The Right of Revision

As teachers and leaders, we frequently tell our children that it's ok to make mistakes, that is the only way we learn. Sounds great, seems great, but do we believe it. Do we create a culture that not only accepts mistakes but encourages them and celebrates when we overcome our mistakes? Like so many things do our actions match our words.

A student completes a task in math, what feedback do we give them? Do they grade the assignment marking the number wrong at the top of the page and making an "x" by the incorrect questions? Do we grade the assignment and do the same? Do we have them check with a classmate and confer about what they believe they have mastered and what they haven't? Do we have them check against a master document and see which ones do not match and then go back and figure out why they didn't get them to match? Our practices and strategies impact our children's underlying beliefs regarding whether or not it is ok to make mistakes and recover or whether they need to be right the first time.

Jan and Steve Chappuis in their Seven Strategies of Assessment For Learning highlight 2 key factors related to this:

• Teach to Focus on Revision
• Engage Students in Self Reflection and Let Them Keep Track of and Share Their Learning

Powerful actions that promote effective learning. Ones that only exist is we as classroom leaders make it acceptable for them to exist. This is no different for us as adults. Do we believe that each day we too have the right not to be perfect? Do we believe that there are multiple ways for us to lead our classrooms, buildings, or district? What happens when someone else walks into our building or our classroom? Are we open to new ideas, willing to listen to others and see that there are multiple ways to help our children learn and grow? Our we open to revision?

As part of the Google Teacher Academy, we had the opportunity to meet with a number of Google employees. Frequently they would talk about a culture in which they were willing to try new things, fail fast, and make a next iteration better. As I think of Google products, Android, Nexus Q, Google TV. Their culture demonstrates this level of efficacy. We rarely hear about Google executives or engineers being fired because a product failed, yet their products fail all of the time. However, Android Cupcake has been followed by numerous versions including the soon to be released Kit Kat, Google TV and Nexus Q have led to Chromecast. 

At some point, we need to give ourselves the right of revision. That it is truly best practice not to get it correct immediately but rather to work with others to refine our work. We need to accept that each day each of us our giving our best for that day but it doesn't need to be the best ever. The best ever comes from learning from each iteration, collaborating, revising, and honestly moving forward. The only reason we fail is that we don't believe that we can succeed. Our own perceptions that others are judging us rather than their collectively owning our growth and success prevents us from collaboratively owning the right to revision and cultivating greater levels of success. Once we believe that it doesn't have to be perfect, that we can fail and try again then we can encourage our students to do the same. They won't believe it unless we do and we create an environment which promotes it. Google has, can we?