What is Innovation In Learning? A Personal Reflection

 What is innovation in learning and how can I apply to my classroom? 

When thinking about innovation, the first things that come to mind are fancy glass rooms, high tech, niche topics to explore, and inventing new gadgets. Then, when I think about my classroom, I am struck with the confinements of the physical space and how it will not look like a fancy futuristic classroom. However, I feel my classroom could still have those aspects of an innovative classroom. 

As a new teacher, I am still trying to figure out my teaching style. For the first few months of the school year, I realized that the assignments and lessons I was giving were very similar to how I was taught when I was in school. Upon recognizing this, I felt the intense need to re-evaluate my teaching practices. The world has changed since I was in school and my classroom should reflect a modern society and explore those issues that affect my students. 

According to Forbes, author Shulman suggests teachers to actively reflect, set a positive tone, allow students to explore what is interesting to them, asking open ended questions, and consider using a flipped classroom model (2018). Shulman’s article highlights the characteristics of an innovative classroom, but it does not explore how to practically implement them into the classroom. Shulman’s article also sets a high expectation of what an innovative classroom is, and has an underlying tone that if it is not done, then teachers have failed their students. When reading the study by DeLuca et al., they found that most of the teachers they surveyed view their assessments to not be innovative, whereas the authors disagree and think it is (2024). Majority of teachers also found that the expectation to be innovative in the classroom was too high for them to achieve (DeLuca et al., 2024). This study highlighted the importance to me that an innovative classroom does not have to be a massive change, but smaller changes are just as valid. Taking the high expectations off of what I think an innovative classroom could potentially help how I can learn about innovative techniques and implement them into the classroom. 

I want my students to be critical thinkers and have an innovative classroom, but the main hurdle is how to achieve that in my class. Throughout these blog posts and the course I am hoping to explore how to support this transition from my current teaching style to become an innovative educator. 

References

DeLuca, C., Holden, M., & Rickey, N. (2024). From challenge to innovation: A grassroots 

study of teachers’ classroom assessment innovations. British Educational Research Journal. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.4065 

Shulman, R. D. (2023, September 12). 10 ways educators can make classrooms more 

innovative. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/robynshulman/2018/11/19/10-ways-educators-can-make-classrooms-more-innovative/  

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