ABSTRACT
Learning from mistakes is easier said than done. A. C. Edmondson (2004, p. 66)
Many people view errors, or mistakes, as events that should never have happened. An initial reaction to an error may be to cover one’s tracks in order to hide the fact that one was made. Denial is another frequent reaction. For example, if you hear the honking of an angry motorist, your first reaction might be, “It wasn’t me!” Further reflection may lead you to question whether you really had, for example, signaled before turning, and considering whether you had made this error might make you more conscious of signaling in the future. In other words, errors can provide valuable feedback about one’s performance or skill level, providing a basis for learning to occur. The view that “we learn from our mistakes” can be contrasted with the view that mistakes detract from learning and that training environments should be designed to prevent errors from occurring. In this chapter we explore why errors occur and how they contribute to learning.
