Your Learners Failed…And That’s a Good Thing

Did you know that some teachers aren’t allowed to use red pens for making corrections? This concept has been circulating for about a decade now. Red means something is wrong, which can be seen as “too aggressive” and that might hurt someone’s feelings. So teachers are supposed to use a different color, like purple. Doesn’t this sound like every boss you’ve ever had? More concerned about hurting your feelings than telling you you’re wrong. Much like purple marker, coddling users in your eLearning course isn’t going to prepare them for much.

Sure, people don’t want to be told all day how much they suck at taking your eLearning course. But failure is capable of teaching people in ways success cannot. Additionally, if we’re only giving people “challenges” that we know they can succeed at, can they really be called challenges? Don’t be afraid to push your learners, but make sure you do it in the right way. Let’s look at the benefits of failure, and how to provide learners with the right way to fail.