Assignment 1 – The Productive Failure
When Students Decoded ‘If’: A Journey Through Struggle and Discovery
While preparing to teach Rudyard Kipling’s ‘If’, I paused before making my lesson design, wondering how to begin. It is a beautiful poem. I wanted my children to experience each and every emotion portrayed in the poem.
I remembered Manu Kapur’s idea of Productive Failure—how learning becomes deeper when students are allowed to struggle before being given answers. That day, I decided not to “explain”, but simply wrote the word ‘IF’ on the board and asked students what came to their mind when they saw this small, two-letter word.
The students were perplexed yet curious. Hands slowly began to rise. Responses included:
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Imagination
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Hope
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It feels like advice
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Strictness
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Failure
I smiled and wrote their words on the board. The word IF had already started unfolding its meaning through their minds.
After a few responses, I shared the context—Kipling writing to his son in a world full of uncertainty. Suddenly, lines found meaning. “Triumph and Disaster” were no longer just vocabulary—they became life moments. The poem transformed from a list of “If you can…” to a quiet message about character, patience, and dignity.
What Productive Failure Looked Like in Real Time:
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Students reacted based on instinct initially, not careful thought.
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Wrong answers were welcomed and reused as stepping stones.
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Students progressed through feeling → confusion → connection → clarity.
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Children built understanding actively, not passively listening to a lecture.
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Shifted focus from answer-seeking to critical thinking and reflection.
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Students asked meaningful questions like, “Why does the poet ask us to smile even when we lose?”
That day, ‘If’ by Rudyard Kipling was discovered—slowly, imperfectly, and beautifully, exemplifying Manu Kapur’s idea that learning begins with a stumble, not a definition.
Assignment 2 – The Productive Failure
Mastering Adverbs through Inquiry-Based Learning
Methodology (Planned Approach):
Session 1 – Exploration Stage:
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Provided a short paragraph with blanks and asked students to fill in words describing the verbs (e.g., She sang ___).
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Students were not given explicit instructions about adverbs.
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Observations: Many students used adjectives instead of adverbs or incorrect forms (e.g., She danced gracefully instead of She danced gracefully).
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This confirmed misconceptions and created a body of common errors for later reflection.
Session 2 – Reflection and Guided Discovery:
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Read some incorrect sentences and discussed ways to describe actions correctly.
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Cleared confusion about the difference between adjectives and adverbs.
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Explained the function of adverbs.
Key Activity – ‘Adverb Factory’:
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Students received verb cards (run, read, write) and adverb suffix cards (-ly, -wise).
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Worked in pairs to create adverbs, discussing changes in meaning and usage.
Overall Findings:
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The average number of errors per student dropped, showing immediate improvement.
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Students moved from guessing to applying a rule-based understanding of adverbs.
Teacher’s Reflection:
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Hands-on discovery reinforced abstract grammar concepts.
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Errors in the pre-test created a “need to know”, resolved through the engaging Adverb Factory activity.
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The approach fostered a deeper, more confident grasp of adverbs.
Student Feedback:
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“I never knew adverbs were so cool! I can describe things better now.” – Yashika
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“I liked creating adverbs with suffixes. It helped me understand how they work.” – Arush
By using a Productive Failure approach, students were empowered to take ownership of learning and develop a deeper understanding of complex concepts.
