from Terry Hayek
Before the ideas, let me preface this by admitting that many – if not most – of these are not feasible in most classrooms and schools.
I taught for years and tried to implement ideas like this into my teaching and it was rewarding but exhausting and eventually led to me becoming a pariah in my own school/district. I didn’t mean to “not be a team player”, but that’s just how ideas like these seem to – well, to some people. I’ll leave it at that. (See also Disruptive teaching.)
Since I’m not going to explain how to achieve these kinds of changes (that would be a book), I’m still referencing some of the posts I’ve created over the years that elaborate on some of these ideas. Therefore, the purpose of this post is to briefly sketch the possible characteristics of an innovative classroom.
You may not agree with every single one and that’s okay. These are all opinions, and when you, as a teacher, are trying to help the students in your classroom grow, they may have needs that take precedence over these – basic reading skills, student organization skills, classroom management, etc. I understand. I just want to contribute to the conversation about how we can eventually replace classrooms where “management” is the primary concern.
See also The elements of a literacy-rich classroom environment
The big idea? Shifting the conversation from innovating to look innovative to innovation that is sustainable, centered around people and communities, at a scale that actually works.
The changes and characteristics of an innovative classroom
From content to thought (see also Are you teaching content or thought?)
From pressure to resilience (see also Agrarian model of training.)
From letter grades to microgrades (See also How gamification can reveal the nuances of the learning process.)
From knowledge to people
From forced cooperation to interdependence
From security to uncertainty (See also How to teach about knowledge through humility.)
From direct instruction to inquiry (See also Alternatives to classroom lectures.)
From Testing to Assessment Climate (See also 50 Strategies for Formative Assessment.)
From replication to creation
From big to small
From rows to learning spaces
From linear to helical (see also Learning is not linear. Why is it a curriculum?
From administrators to leaders
From teacher-led to student-led
From schools to communities (See also Characteristics of a good school.)
From labels to ideas
From craftsmanship to citizenship (See also Examples of digital citizenship.)
From direction to navigation
From formality to fluency
From status quo to disruption (See also How disruption causes lasting change in education.)
From stability to mobility (See also 12 principles of mobile learning.)
From certification to application
From classrooms to networks
From academic literacy to critical literacy (See also The relationship between reading and critical literacy.)
From prompting to student-initiated transfer (See also Showing what they know: Categories of cognitive transfer.)
