Design is the process in which plans and products are made to satisfy human needs - one that is commonly carried out in our lives when faced with some sort of challenge. However, oftentimes throughout the process, we encounter failure and iteration. Although much research on design cognition exists, there have been very few studies conducted on trying to synthesize it to learn from failure in design.

To resolve this disparity, the authors searched for journals regarding design, technology, or engineering education on the EBSCO Education Source database, as well as the American Society for Engineering Education [ASEE] and IEEE Frontiers in Education [FIE] conferences. Through filtering out all articles obtained using a selection of criteria, a total of 35 articles remained to be synthesized. The authors annotated the articles to find predominant themes across all, noted publication information, mapped information regarding learning from failure, and described the research designs taken in them. The results revealed five prevalent themes identified amongst the articles- varied meanings of failure, student reactions to failure, failure as a mechanism for uncovering key concepts, failure induces thoughtfulness in problem-solving, and classroom climate and communication fostered by teachers about facing failure - that showed that there exist different interpretations and reactions to failures. In addition, results of the study also reveal that failure is a common occurrence in STEM and design, and may be able to promote deeper learning. Despite all this, the study’s findings are limited such that it only used one database to gather articles for synthesis, had results derived from only one author’s perspective, and excluded articles that conducted meta-analyses on failure in the synthesis process.

Overall, these results suggest the importance of communication for students in the face of failure. Parents should foster open communication with their children through creating and maintaining an accepting and encouraging environment at home. As with EPIC, they are in line with EPIC’s research study on the failure of exceptional athletes and students, as both focus on personal experiences with failure and how it was used later on to achieve success. Future EPIC studies can further conduct interviews, asking specific questions on the guidance that the athletes and students have received throughout the failure process and how it has impacted them in long-term.

If you want to learn more about Jackson et al.’s (2022) study, check it out at: 

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10798-021-09661-x 

This post was written by Jessica Wang. 

Reference:

Jackson, A., Godwin, A., Bartholomew, S., & Mentzer, N. (2022). Learning from failure: A systematized review. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 32(3), 1853-1873.