8 THINGS TO LOOK FOR IN TODAY'S CLASSROOM

8 Things to Look For in Today’s Classroom

By George Couros 

8 things that I really want to see in today’s classroom.  I really believe that classrooms need to be learner focused. This is not simply that students are creating but that they are also having opportunities to follow their interests and explore passions.  The teacher should embody learning as well.

Will Richardson recently write this in a comment on one of my recent posts on what teachers need to be like in our current day and the focus that needs to be on learning:

…we need teachers who are masters at developing kids as learners who are adept at sense making around their own goals. Teachers who are focused on helping students develop the dispositions and literacies required to succeed regardless of subject or content or curriculum

This moment is all about learners having an amazing new freedom to learn, not teachers having an amazing new freedom to teach.

Although technology is not the focus, it does give us many opportunities to magnify the opportunities I list below. 

Here are some things that will help the learner of today be successful in our world, today and tomorrow.

1.  Voice – Students should have the opportunity to not only learn from others but also share their learning with others as well.  We live in a world where everyone has a voice and if we do not teach our students to use this effectively, they will definitely struggle.  It’s simple yet so essential.

2.  Choice – This is not only about how students learn, but also what they learn about.  How do they further their learning in areas of interests to them?  Students must care what they were learning about.  Strengths based learning is extremely important.

3.  Time for Reflection – Classrooms are an extremely busy place, but I think that taking the time to connect and reflect on what is being learned gives learners a better opportunity to really understand what they have learned.  So why do we not have time to simply write and reflect?  This is not only for students, but for teachers and administrators as well.

4. Opportunities for Innovation – When I asked the students about this opportunity, they had told me that they had saw something similar on YouTube but it was missing a few elements that they wanted to add.  They made it new and better. 

5.  Critical Thinkers – In the “factory model” of education, students were meant to be compliant and basically do “as they were told.”  This is not something that sticks with a child only, but goes into adulthood as well and it creates “yes” people who tend to lose all originality.  Never just let go out on ideas without questioning them and sharing thoughts.  We need to have students that are able to ask questions and challenge what they see, but always in a respectful way.

6.  Problem Solvers/Finders – Ewan McIntosh discusses the notion of “problem-based learning” and how it is not beneficial to give students problems that aren’t real.  Instead, he focuses on the idea that students need to be “problem finders”; being able to find some tough challenges and then being able to solve those problems. Let’s start asking kids to really look into finding what the problems are and giving them some purpose in solving something real.

7.  Self-Assessment – I don’t think that I have ever heard a teacher say, “I can’t wait until we get to write report cards!”  That being said, I think we spend too much time focusing on being able to tell others what our students can do and know, and not enough time helping students understand those things themselves.  We should spend more time working with students to teach them how to assess themselves and not just do it for them.

8. Connected Learning –This does not only have to be via technology, but we should also be bring in experts from our community to talk to students.  I know many teachers have done this for a long time, but technology opens the doors to people that we could not even imagine being a part of our classroom even ten years ago. 

These things are extremely important to the success of students in the future.

Let’s start to really tap into the wisdom of our rooms and have students not only learn, but teach each other.  There is a saying from my time as a referee was that the best officials are the ones that you never notice.  Does the same hold true for a teacher?  I have walked into classrooms and have been unable to identify who the teacher was immediately because they were deep in learning with their students.  Students were also teaching others along the way.  If we start to acknowledge that everyone can be a teacher, and everyone a learner, I really think that you will be able to see more of the elements I have discussed in our classrooms today.