After reviewing the post-survey responses, it’s clear that students’ mindsets and feelings about mistakes have shifted some more than others. Their answers showed growth in confidence, more openness to participation, and a stronger connection between making mistakes and understanding math.

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Comfort Level with Mistakes

Many students reported feeling more comfortable with making mistakes than they did at the beginning of the course. While a few said things stayed “about the same,” several indicated they had become more open to the idea that mistakes are part of learning.

This tells me that the work we’ve done around normalizing mistakes is starting to take hold. The more I reinforce that errors are welcome and useful, the more students seem to believe it.

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Confidence in Participation

When asked if they felt more confident participating now, most students responded “yes” or “somewhat.” This growth in classroom participation suggests that students feel safer speaking up, even when they aren’t sure they’re right.

This was incredibly encouraging because many students previously mentioned hesitating due to the fear of being wrong. Building trust and reducing judgment has helped.

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Teacher’s Influence on Risk-Taking

Most students said their teacher’s (my) attitude toward mistakes positively influenced their willingness to take risks. Only one or two noted a neutral or negative effect, which I take seriously and use as a reminder to stay mindful of tone, timing, and body language when responding to mistakes.

 This reinforces my belief that how I react in the moment matters more than what I say about mistakes in theory.

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How Students View Mistakes Now

Many students now describe mistakes as “part of the learning process.” This is a significant shift from pre-survey responses, where some viewed them as something to avoid. Very few still hold on to the idea that mistakes are purely negative.

 It’s a shift in mindset, and it doesn’t happen overnight, but the data shows it’s happening.

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Participation and Confidence Growth

Many students reported participating more now than they did earlier in the year. They also expressed increased confidence in math overall, especially because they’re in a class that doesn’t punish errors but builds from them.

This makes me think that normalizing mistakes doesn’t just change how students feel, it changes what they do, and that’s powerful.

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Mistakes and Understanding

Most students said that being in a classroom that welcomes mistakes has helped them understand math better. They see value in reviewing what went wrong and using it to correct misconceptions.

This confirms that normalization isn’t just about emotions but also improves learning outcomes.

 

The post-survey responses show that when students feel safe making mistakes, their confidence, participation, and understanding improve. They still carry some hesitation and frustration, but many are learning to work through it. It’s a process, but this data reassures me that the classroom culture we’re building matters and it’s working.

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