Makes frequent errors

Frequent errors can be caused by many things. Lack of attention can lead to mistakes. For example, 2+ 2 = "oh look at that bird flying to the tree! I wonder what it has in its beak." = 1 It has one thing in its beak.

Another reason people make mistakes is due to rushing. This often happens to people who are slow at doing work. Because they are slow, teachers, parents, friends are always telling them to get a move on. So they do.
2 + 2 = 1+ 1 = 4 1 + 3 = 2

In the rush to get finished, small errors creep in, or rush in. As seen above, the first question didn't get answered... oh yes it did, but on the wrong problem which then triggered an avalanche of errors. How FRUSTRATING!!!!!!!


Vocational /Educational Impact
On the job, how annoying is it to have a co-worker who is always messing up. It slows everyone down. Someone has to be always watching what that person has done. It brings the whole team down.

Frequent errors can especially cause difficulty with jobs requiring speed or accuracy--clerical, accounting, quality control. Fast food places and banks are very sensitive to errors. This is also frustrating. Many of my students say, "I couldn't even manage a job like at McDonalds." But fast food is fast, and that is not a place for people who make frequent errors.

Does not do well in piece rate jobs, timed tests. Tests are terrible for error makers. What is even more frustrating is that you complete a test and feel good. You knew most of the answers. BUT... you didn't answer the questions correctly. This often results in loss of job or no promotions. Plus a complete lack of faith in yourself and the educational system.

Problems on jobs where your performance affects others --assembly line- group projects

Creates frustrations on-the job for self, employer, co0worker

Feeds poor self-esteem, job satisfaction, performance and opportunities for advancement.

Strategies
Complete frequent performance checks by supervisor, peer or teacher. Break things into small parts and build in a monitoring system. Don't go to the next step until you are sure that the first step is accurate. Although this will slow you down a lot at first, in the end you will make progress because you will have fewer errors.

Teach self-check method (e.g. have a step-by-step checklist, ask student to check for errors.) Learn to be a good checker. OK. How am I going to know if I have done a great job. Many students rely on teachers to find out if they have done a good job. A good student will have the skill to assess their own performance. On Bloom's Taxonomy, this is the highest level skill.

Benefit
Many many things have been learned through mistakes. The trick is to be cognizant when making mistakes. Mistakes are an opportunity to learn.

Penicillin, a mainstay in modern medicine, was found to be effective when a plate of culture was contaminated by blue mold.

Post-It notes also were the result of a misconception. The researcher was trying to develop a really strong glue and instead found a really weak glue. It took some time before someone realized how valuable a really weak glue can be.

Oh, and don't forget Christopher Columbus. He tried to find India. Instead he bumped into a large land mass now called North America. He named the natives, "Indians." And some people celebrate a day for him. No one seems to remember that he really really messed up.