Yes, I completely agree with your points. Letting students engage in the class content in a way they might enjoy is a big challenge, which teachers might need to think about for not making the lectures boring. In this digital age the students have short attention span and they will get quickly bored if they are not engaged in a class. So we as teachers need to plan things that will help them to get the maximum out of the class time. I think peer discussion, role playing, games and all sorts of collaborative strategies are the best way to engage students in a class and help them to think in a creative and broader way by looking into each other’s perspective.

Yes, I totally agree with you. I also mentioned in my post that tests gives a chance for students to look back and review what they have learnt and work on the areas of weakness. Grades gives another chance for the students to understand and improve on their skills, which they lack. But this thinking is missing in students which we as teachers might help them to think through. I think a good feedback and good mentoring can help students to think about their learning.But whether they will still give importance to their grades or learning, depends on them. So we, as the new generation teachers, can only try to bring in the change.

Yes, I totally agree with you. I also mentioned in my post that tests gives a chance for students to look back and review what they have learnt and work on the areas of weakness. Grades gives another chance for the students to understand and improve on their skills, which they lack. But this thinking is missing in students which we as teachers might help them to think through. I think a good feedback and good mentoring can help students to think about their learning.But whether they will still give importance to their grades or learning, depends on them. So we, as the new generation teachers, can only try to bring in the change.

I completely agree with you that teachers should motivate students to succeed. I would like to add to this by saying what few more things a teachers can do:
1. A teacher plays an important role in structuring the content in such a specific way that it allows students to learn in incremental levels. teachers can also design appropriate challenges at every stage for helping students to mindfully engage in the topic.
2. Teachers can provide feedback and clear misconceptions ad help facilitate the learning process.
3. Teachers can help student to learn “how to learn” a particular topic.

It sounds very interesting. I think I want to know more about how did the new classroom environment effect student’s learning.
What was the experience of the traditional teachers and the creative minded teachers?
But I like the concept of windows and natural light, that address the issue of classroom being bound by the 4 walls. But I think this design will depend on the location of the institute. If it is not disturbed by outside noises, it is fine, or else i might be a problem.
Again removable walls concept wise is good as long as the sound of both the class does not interfere with each other. But I think the sitting arrangement is the best change. I have seen this positively influencing class discussion and group activities.

I think you have raised a good point here. Until certain age of a student, we need to present things in a certain manner. Too much uncertainty might confuse their understanding. But in these ages, students need to be engaged in creative thinking so that they can apply the knowledge in creative ways. which will help them to use their mind to actually comprehend how the knowledge is being implemented in practice. However, when a student progresses from novice to experts, they should be guided to regard knowledge more as “may be” than “is”.

I agree with you thoughts on the use of technology in connected learning. The networked technology brings in several resources that students can explore to fulfill their interest. However, connected learning also emphasizes principles of peer support and shared purpose which can bring effectiveness to the approach. This means, if we (teachers) only rely on technology to help in the learning process, it may not be effective, but if we also incorporate proper scaffolding to students so that they can pursue their interest, support their peers and thrive in an environment where each one shares the common goal, then it will bring the essence of connected learning.