Let it Chafe (a Little)

Lessons that run awkwardly, cause frustration, or lead to lots of mistakes? Those are often the lessons where the most learning takes place.

Instead of highlighting a very recent study, this blog is about an article that forms the foundation of one of my favorite topics: the idea that learning and performance are two very different things (oops—forgot the spoiler alert and just gave away the punchline!).

Imagine this: you teach a lesson, students seem to get it right away, they complete the tasks quickly, and the atmosphere is great. A success, right?
Maybe not.

According to Nicholas Soderstrom and Robert Bjork (2015), we need to distinguish between learning and performance. And that distinction is crucial for us as teachers—especially because it often goes against our intuition. What appears to go well in the classroom doesn’t always lead to lasting learning outcomes. Conversely, lessons where students make mistakes and struggle a bit can actually be the most effective in the long run.
Note: this is NOT about giving tasks you already know students will get wrong. So, no productive failure!

Performance refers to what students show in the moment: correct answers, fluent reading, solving problems quickly.
Learning refers to lasting changes in knowledge or behavior—what remains available in long-term memory weeks or months later, and is applicable in new contexts.

The tricky part is: what students do well now often says little about what they’ll remember later. And the opposite is also true: if things go poorly today, it doesn’t mean nothing was learned. In fact, that’s often when the most learning happens.

A striking insight from the article is that conditions that lead to more mistakes during the lesson often result in better long-term learning. This is known as the principle of desirable difficulties—where you make things a bit harder in the short term to improve learning in the long term. In sports, they say: No pain, no gain. Think of a coach who makes training harder for an athlete (interval training, running stadium stairs two at a time, increasing speed) to improve oxygen intake, endurance, leg strength, and so on—so it pays off when it really counts, like during a race.

In learning, this could mean spaced practice—where students practice a topic over intervals instead of cramming in one go. Or interleaved practice—mixing different types of problems instead of doing 20 of the same in a row. Or using tests as learning tools, not just as final assessments but as active learning strategies. These methods often lead to more mental effort and more mistakes during lessons, but they also ensure that what’s learned is more deeply embedded in long-term memory. That’s because students have to actively think, make connections, and activate prior knowledge.

Of course, these aren’t always popular strategies. Students can get frustrated when things don’t go smoothly. And as a teacher, it can feel uncomfortable to see your explanation not immediately pay off. Still, it’s important to realize that ease and fluency during a lesson are no guarantees of learning. In fact, when students are “in the flow,” it can sometimes mean they’re not being challenged enough.

Soderstrom and Bjork also point out that students (and teachers!) often misjudge their own learning. If something felt easy, we think we’ve learned it. If something felt difficult, we assume we haven’t. But that’s often incorrect. The level of fluency is a poor predictor of retention.

What does this mean for classroom practice?
It requires both courage and professionalism to teach lessons that may not show immediate effects but yield greater long-term benefits. It also requires space for mistakes and a classroom culture where errors are seen as valuable indicators of thinking. Tests are no longer endpoints, but tools for learning. Students are actively encouraged to think, make connections, ask themselves questions, and test their knowledge. And we adjust our expectations: not every lesson has to run smoothly. Learning can (should?) be a little uncomfortable.

As a teacher, you want your lessons to have impact—that students remember, understand, and can apply what you teach. But that sometimes means accepting that the lesson doesn’t feel smooth in the moment. A lesson full of head-scratching, mistakes, and questions might ultimately deliver much more than one where everyone “gets it.”

So: if it chafes, grinds, or slows down… quietly cheer it on.

Reference:
Soderstrom, N. C., & Bjork, R. A. (2015). Learning versus Performance: An integrative review. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10(2), 176–199.