All signs point to the fact that the ability to innovate and create are skills that today’s students need for future success. Teachers who make their classrooms “idea factories” for their students, rather than focusing solely on textbook-based instruction, have the right idea. By coming up with their own ideas and executing them in the classroom, students get grounded in the kind of thinking and experimentation that is the foundation for innovation.

A new book, Bringing Innovation to School: Empoweringn Students to Thrive in a Changing World, makes useful suggestions for turning classrooms into spaces where innovation can thrive.  Among them, the book advises teachers to welcome authentic questions, build empathy, and amplify worthy ideas.