Today's Classroom

There are eight main components that help today's classrooms succeed. Voice, choice, time for reflection, opportunities for innovation, critical thinkers, problem solvers and finders, self-assessment, and connected learning. All of these challenge the students in different ways, some will challenge some students more than others, which is good for the classroom. Challenging students and letting them figure out how to understand and apply​ the information, will help them grow in many many ways. 
Students having a choice in their classes will help them become more interested in what they are learning. There are a lot of different classes that are available for high school students and a lot of classes needed in order to graduate, but giving the students the choice of what classes to take, will increase the motivation for their classes. Increased motivation will show improvements in their grades. It is really important and beneficial for the students to be interested in the content, it will make it easier on them and on the teacher.
Self-assessment is important and can hold students accountable for their learning. George Couros states on page 114 of the Innovator's Mindset, "Teaching students how to assess themselves, rather than just do it for them, provides them another opportunity for reflection. And they will take ownership of their learning." This practice will also benefit the students because they will have a better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses, which is very important for growth in the classroom. 
Technology helps with all of these main components because it opens so many doors for teachers and students. There will be so many opportunities to do any of these with all of the resources you can find on the web. Challenging students should be the teachers' main focus once mastery is accomplished, innovation, critical thinking, and problem solving and finding, will challenge students just enough for success.