Abstract
Often failure is not inconsistent with success, in both the advancement of the disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) and in the teaching and learning of these disciplines in education contexts. This chapter specifically seeks to explore the ways failure is represented in each of the STEM disciplines, and through this to infer the role and nature of failure in the development of new knowledge in each discipline. We start by discussing the notion and variety of failures, why failure is often perceived negatively, yet is an essential element of the learning process. The nature of failure in each of the STEM disciplines is explored in turn. In science, failure is commonplace as science is essentially driven by a desire to understand the world around us. Science can be context independent rather than design focused. Therefore, the end product that is communicated consists of the knowledge generated and the ‘successful’ process that led to it. Failures are important aspects of the process, but are seldom considered desirable or worth publishing. We contrast with the role of failure in engineering and technology, where failure is celebrated as being an integral part of the design process and demonstrates rigour of the testing and process. Failure in maths involves both certainty and failure in its quest for a solution. The fundamental premise of maths could be argued to include finding a solution to a problem or developing skill as compared to focusing heavily on generating knowledge for the sake of generating knowledge per se. The role of failure in school learning of STEM disciplines is considered briefly.
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Notes
- 1.
The first synonym given for “failure” in Roget’s thesaurus is “non-success”
- 2.
This is well illustrated by reference to one of the most well-known fault lines, the San Andreas Fault, which basically runs down the coastline of California. It is recognised by both seismologists and non-scientists in California that it is highly likely that there will be another earthquake as catastrophic as that in San Francisco, 1908 or Los Angeles, 1857—but this may be next year or next century, and it may be anywhere along the Fault.
- 3.
- 4.
Fermat’s last theorem (that no three positive integers a, b, and c satisfy the equation an + bn = cn for any integer value of n greater than 2) was stated by Pierre de Fermat in 1637, together with an assertion that he had proven this but without giving the proof. A proof advanced in 1994 has become accepted.
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Mansfield, J., Gunstone, R. (2021). When Failure Means Success: Accounts of the Role of Failure in the Development of New Knowledge in the STEM Disciplines. In: Berry, A., Buntting, C., Corrigan, D., Gunstone, R., Jones, A. (eds) Education in the 21st Century. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85300-6_9
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