Working with an internationally recognized company recently, I found myself in a conversation about innovation. “We want to create a culture of innovation” they said. “We want to tap into the great resources we have in our employees, and generate ideas to solve problems creatively from within.” As the conversation continued I found myself making a direct correlation between the workplace and the classroom. I’d love to create a culture of innovation in my classroom. I’d love to tap into the great resources I have in my students. I’d love to generate ideas to solve problems that seem overwhelming – and maybe my students have some solutions. It seems so simple, but why hadn’t I thought of it before? In reality, I’ve limited my students by not giving them the opportunity to be innovators!

So where do we begin, if we want to create a culture of innovation in our classroom? How do we empower our students to be problem solvers, while tapping into their creativity and experience?

First, we must ask the question, what valuable insights do my students bring? Technological knowledge (iPods, smart phones, video games, social networking), teenage perspective, the view from the desk day-in and day-out, exposure to a variety of teachers and teaching styles…that’s just the beginning of my list. Can this insight be valuable to solving challenges in my classroom? Absolutely! Maybe it’s time we just asked for their input!

HMW’s – A way to generate ideas. IDEO,  a design and innovation consulting firm, introduces the idea of “How Might We” questions to start the brainstorming process. Present students with the stem, “How might we…” and let students complete the sentence, regarding improvements to their education environment. HMW’s might sound something like this: How might we make class time more fun? How might we minimize homework, without losing learning time? How might we connect our text book to real life? How might we learn about real-world experiences in class? How might we bring in more music during class time? Let students generate HMW’s, or provide a few general HMW’s to start student thinking.

These thought provoking questions can prompt student brainstorming. Set aside time in class for students to brainstorm ideas (quantity is better than quality at this point), and create a wall where students can continually add their ideas. When you’ve generated an abundance of ideas, let students vote on the HMW’s and responses they feel most strongly about. Have students flesh out the practical implementation steps, and look at the ramification of implementation.

Use this approach as a chance to show students that you value their input, while training them to be innovative thinkers.