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How to fail well Advice to help faculty and staff reframe and harness failure as a useful aid to learning and development
Failure may not be something many of us enjoy, yet it is vital to learning and discovery. So, how can those working in universities normalise, even welcome, failure as a stepping stone to continued development, particularly when set against a backdrop of competition for enrolments, research funding, jobs and top grades? This collection of resources looks at how faculty and academics can harness failure to improve their own research and professional practices, what it takes to create a culture of innovation and exploration and how educators can reframe failure as an important tool for students to grow and deepen their knowledge.
Copyright © 2025 THE - Times Higher Education. All rights reserved. Narrating failure in academia : how to turn trash into treasure
Instead of hiding from failure in shame and despair , and on the way to normalising it , we should learn how to better narrate it , says Lucas Lixinski
Using productive failure to activate deeper learning
Manu Kapur explains how using a flipped - classroom approach , setting students problems that they are unable to tackle …
Learning challenge and difficulty : calm seas do not make skilful sailors
Five strategies for university teachers to encourage students to use challenge , struggle and safe failure for effective long - term …
Three steps to accepting failure : recognise , embrace and enculturate
Many fail to see the blood , sweat and tears that often go into both successes and failures . We must learn how to celebrate the process …
The power of failure : a case study to foster resilience in students
Nici Sweaney offers simple strategies to shift focus from outcomes to learning and discovery , helping research students to embrace risk - taking and learn from setbacks
The F - word : how to use failure as a learning tool
Fear of failure impacts student well - being and academic outcomes so educators need to help reframe ‘ failure ’ as a useful learning tool . Claire Davy - Potts explains how
Lead by example and share your failures
Rejection is part of academic life . Leaders should share their own stories of failure to help others through theirs , says Tracy Nevatte
Failure can feel hot and shameful , but we must normalise it
Failure is essential in research , so we need to reframe it into an opportunity for learning , says Emma Williams
Techniques for managing and learning from failure in academia
Failure in academia does not have to be entirely negative – it can provide an opportunity to grow , build resilience and is an essential part of the …
What happens when we can ’ t help a student when they need us most ?
The job of university personal tutor is not nine - to - five , and academics in support roles are fallible and don ’ t always get it right . Catherine Lee shares advice for those times from personal experience
Why learning to listen will help you avoid ‘ helicopter research ’ and make you a better science communicator
A year of failed fieldwork in Africa led Sallie Burrough to ask questions about how researchers interact with the societies they work in . Here , she shares five tips for transparent , inclusive practices
How to use failure to build an academic career
Failure can be a stepping stone on the way to professional success . Here , Beiting He offers tips for finding support through setbacks and …
Five tips for using design thinking to transform your academic practice
Jenny Moffett explains how embracing design thinking may offer ways to combat academic perfectionism and develop vital skills for …
How to enhance your chances of serendipitous research discoveries
Five approaches that will help researchers prepare for and make the most of serendipitous opportunities
Failing your way to academic success
Failure offers students and educators a chance to explore their shortcomings and come to greater self - awareness . In fact , it can be seen as growth in disguise , write Kelvin Yihang Zhang and Kim Yong Joong
I ’ m a Columbia student , and I don ’ t want my grade inflated
Normalising failure could improve students ’ mental health , give them the freedom to learn more effectively and make them more resilient all at once , says Jacob Clay
Five ways to apply a creative mindset to education
Students should be encouraged to create and innovate rather than just accrue knowledge . Alan Morgan shares five approaches to …
Failure as a career development tool
How to encourage students to actively examine their ‘ failures ’ to provide useful direction and inform improvements when …
Adaptability is different from resilience – and here ’ s how to nurture it
Identifying what adaptability is and how to boost it can help students make appropriate adjustments to optimise their …
Making space for innovation : a higher education challenge
Risk , chance and disruption can be paths to innovative teaching practice . Here , Michelle Prawer offers ways to bring more flexibility into the classroom
Failing fast : what universities need to consider when adopting edtech
An edtech company might offer an outstanding technology that fits with the ethos and strategic direction of an institution , but that is just the start , says John Miles
