Go Forth and Reflect .... Why Failing is Important

This week, I let a young child fail for the first time at coding. I did this on purpose. By letting her fail (she put in too many forward codes on the Code and Go Mouse and it fell off the table) I'm teaching her that #1: we don't always get things right the first time, and #2: we have to think about what went wrong (reflect) and make a change for the next attempt as we try to be successful as we try again. This is a scaffolded approach to teaching, where the teacher starts to step away as the child tries more on their own. Instilling this growth mindset helps them not only have more grit for future challenges, but also to recognize the IMPORTANCE of REFLECTION. So, your tidbit for today - trying hard THE WRONG WAY will never get you to success. REFLECTING on WHY it was the wrong way and MAKING A CHANGE will. Go forth and reflect...