By Staff Writer | Last Updated August 4, 2015
Innovative teaching is a proactive approach to integrate new teaching strategies and methods into a classroom. Research on education supports the benefits that certain processes, tools and methods have on learning. Innovative teachers implement new methods before they appeal to mainstream educators.
Technology plays a key role in innovative teaching. Innovative teachers use new technology to enhance or expand upon the student experience. The transition from traditional blackboard and overhead projector instruction into computer-aided presentations was innovative. Innovative teachers incorporate tools like tablet computers and mobile devices to offer students a more interactive experience.
Innovative teaching also involves creativity on the part of the teacher. Innovative teachers sometimes reorganize the educational process. “Flipped classrooms” are a popular example of innovative teaching. In a flipped classroom, the teacher offers students a conventional lecture or knowledge-building experience out of class, such as a video-taped lecture. Students then complete activities, case studies and more lab-based projects in the classroom. The teacher serves as a guide or consultant as students participate.
A primary motive of innovative teaching is encouraging students to engage more in the learning process. When students interact with teachers and peers, they gain more practical experience and retain more information from a class.
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