Productive Failure: A New Paradigm for Learning with Manu Kapur

Productive Failure: A New Paradigm for Learning with Manu Kapur

From Inside Learning | Unlocking human potential by The Learnovate Centre, Trinity College Dublin

September 18, 2025 · 23 min · Season 4 · Episode 48

About this episode

Manu Kapur discusses the concept of Productive Failure and its implications for learning and education.

Productive Failure: A New Paradigm for Learning with Manu Kapur What if the best way to learn isn’t to get it right the first time—but to fail first? In this episode of Inside Learning, we’re joined by Manu Kapur, author of Productive Failure. Kapur introduces a radical shift in how we think about education and training: instead of shielding learners from mistakes, we should intentionally design for failure as the gateway to deep understanding. We explore: 1. Why traditional Direct Instruction often fails even when delivered by excellent teachers. 2. How novices “can’t see what they don’t yet know” — and why the first job of teaching is to prepare them to see with an expert’s eyes. 3. The science behind Productive Failure — from Activation to Awareness, Affect, and Assembly. 4. Evidence showing that Productive Failure can produce learning gains three times greater than conventional methods. 5. Practical ways educators, trainers, and leaders can create safe, curated failure experiences that build resilience, creativity, and deeper transfer of knowledge. As Kapur puts it: “Fail first, learn later.” Join us for a conversation that challenges the way we teach, train, and even think…

People in this episode

Host: The Learnovate Centre

Guest: Manu Kapur

Topics covered

  • learning
  • education
  • failure
  • teaching methods
  • training
  • resilience

Keywords

  • Productive Failure
  • learning gains
  • education
  • failure experiences
  • teaching
  • training
  • resilience

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Learnovate Centre, Trinity College Dublin

Books & works: Productive Failure

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