Wrong Answer

The Last Time
When was the last time you used wrong examples?

Reflect on your last few weeks of teaching. Have you presented a skill or topic that needed elaboration? Most likely, our concepts are not simply "right" or "wrong;" most of education is not cut and dry. But contrast is essential. Think about when last needed to use wrong examples, opposition, to help hammer home a point in a lesson or unit.

The Next Time
Take advantage of the next time you can teach what it isn't.

Use wrong examples. Show mistakes. Provide opposition. Help with clarity by not only teaching what a skill or topic is, but also what it isn't. Not all lessons have right or wrong answers, but in those cases where a life skill is presented for practice, it can help to model what that looks like as well as what it doesn't. Our brains find deeper comprehension when hearing and witnessing contrast.