Month: March 2019

The days where students were expected to come up with one ‘right’ answer in class are long gone. Students today are active learners who are more subjective than objective in their thinking and perceiving information. This is a skill that schools can help cultivate in students so as to help them grow into independent thinkers.  

The skill of thinking independently is at the forefront of learning and is a highly desired leadership quality. When students can think independently, they can make sense of the world based on experience and observation, and are better placed to make critical decisions. They also have higher confidence and develop the ability to learn from their mistakes to become successful in everything they do.

Independent thinking can be developed by activating and engaging habits of mind which include like persistence, questioning, and posing problems, thinking flexibly, and taking responsible risks. This empowers students to become better problem solvers.

Let us explore what this looks like in the classroom. Here are some ways teachers can support the development of independent thinking in students:

1.    Create an open environment

Students come into class expecting to sit and listen to teachers passively. To encourage independent thinking teachers can make clear at the beginning of the school year that they expect students to be active participants in the class. This means more opportunities for students to speak up and share their ideas on what they are learning. This is also an excellent way to increase student alertness in class as they will be more sensitive and tuned into what is happening around them.

2.    Encourage open-ended questions

Students can be put in small discussion groups to come up with answers that require them to share and exchange ideas on open-ended questions. This is a good activity to get them to actively use their minds as well as develop the habit of carefully and attentively listening to their peers. At the end of the discussion, students can be asked to share highlights from each group with the rest of the class. The same questions can be repeated in a cycle for students to see how their independent thinking skills have improved over time.

3.     Focus on the positive and reward initiative

When students take risks make it a point to acknowledge and encourage that initiative. Once a student feels that they did the right thing by taking a risk, then you can move to analysing the validity of their ideas. This keeps students involved in the learning process and deepens their learning.

A number of schools all over India and including the top CBSE schools in Bangalore have experienced tremendous success using the above techniques to build independent thinking in students.

 

The notion of creativity and innovation in schools is gaining more importance in today’s times. What does this look like in practice? Is it about getting students to a destination or guiding them so they can find their own way?

In this article, we look at some tested and acclaimed ways educators influence the conditions for innovation in schools and classrooms. These ways are based on intentional innovation. It is a process where actions and attitude are moulded to lead to innovative work. Some of the top CBSE schools in Bangalore have had success using these methods.

The focus of this kind of innovation is not on having ideas but empowering ideas; it isn’t about executing plans; it emphasizes on supporting the work and execution of others. Schools that practice the following steps report forming habits that lead to innovative work and a creative mindset.

1. Praise and Assess

To build a culture of innovation, teachers must direct their appreciation towards the efforts put in by students rather than the results or outcome. When efforts of students are appreciated, they learn the value of being punctual with their work, being compliant, and gaining clarity on an assignment or task given to them. Another important aspect of praising efforts is to praise failure. This is vital for removing the fear of failure from the minds of students, so they can view failure to be a necessary part of success. Praising effort which has persisted after failure promotes qualities of grit and determination, which are desirable qualities in students to influence their success as adults.

2.Support

To foster a mindset of innovation and entrepreneurship, teachers need support from the administration of a school along with other departments. If the focus of a school is merely on standardised assessments, they cannot fully support students in bringing in new ideas and creativity to the classroom. For students to be able to explore and try something outside of the box, they need all the support they can get from the school structure, inside and outside the classroom.

3. Make time  

Like anything that is worth doing, innovative work requires time. Teachers and students are often crunched for time which leads to driving up levels of stress and impedes creativity. To avoid such a situation it is essential that time slots are allocated for reflection, self-assessment, sharing, and tinkering with students, so they can continue trying new things.

An increasing adoption of these methods is seen all over the best schools in the country, particularly the best international schools in Bangalore and the other metros.