The Innovative Classroom: Seven Ways to Increase Innovation

An innovative classroom leaves behind the antiquated model that views the student as a vessel to be filled with knowledge by the teacher. Instead, innovative classrooms begin with the students at the center. They include a teacher who is continually adjusting and modifying learning activities to provide authentic and relevant learning opportunities for each student regardless of ability.  

Seven Ways to Increase Innovation in the Classrooms

To build an innovative classroom that is creative and supports students so they can comfortably take risks, teachers should consider the following:

1. Embrace A Mindset Change

Inspiring an innovative classroom learning atmosphere begins with the teacher’s attitude. First, it is crucial to establish a classroom climate that is safe and inclusive, so students feel valued and supported in taking learning risks. The teacher should exude a contagious passion for the subjects they are teaching.  If students are enthusiastic about the subject matter, they are more likely to engage with the material.  

Next, it should be clear to the students that the teacher wants to learn and continuously improve their own innovative practices.  A teacher's grasp of planning and content delivery is an essential component of the creative learning process. Mastering varied instructional strategies that align with the student's needs and learning outcomes encourages a thriving learning environment.

At times, using direct instruction will be the best strategy, while at other times, an inquiry approach will better meet student needs. Modifying the traditional mindset means that teachers choose strategies that empower students to take control of their education, guiding students and helping them develop and maintain ownership of their own learning.  To do this successfully, a teacher should foster a growth mindset that allows students to continue to learn by building up their personal best abilities.

2. Develop Self-reflection

Self-reflection is crucial for teachers as they learn and adapt in an innovative classroom. It is an essential skill because there are always opportunities to improve lessons and find new ways to enhance the value of the classroom for students. This process is key to finding the sweet spot for instruction and fine-tuning activities and student interactions for best results.

The students should also be involved in the self-reflection process, as this gives them a chance to consider their strengths and areas of opportunity to find strategies to help them grow. Teachers should take advantage of their students’ ideas and suggestions for future lesson development.

3. Build Flexible Learning Environments

An essential part of the innovative classroom atmosphere is the environment of the classroom and school. Students are individuals, each of whom is better suited to different teaching approaches for effectively engaging them. Moreover, many of these approaches benefit from a deviation from the traditional classroom setup. For instance, teachers can shift the classroom setup to facilitate group activities or new learning strategies, even traveling outside or to other environments to improve student interest and performance. In a research-based field, teachers learn that the classroom area must flex for different functions, such as when students perform alone, need to communicate with fellow students, or need access to work groups or workstations to interact with content fully.

Traditional classrooms are often cluttered, crowded, loud, and lacking mobility. These limitations can induce a communication gap and other hindrances that detract from learning when students need to focus. The environment needs to be fluid and flexible to sustain one-to-one learning, teamwork, independent thought, and group conversations.

4. Create a Productive Classroom Environment for all Students

One of the distinctions among students is the division between introverts and extroverts.  Extroverts tend to gain energy from social communication, while introverts prefer quiet areas and time to reflect and think alone.

When a class exclusively concentrates on group work that highlights whole group conversations and gathering peer feedback within small groups, extroverted students thrive, but introverted students may disengage and be unwilling to participate due to the high amount of social interaction required in small group work.

Likewise, when a project concentrates exclusively on individual research or quiet reflection, the opposite result is likely. Introverts can flourish and succeed, whereas extroverts may feel antsy or lost. They could also become easily irritated or get in trouble for trying to gain attention, creeping in on social media, talking, or being disruptive.

Whenever possible, teachers should plan opportunities for students to work independently or in groups to help meet the needs of each personality type. Of course, a teacher focused on innovation and the needs of their students will be aware of the social needs of their students and know where they will thrive.

Teachers who deliver activities that best inspire, engage, and sustain students' love for learning new things are more likely to put in their maximum endeavors, enjoy the cycle of learning, and meet positive outcomes.

5. Teach A Problem-finding Approach

Instead of problem-solving approaches, teachers can encourage students to look at the world by finding new ways to overcome challenges using problem-finding strategies. Problem-finding strategies are an imaginative and intellectual way to seek out what might be missing or should be added to something significant, approaching the content from different points of view.

Using this approach, teachers can equip students with the chance to think profoundly, ask essential questions and apply innovative ways to solve issues. In addition, teachers can use the problem-finding approach as part of a more comprehensive strategy that includes problem-solving and problem-shaping.

6. Allow Students to Take Risks and Fail

Students should recognize that grown-ups attempt numerous activities, often failing yet continuing to strive for success. They should learn through the classroom that experiencing letdowns is a part of the learning process. When teachers deliver real-world assignments that give students problems to crack, they present a platform for students to learn from mistakes, forging ahead with conviction, trying again and again until they succeed.

When teachers don't let students fail, they may be causing more harm than good, holding back personal student development and the entire schooling system. Therefore, teachers must show students that the lesson is a journey, providing students with real-world issues to tackle, wrestle, and overcome.

7. Use a Flipped Classroom Model

In an attempt to capture classroom time for student collaborations, try using a flipped classroom model. In a flipped classroom, direct teaching and classroom order and events reverse. Students can consider study materials, read text, and analyze components of their assignments before coming into class. Teachers should reserve class time for collaborative exercises, including group discussions, peer-to-peer learning, independent learning, and engaging conversations.

The Bottom Line

Innovation is not a process that one develops all at once and then immediately uses with students. Instead, it is like a mind cultivation pattern that occurs through constant engagement with classroom culture and clear expectations. Each of the above approaches creates innovation and encourages inventiveness in the classroom.

If necessary, teachers can begin with a single innovative assignment to see how students engage with the material. Then they can start the process of building innovation into the classroom environment. Innovation is a never-ending transition to build engagement and higher thinking that transfers to the real world.

If you are looking for ways to make your classroom or school more innovative and efficient, Education Advanced offers a suite of tools that can help:

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