The Masterclass conducted on 20th September continued our journey through Productive Failure, with a focus on Chapter 7: Designing for Others. Having explored tasks and participation in earlier sessions, this time we shifted our attention to the outermost layer: the Social Surround.
The Social Surround is not just about the physical classroom—it’s about the emotional and psychological culture that allows learners to thrive. It determines whether students feel safe to speak up, share half-formed ideas, or take risks without fear of being judged.
What We Explored
We began by revisiting the three interconnected layers of Productive Failure:
Participants reflected on their own classrooms, noting how fear of being wrong often silences students. This simple but powerful observation led us to ask: How can we create environments where mistakes are not punished but celebrated as part of learning?
Psychological Safety in Learning
We discussed psychological safety, a concept first introduced by Carl Rogers and later popularised by Amy Edmondson in organizational learning.
In classrooms, psychological safety means learners feel included, valued, and unafraid to take risks. When this culture is present, even “imperfect” ideas can spark rich discussion—showing that learning often begins at the edge of mistakes.
Two Strategies for Designing the Social Surround
Reset classroom expectations so that effort, diverse ideas, and reasoning are valued—not just quick, correct answers. For instance, in a science class, instead of praising only the group that got the “right” result, we can also highlight those who tried bold approaches, asked deeper questions, or learned from experiments that “failed.”
Help learners develop a growth mindset. Encourage them to see intelligence as something that grows with effort and mistakes as natural stepping stones to mastery.
Closing Reflections
The session ended with a challenge for educators:
Reset one classroom norm.
Even small shifts in norms can begin to transform the classroom culture.
What’s Next
We will continue our journey with Productive Failure on 27th September, moving into the next chapter: Designing for Self.
Until then—keep growing, keep learning, and as always—stay happy and blessed.
Gurdeep Kaur
Session Host and The Teachers Academy faculty member
