Deliberate Mistakes
When designing Deliberate Mistakes tasks for students, teachers can use their pedagogical subject knowledge to get them to think about statements that include common misconceptions.
Teachers can control the difficulty of such activities with the number of deliberate mistakes they include in each statement, and whether or not they choose to tell students how many mistakes there are. Not telling them this will get students to think harder than they would have to otherwise.
At their best, Deliberate Mistakes tasks should require a degree of cognitive struggle balanced against a realistic chance of success. By doing so, they should generate ‘desirable thinking’ - not too easy; not too difficult.
Focused reflection
How well do you currently use this technique?
Is it a technique you will focus on developing?
If so, what are the key features you will focus on (things to do, and not do)?