The increasingly neoliberal course of Higher Education is linked to rises in student anxiety around assessment and increased fear of the consequences of failure. Making mistakes is an inevitable part of any learning process (and of life generally) and managing failure in a productive and positive way is crucial for success and wellbeing beyond…

Although people attempt many creative problem solutions, in general, most creative problem-solving efforts, at least real-world efforts, fail. In the present effort, we examine the reasons creative problem-solving efforts typically fail. We argue that creative problem-solving efforts fail, in part, due to the fundamental nature of the kinds of…

Recently, there has been a growing interest in learning approaches that combine two phases: an initial problem-solving phase followed by an instruction phase (PS-I). Two often cited examples of instructional approaches following the PS-I scheme include Productive Failure and Invention. Despite the growing interest in PS-I approaches, to the best…

This paper reflects upon a sub-optimal action learning application with a strategic business re-design project. The objective of the project was to improve the long-term business performance of a subsidiary business and build the strategic plan. Action learning was introduced to aid the group in expanding their view of the real problems…

In this article, we describe the design principles undergirding "productive failure" (PF; M. Kapur, 2008). We then report findings from an ongoing program of research on PF in mathematical problem solving in 3 Singapore public schools with significantly different mathematical ability profiles, ranging from average to lower ability. In…

Over the past century, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries have made significant progress in narrowing or closing long-standing gender gaps in many areas of education and employment, including educational attainment, pay and labour market participation. But new gender gaps in education are opening. Young men…

This paper reports on a quasi-experimental study comparing a "productive failure" instructional design (Kapur in Cognition and Instruction 26(3):379-424, 2008) with a traditional "lecture and practice" instructional design for a 2-week curricular unit on rate and speed. Seventy-five, 7th-grade mathematics students from a…

The OEYP state-funded program provides extended learning for students who are at risk of academic failure. This report summarizes Austin Independent School District's OEYP activities during 2008-2009.

Total Quality Management (TQM) is not another"add-on" but a wholly reconceived approach to managing educational institutions. Some common start-up problems are lack of feasible leadership commitment, poor data and deployment plans, and inadequate managerial skills. Postlaunch problems include team and measurement mania, overzealous selling of…

Differences between the planning and execution of two 1911-12 polar expeditions transcend matters of aims and resources. Scott's planning approach was deterministic, whereas Amundsen's was deliberative, resolving each problem in its practical, human context. Like Scott's expedition, current U.S. and British attempts to improve education practice…

Instead of developing a new strategy for each reform wave, educators must learn how to foster continuous improvement. Reforms often fail because of faulty maps of change, complex problems, overreliance on symbols, superficial solutions, misunderstood resistance, attrition, and misuse of knowledge. Success means recognizing change as a systemic,…

Grade retention is ineffective. It is often imposed for nonacademic reasons, fails to improve academic achievement, and exacerbates the dropout problem. Social promotion is equally ineffective at providing appropriate instruction for low-performing students. Feasible alternatives include group problem solving, personalized instruction, and…

A teacher describes the frustrations of an intelligent, learning-disabled fourth-grader who cannot pass the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System despite standard academic accommodations. The teacher advocates development of alternative or "nonstandard" accommodations and tests that assess students' spatial, problem-solving, and…

This article describes the problem-solving model (PSM) used in the Minneapolis Public Schools to guide decisions regarding intervention in general education, special education referral, and evaluation for special education eligibility for high-incidence disabilities. Program evaluation indicates students received special education services earlier…

A partnership project to develop and demonstrate a model for interagency cooperation between school districts and city governments operated for slightly over a year in Emeryville (California). Successful results of the project included collection of needs assessment data, completion of a social services resource guide, reopening of school…