Brain-Based Innovative Teaching and Learning Strategies

Mistake fear is one of the hindrances to active participation, especially in a learning
environment. One instance of mistake fear in my life that still stands out for me is during my
years in grade school. Our teacher had asked us to recite a poem, and I feared to make a mistake
or forgetting a line. The fear was too much that it made me avoid presenting the poem. I was the
last person to present. The first few seconds were tough. I was trembling. But after a while, I
regained my calmness and was able to recite the poem. That was the first time I ever presented in
front of an audience. I was always afraid of making mistakes. I did not want my classmates to
laugh at me. I realized that mistake fear had hindered my responsive engagement in class. I did
not want to fail as everyone watched because that would really have affected my esteem
negatively. Prior to my presentation, I had never taken part in any activity in class. I was always
quiet, not because I am introverted, but because I could not stand failing in public. Many years
later, I now understand that I was experiencing mistake fear.
Willis & Mitchell (2014) explains that different strategies can be applied in the
classroom to enhance active participation among the learners. For instance, providing instant
feedback motivates the learner to put in more effort to get the answer correctly, and if the answer
was correct, instant feedback helps in building his or her self-esteem. Feedback helps the teacher
in ensuring that he or she creates an atmosphere that is consistent with the content being
delivered. Feedback can either delivered verbally or through non-verbal cues. A learner can
either be encouraged or intimated by the teacher. Therefore, it is important to provide feedback
that encourages the learner, whether the answer provided is correct or wrong.
As a teacher, I will ensure that I make eye contact with the students while they are
participating in class, I will also maintain eye contact with the quiet students in the classroom to

encourage them to participate. When dealing with very vocal students, I will occasionally ask
them to hold back so that I can get the suggestions and thoughts of the more silent students. I will
verbally give remarks such as “very good,” “nice trial,” “what do you think,” to motivate the
students and prompt them to share their thoughts with the class.
Additionally, I will use the achievable challenge idea by ensuring that I give learners
different tasks based on their cognitive abilities and motivation levels. I will then encourage
them to attempt the tasks given, provide constant feedback until the learner gets it correct. Then I
will motivate the learner to take on another task, more complicated than the first one, but
achievable at the same time. The process will be repeated for all learners until all of them get the
content being delivered. I will factor in individual differences among learners and employ
differentiated instructional strategies so that the learning needs of every learner will be
adequately addressed. Overall, I ensure that I eliminate mistake fear by encouraging the learners
to attempt and learn through their mistakes.

References

Willis, J., & Mitchell, G. (2014). The neuroscience of learning: Principles and applications for
educators[Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/