Strategic Derring: Using Errors to Maximise Learning

The proposed research is designed to assess the efficacy of a new potential teaching technique to improve educational outcomes, based on the newly discovered Deliberate Erring (Derring) effect. In educational settings, students are often motivated to avoid making mistakes, and therefore avoid error-based learning. Recent research on the Derring effect, however, indicates that guiding students to produce deliberate errors in low-stakes study environments can be a powerful technique to improve learning. Critically, the benefits of deliberate erring have been found to outstrip other popular and effective study techniques such as elaborative encoding and concept-mapping. Thus, Derring has strong potential as an easy and cost-effective study technique that could be readily implemented into teaching practices. Currently, however, the Derring effect has been observed in only a limited range of contexts, and the mechanisms that underpin the Derring effect are not well-understood. The proposed PhD project will fill these gaps, to provide a better understanding of the contexts in which Derring is likely to be effective for long-term learning. The key aims of the project are to (1) test the key theories of the Derring effect, to establish the mechanisms that underpin the Derring effect, (2) establish the generality of the Derring effect with different populations, and in classroom contexts, and (3) demonstrate the longevity of the Derring effect. Together, this programme of research will allow me to draw strong conclusions about the potential benefits of Derring in educational settings, and to produce clear guidelines on how Derring should be employed.