used as a tool in more than just assessment and output.