What do we think about when we imagine a classroom the promotes creative thinking? Providing an environment where students are free to think, problem solve and create can be difficult for teachers to accomplish. Many teachers are accustomed to the “traditional” classroom, one where students work at there desks, whiteboard up front and scheduled times for exploration and play. We need to provide our students with an environment where they can learn in a way that best suits them. How do we do this? Something that I think is important to be excited about what our students are interested in, in order for them to persue a topic they will still need us as their guide. We are still required to assess their learning, and assist them when they struggle. It is not necessary for us to be experts in every topic just in case a student has a particular interest. We do need to be willing to join them on their learning journey and show them that we are excited about the process. This will show them that regardless of the outcome of a project, learning is still taking place, students will build resiliance and perhaps strengthen their interest of a topic.

By using topics cross curricularily, we are allowing students to explore on a deeper level, of course, not all subjects lend themselves to this method, and we need to be willing and able to fill in where needed. As far as classroom management goes, I think that when students are engaged in their learning, they will be less disruptive and more focused. If they are able to express their learning in a way that best suits them, we will also see that they are grasping concepts and making connections in ways that might otherwise not happen.