The Psychology of Failing the Right Way - How to make the most of mistakes with FLAMEnet: Science + Education

Dr. Lisa Corwin, Dr. Sandhya Krishnan and I discuss the psychology of how students can internalize and maximally leverage perceived failures in academics/research to grow and become more resilient. Dr. Corwin is an Associate Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Dr. Krishnan is a postdoctoral research fellow, both at the University of Colorado Boulder. These researchers investigate students’ experiences of failure in course-based undergraduate research experiences. In this episode, we talk about their research in STEM education, the experience of failure in STEM students, and the exciting opportunities FLAMEnet has to offer. 

Lisa, Sandhya and I discuss what falls under the definition of an academic failure and how students positively or negatively change based on a perceived failure. The purpose of discussing failure leans into a major problem facing STEM students, especially students interested in research: great science and learning doesn’t happen without mistakes, but undergraduate and graduate education often prioritizes perfection over learning. 

Dr. Corwin is the Principle Investigator for the Research on Ecology and Evolution Education for Action and Change Lab. https://www.colorado.edu/ebio/lisa-corwin 

REACH lab website: https://www.thereachlab.org/people 

FAIL is Not a Four Letter Word: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6757216/#:~:text=PMID%3A%2030821602-,FAIL%20Is%20Not%20a%20Four%2DLetter%20Word%3A%20A%20Theoretical%20Framework,Failure%20in%20STEM%20Learning%20Environments