Feedback Matters: Using Mistakes to Promote Learning
Featured in the Curriculum Corner newsletter
By Dr. Kristy Alvarez, FPD Academic Dean
Two weeks before the start of my senior year, my softball coach, who had also been my English teacher the year before, approached me after practice. She told me she thought I should take her AP Literature class that year and offered to handle the schedule change if I was interested.
The only catch was that I needed to read the two summer reading books before school started. I agreed, and for the next two weeks, I did only two things: practiced softball and read A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry and Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy.
A Raisin in the Sun was short, so I finished it fairly quickly. Tess’s 500 pages consumed the rest of my time, and I was miserable. Even though I prided myself on being a good reader, I had no idea what was going on for most of the book. This was 1992, so there was no Internet to help me out. Still, I read every single word. My teacher challenged me, and I was determined I would finish it before school started.
During the first week of school, we had to write in class essays on each of the books. I remember this vividly because it was the first time I had ever written an essay. My essays ended up being one long paragraph. I had absolutely no idea how essays were supposed to be structured. I had never been taught how to write one, and there was definitely no grading rubric attached to the assignment. Still, I was confident I had done okay since I had actually read both books.
That confidence disappeared when I got my papers back. I do not remember the grades, but I will never forget the red ink comments scrawled across the top:
“Essays have paragraphs!!! Did you read the book?”
The sarcasm practically dripped off the page. Did you notice the three exclamation points?
The point of this story is that students need meaningful feedback and a safe space to make mistakes so they can learn and grow from them. All I was left with after that experience was frustration. My teacher had failed me, and probably some of the 11 others in the class, because she did not provide feedback that helped us understand how to improve. Instead of learning how to become a better writer, I walked away feeling defeated and unsure of myself.
As teachers, we owe our students more than that. We owe them feedback that is specific, constructive, and encouraging. We owe them feedback that helps them see where they went wrong and how to get better. Most importantly, we owe them the confidence that comes from knowing mistakes are part of the learning process, not proof that they cannot succeed.
According to Chiappetta (2025),
“Feedback plays a critical role in shaping students’ understanding of what teachers value in their work and guiding their work in specific areas.”
Even though they do not always acknowledge it, it is important to remember that most students want to be challenged and they want you to celebrate with them when they succeed. We miss the mark when we become so focused on getting assignments graded quickly and posted in the gradebook that we forget the value of good feedback.
Useful feedback meets students where they are by providing specifics focused on the skills they need to be successful. Ultimately, it promotes learning rather than grades.
Research Reference:
Chiappetta, E. (2025). Learning by Mistake: 12 Strategies to Turn Student Errors into Opportunities. Arlington, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.