18.6 Eating Mistakes

We might be wrong, but our unscientific, casual observations over the last decade or so suggest that the general concept of accountability when something goes wrong has changed. There are still individuals and organizations who will be responsible and accountable, but many will simply say sorry, and then move on. Some may fix the situation by repairing, replacing, or by doing something over again. That is at least something. But many just say sorry. There is little recognition for the impact on the stakeholders involved and few try to make it ‘right’. In many cases, there is no downside for the person making the mistake, and no incentive to avoid making the mistake again. In the worst case, there is a shrug of the shoulders, no real acceptance of a mistake being made, and a comment to the effect “that’s the way it is”.

When a mistake occurs, it is important to show that you understand that a mistake was indeed made, that appropriate compensation is done that takes into account the impact on stakeholders, that the effect of the mistake is mitigated, and that the stakeholders have a feeling that the mistake will not be made again, and that there is a reason why they should continue engaging. We teach quality management, and the best practice is to acknowledge the mistake as soon as possible, provide a single contact point to resolve the issue, to deal with any tangible and intangible impact on the stakeholders (e.g. recognizing the time and effort wasted by the stakeholder or the emotional stress and strain also created), and to surpass the hopes and expectations of the stakeholders with how you handle the situation. This is what creates customer loyalty and a strong relationship. Everyone will make a mistake, and it is how you handle the situation that will define you.

Perhaps not a surprise, but when we look through the literature, there is little discussion about possible instructor mistakes, getting it wrong, and what to do in these cases beyond simply giving the marks to the individual or class. There is little about how to actually handle the situation!

What does this mean as an instructor…

• Do your best to avoid creating a situation, but if it does happen, embrace the situation with a positive attitude and use it as a learning moment for both you and the students.
• Some people have difficulty with admitting mistakes. We suggest that if you are one of these individuals, you should try to learn how to do this gracefully, and not defensively.
• Not only agree with the students if they are the ones that pointed out an issue, but thank them and let them know how you will attempt to avoid this in the future.
• Discuss with the students how the mistake occurred and why it happened. This will help them understand the value of reflection and the process of constructive failure.
• If you make a mistake on an assessment, we suggest that the marks associated with the component under discussion be dropped or full marks given to everyone. This is the least you can do and is what we consider to be a neutral result. The students’ grades should not suffer because of an instructor mistake. You can also just get everybody bonus marks on the assessment, to make up for any issues. In this case it is possible that you might give more than 100% to some of the top students, but that is not necessarily a bad thing to do. We feel that the students that were able to deal with the mistake and overcome the situation could have used that same time to improve elsewhere on the assessment so if everyone is getting a bonus for that one component it is only fair that the successful students also get compensated.
• It is our belief, that neutral is not best practice. Students will hope and expect that the component will not be counted. You can do better than this. Figure out a way to exceed their hopes and expectations when you make a mistake. This will set a good example for them.

• You can allow the students to do a do-over that would allow them to demonstrate their mastery. If a component is not counted, some students will indeed be happy that that learning outcome will not be tested, but others will feel cheated that they were not able to demonstrate their skills and their knowledge. Of course the question has to be changed and restructured, but that is part of paying the price for making a mistake.
• What do you do if it is a situation where you think you wrote a good, fair question and for some reason, many in the class think that you have tricked them, the question was unfair, etc.?
• We suggest that the advantage goes to the class and the component is removed from the assessment and that you find an alternative way that will sort out the situation. Note, we make sure that the course outline clearly indicates that any assessment can include material from preceding lectures, and that it can be cumulative.
• We then put a question on a subsequent assessment that tests the level of understanding and mastery of the students of the learning outcome under question. For example, you can ask the students to explain the concept using an example of their own making to the freshman student in a short paragraph. If the students really understand the material, they should be able to explain it at a level that demonstrates their comprehension and ability to use the concept. The more the original assessment was worth, the more you expect in the second assessment. Because the second assessment is at a deeper level than the first, it actually helps you understand what the class really understands.
• Have empathy and sympathy for any emotional or situational stress that you created through year mistake. This must be done with sincerity of course. The students must understand that you truly care about them. If you care about them, they will care about you and the course.
• In relationship building, not only is it important to do the right thing. You have to be seen to be doing the right thing. The students need to see how you are fixing the situation and dealing with your own mistakes. If you want to hold students accountable for their mistakes they will expect that you will hold yourself accountable when you mess up.
• Curving, and scaling later in the term because of mistakes that you have made is not really dealing with the problem, and will not help with the student relationship.
• Try your best to figure out why you made the mistake, and either alter your process or create mechanisms that will avoid it in the future.

Further reading

• Hampton, D.R. (2002). Making Complaining Appealing. College teaching, 50, 2, p. 62.
• Lisby, G.C. (2000). College Student Grade Disputes: Adjudicative vs. Mediative Models of Conflict Resolution. Georgia State University College of Law, CNCR-Hewlett Foundation Seed Grant White Papers. 18.
• Gynnild, V. (2011). Student appeals of grades: a comparative study of university policies and practices. Assessment in education : principles, policy and practice, 18, 1, pp. 41-57.