Education for Persistence & Innovation Center
Carousel
The Failure of Exceptional Athletes and Scientists
We are studying exceptional achievement among scientists and athletes and how failure experiences have shaped their path to success. We interviewed Nobel Laureates and exceptional athletes to understand the strategies that they used to benefit from their failure experiences.
Learning About Other People’s Failure to Cope with One’s Own Failure
We studied how other people’s failures, especially the great scientists’ struggles, could inspire students in their own learning endeavors. Existent evidence suggests that students can benefit from learning about the failures of others and experiencing and understanding their own failure.
Cross-culture and STEM Education
We are currently conducting studies to investigate how students of different ages, academic performance levels, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds interpret and react to various kinds of failures, setbacks, and undesirable situations, especially in the STEM field.
Goals, Metacognition, and Problem Solving
In education, goals have been shown to be a powerful predictor of student academic accomplishments. We are studying how students’ understanding of their own goals, goals set by their teachers and schools impact their learning and problem-solving across a range of challenging domains.
Instructional Media That Motivates Learning
We are investigating how instructional design could motivate students’ learning in schools. We conducted a series of classroom-based experiments with random assignments of students to different instructional conditions using technologies and media, and assessed learning outcomes produced by these conditions.
About Us
Education for Persistence and Innovation Center (EPIC) is a global interdisciplinary research center at Teachers College, Columbia University, dedicated to figuring out how to turn failure into success.
We use techniques from cognitive science, social-cultural psychology, neuropsychology, oral history, and education to study the critical role that failure plays as a catalyst for learning, innovation, and career development.
News & Events
Academic Alert
-
How Do Stories of Persistence Shape Our Judgments of Others?
Have you ever wondered how stories about persistence and determination affect the way we judge others? Well, that's exactly what Amemiya, Heyman, and Walker (2023) delves into. Their article explores social judgments and preferences and aims to uncover how narratives of persistence influence our perceptions of individuals facing constraints. -
Navigating Different Types of Feedback in Educational Settings
Feedback is essential to growth, whether it be for academics or other settings. Read more about how Merrick and Fyfe (2024) examined various aspects of feedback and its influences. -
Enhancing Self-Regulation Through Task Enrichment: Investigating Cognitive Load and Individual Differences
Do you often complete tasks, such as cleaning your room, while listening to music or talking on the phone? Such actions are known to be a self-regulatory process called task enrichment. Read more about how Burglar et al. (2024) explore this process and its effects. -
Unveiling the Development of Decision-Making
Have you ever wondered how decision-making transforms as people age from toddlerhood to adulthood? Blanco et al. (2024) investigates the secrets behind this fascinating journey, delving into the developmental trajectory of decision-making strategies in children and adults.
