The Generation Effect - Even a wrong answer helps you learn better than no answer
Summary
- When we struggle to come up with an answer, even if its the wrong one, we will enhance future learning.
Details
- Big mistakes can be the best learning opportunities
References
Quotes
One of those desirable difficulties is known as the “generation effect.” Struggling to generate an answer on your own, even a wrong one, enhances subsequent learning. Socrates was apparently on to something when he forced pupils to generate answers rather than bestowing them. It requires the learner to intentionally sacrifice current performance for future benefit.
Being forced to generate answers improves subsequent learning even if the generated answer is wrong. It can even help to be wildly wrong. Metcalfe and colleagues have repeatedly demonstrated a “hypercorrection effect.” The more confident a learner is of their wrong answer, the better the information sticks when they subsequently learn the right answer. Tolerating big mistakes can create the best learning opportunities.*
Related
- He who makes no mistakes seldom makes anything - Francois Louw
- When pushing boundaries, mistakes are inevitable
- Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new - Albert Einstein
- Learning requires work
- Learning new skills changes the way you think
- Learning is best done slowly to accumulate lasting knowledge even if it means doing badly in the short term
- Long term thinking