We are proud that Janson Yap Boon Khang (pictured, left) from the Department of Psychology has won the coveted 2024 NUS Distinguished Undergraduate Research Prize (Top-Ranked Undergraduate Individual Research Project), based on his honours thesis “The Right Kind of Wrong: Error Competitiveness Modulates Deliberate Erring Effects” mentored by Dr. Sarah Wong.
The NUS Distinguished Undergraduate Research Prize is an exceptional achievement as this unique award is only given to the top project by the concurrence of the selection committee for its originality, innovativeness and significant impact.
Based on the recent counterintuitive finding that deliberately committing and correcting errors enhances learning (the derring effect; Wong & Lim, 2022), the award-winning work sought to define the qualities of better errors, and found evidence that they benefit learning and creative performance.
Dr. Sarah Wong (pictured, right) commented, “Errors can catalyze learning and creativity, but not all errors are created equal. This research reveals how people can be empowered to learn and innovate better by intentionally making high-quality, competitive errors than trivial ones. The findings challenge traditional views of avoiding errors in education, and offer new insights for driving discovery and innovation in the real world.”
This project was also informed by a set of preliminary experiments that were conducted as part of Janson’s independent research project mentored by Dr. Wong, which had earlier won two prestigious national-level awards at the Singapore Psychological Society Student Research Awards 2023—the Fred Long Award for Research Excellence (Overall Best Submission) and Best Undergraduate Research—and is now in press at the leading publication, Journal of Educational Psychology (Yap & Wong, 2024).
Janson shared his reflections:
“My HT journey was an extremely challenging and fulfilling one. The key to good research lies in asking meaningful questions and the extent that I am able to apply my knowledge of psychology to answer these questions is what keeps me going. At the end of the day, I hope that my findings can, in some way, contribute positively to the real world.”
He added, “I extend my utmost gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Sarah Wong, for being the strongest pillar of support I can ever ask for. Dr. Wong is a brilliant researcher and her pioneering work on deliberate erring formed the cornerstone of the project. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with a world-class researcher whose invaluable advice definitely chartered our research in the right direction, and who played a pivotal role in shaping my academic success today. This is a remarkable personal achievement for me and it would not have been possible without Dr. Wong’s guidance.”
Dr. Wong said, “Janson is diligent, driven, and focused. During the project, he persevered in overcoming challenges and forged ahead with grit to ensure that the research was rigorous and well-executed. We wish him all the very best ahead as he embarks on his graduate studies at UCL this fall.”
A/P Stephen Lim who also does educational research in the department comments, “Dr. Sarah Wong is an exceptional researcher, with a clear academic signature. She is also a gifted educator, so there is no way her students would not produce excellent research. NUS is very lucky to have Dr. Wong.”
We heartily congratulate Janson and Dr. Wong on this fine achievement!
References
Yap, J. B. K., & Wong, S. S. H. (2024). Deliberately making and correcting errors in mathematical problem-solving practice improves procedural transfer to more complex problems. Journal of Educational Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000850
Wong, S. S. H., & Lim, S. W. H. (2022). The derring effect: Deliberate errors enhance learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 151(1), 25–40. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001072
