Classroom …Planting the seeds of innovativeness in young minds
Innovation is a more unique component of adapting to or overcoming the challenges of change. In today’s globalized world, innovations put a person, group, or country ahead of the competition. Certain inventions of the past two decades have dictated our way of life in all dimensions. As an educator, I would say that the classroom is a fertile land where the seeds of innovation are planted in young minds. This honour lies with teachers, administrators, and society.
A classroom is a place where not only students but also teachers, administrators, and even society as a whole can learn from each other. In particular, the impact that has on the later lives of young people is extraordinary and commendable. In this article, let’s look at how the way a classroom works can help students develop a sense of innovation in their learning.
Characteristics of an inventive mindset:
When we comprehend the features of an inventive mindset, despite the fact that different perspectives may differ, the following characteristics may be accepted:
- Creative curiosity
- Inclusivity
- Collaboration — Mutual respect
- Courage -Experimentation
- Observant — Reflective
- Encouragement — Genuine Assessment
Creative curiosity:
The most crucial quality for invention is curiosity. Curious people question everything they come across, investigate possibilities, and think outside the box. Such situations arise all too often in a classroom, especially among young children. However, this characteristic gradually diminished as a result of little or no assistance from the class. Here, teachers have a chance to shape their students’ habits of mind and help them become more effective learners by cultivating an atmosphere that rewards good questions and provides constructive feedback on incorrect ones. This activity fosters a classroom environment that encourages active involvement, mutual understanding, and respect for one another’s viewpoints.
“The primary role of the classroom is to keep a child’s innate curiosity alive and to assist it in growing over time.”
Inclusivity — Collaboration — Mutual respect:
These characteristics are interconnected. With this combination, every student would receive an unmatched experience that would raise their learning curve. Each individual has unique viewpoints, strengths, and experiences. Encouraging each student to grasp and respond to things in their own way, as well as creating an environment in which to listen honestly to others’ points of view, will help them gain profound knowledge in their learning. This openness to everyone helps students work better with the other people in their lives too, assists in developing a healthy appreciation for alternative points of view, and stimulates open thinking about alternative paths of inquiry.
Teachers would have plenty of chances to do this every single day in the classroom.
Courage -Experimentation:
In general, a sense of failure is scary and restricts the thought process, hence increasing the fear of initiating new actions. But one must develop the bravery to think beyond accepted standards and conventional methods, the courage to confront difficult questions, and the courage to step outside of one’s comfort zone. In this case, the classroom could give its students a wonderful answer. Its environment could help it develop great traits.
A teacher’s important role is to carefully assign students tasks that are difficult at first but doable based on their skill level. This phase encourages students to raise their level of difficulty, and it paves the way for them to gradually experience intrinsic motivation.
If a classroom mentors its pupils in such a way that there is no room for the word “failure” in initial learning and each such situation is an opportunity to reinforce or correct prior understanding, unless the same errors are repeated, then the environment of the classroom takes on a new face of learning. The challenge here is in teaching children to learn from self-reflection and to be honest in their analysis without making excuses. Over time, it gives each student a chance to think about what they’ve learned and how well they understand it, as well as to fix anything that went wrong. As a result, fear of failure gradually fades and experimentation courage gradually takes on its proper form.
Observant — Reflective:
A common tendency among persons who are deemed “creative” is to constantly look around their environment and make connections to their own thoughts. Wisdom is all around us; we only need to look in the correct direction for it.
A school atmosphere that encourages observations from multiple points of view on the same thing that occurs with co-students can instil in young minds the quality of being observant and thoughtful of their activities.
This opens their ears and eyes and makes their feet quick in thinking new ways, and it eventually helps them see inside, up and down, and about, and it finally helps them learn more profoundly and connect with their own ideas.
Encouragement — Genuine Assessment:
Two sorts of encouragement are necessary for serious practice: the first is encouragement from the teacher and fellow students, and the second is inward support. A teacher’s most important task is to help students transform their innate curiosity into innovativeness. It occurs when a teacher observes students freely and without prejudice, delivering an honest evaluation and, if necessary, advice. If the assessment is more accurate, the favourable impact on young minds will be greater. Likewise, improper evaluations or recommendations harm the environment as a whole.
Time restrictions typically prevent even dedicated teachers from giving this assessment to every student. However, teachers that break through this barrier may have a long-term impact on instilling innovation in their beloved kids.
This innovative culture encourages learning and lifelong learning, which are so important in the twenty-first century. The truth is that adopting an inventive mindset entails making minor adjustments that result in ongoing development and improvement. We cannot accomplish this objective without strategic planning.
The strategic planning that travels with young children’s natural curiosity and the teacher’s strong love and belief in students’ gradual improvements nurture each student’s growth mentality.
“Without a doubt, teachers who elevate the classroom’s purpose from test-taking study to its natural purpose, embracing the learning journey that strengthens multiple skills, will not only plant the seeds of innovation in young minds, but they will also preserve the resources necessary to grow this seed into a large plant in the future.”
