INSPIRING AN INNOVATION MINDSET

EMILY HUNT

Source: The 'No Hands Pyramid' Activity, Pg. 37, 15-Minute STEM Book 2

It is hard to ignore the global demand for innovation. Governments are dedicating departments to it, citing the acceleration of innovation as central to promoting prosperity and growth. Innovation centres are popping up at universities around the world to link academics with industry. Companies are also placing it at the heart of their vision and mission statements.

Innovation is the key to creating a better future. Take some of the most pressing challenges facing our world at the moment: the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. These goals are ambitious and require an innovative response, drawing particularly on knowledge and expertise from the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

This poses a challenge for us as educators: that of how to equip students with the relevant knowledge and skills necessary to be innovative thinkers, able to solve the complex problems of tomorrow ’ s world. Whilst we don ’t know exactly what these problems will be, we do know that STEM projects provide meaningful ways for students to identify problems and come up with creative solutions. This is the very basis for innovation.

So, what should children know about innovation, and how should we teach it? To start with, let’ s get one thing clear:

Innovation is Different to Invention

Invention is the creation of something new. This is normally a tangible product or ‘thing ’ (think Alexander Graham Bell with the telephone or Thomas Edison with the lightbulb). It is important to remember that not all inventions are useful. While some go on to become innovations, revolutionising the way we live, others are of little use and are quickly forgotten.

Innovation connects the dots between inventions. It happens when someone improves upon or makes a significant contribution to something that has already been invented. Take the invention of Apple ’ s iPhone. It wasn ’t the first phone to ever exist, nor was it the first device to have a touchscreen. However, it was innovative in the way that it blended phone and computer into a palm-sized device. Innovation creates a process or product that is useful, adds value to our lives and is commercially successful.

The two words are closely connected but they are not the same.

So, what else should children know about innovation?

1) Innovation is gradual

Innovation doesn ’t always happen with sudden breakthroughs or ‘ eureka ’ moments. It’ s often a gradual process that can take years, decades, even centuries to emerge. Innovations are evolutionary changes to existing processes, uses or functions, which are made better by one (or several) contributing inventions.

Take the example of tidal turbines. They convert energy from tides into electricity. We tend to think of renewable energy as a future innovation but, in fact, the basic idea of turning water movement into useful energy can be found much earlier – for example, in the water wheels of Ancient Greece. The technological concepts behind the water wheel have gradually evolved over time into the engineering that we see today.

Teach children:

Don ’t always expect sudden ‘ eureka ’ moments.

Start with small steps and build upon them over time.

Take time to pause and reflect on your ideas.

2) Innovation is collaborative

There ’ s a tendency to think of history in terms of the ‘Great Man Theory ’ . We think of influential individuals who have made a significant contribution to society. Think Tim Berners-Lee with the world wide web or Alexander Graham Bell with the telephone.

Source: The 'Newspaper Towers' Activity, Pg. 29, 15-Minute STEM Book 2 In reality it’ s not as clear cut as that. Innovations are not created out of nowhere and they are rarely linked to just one person. Instead, they build upon the ideas of others. Tim BernersLee took an already existing invention of the internet and built upon it, adding hypertext (clickable references to other text) to link information.

Meanwhile, the invention of the telephone was the culmination of work done by many individuals. Bell may have been the first to obtain a successful patent for it, but there were many other inventors – including Elisha Gray and Antonio Meucci – who also created a ‘talking telegraph’ .

Standing on the shoulders of giants is an excellent metaphor we can use to remember that the creator stood on someone else ’ s shoulders. They took the understanding gained by major thinkers who had gone before in order to make creative progress.

Teach children:

Listen to and value the ideas of others.

Start with something you already know and see if you can build upon it.

Be open to sharing your work and ideas.

3) Innovation involves trial and error

How often do we get something right first time? This is exactly the same for innovation. Thomas Edison made a thousand iterations to the lightbulb. When asked by a reporter ‘how did it feel to fail 1,000 times?’ Edison replied: ‘I didn ’t fail 1,000 times. The lightbulb was an invention with 1,000 steps. ’

James Dyson is famed for his innovative bagless vacuum design of the Dyson hoover. However, it took him 5,126 vacuum design attempts before he could get a properly working vacuum.

The Wright brothers repeatedly went back to the drawing board as they struggled to create a design of engine-powered plane that would be light enough to fly. They didn ’t have a university degree or background in engineering, but they did have a determination to succeed. After many failed attempts at flying, they eventually created the world’ s first successful motor-operated plane.

Source: The 'Plugging Pipelines' Activity, pg. 37, 15Minute STEM Book 2

Innovation involves a great deal of perseverance as you overcome the inevitable mistakes and setbacks along the way. None of these inventors would have succeeded if they didn ’t have the determination to keep going through the failures. In fact, it was these mistakes or failures that led to their greatest achievements.

Teach children:

Mistakes are an important part of the learning process.

Persevere and keep going when things don ’t go to plan.

Think of each error as a step closer to success.

4) Innovation can be accidental

Sometimes, in setting out to do one thing we end up creating or discovering another. There are lots of examples of important discoveries that just weren ’t planned. Alexander Fleming is one such accidental discover. He had been experimenting with bacteria in Petri dishes when he discovered that one had been contaminated by mould. On closer inspection he saw that the mould was killing the bacteria around it. This mould is now used as a medicine called penicillin, which helps to destroy bacteria.

Other accidental discoveries include Play-Doh, Coca-Cola and the microwave oven. Such new creations can be more valuable than we ever could have imagined. Accidental discoveries are a surprisingly frequent part of the innovation process. We can ’t plan what the future holds, and sometimes creative ‘tinkering ’ can stumble upon things that we didn ’t know we even needed.

Teach children:

Be open-minded to new ideas.

Try to find the value in an ‘ accidental’ or unexpected outcome.

References

- Hunt, E. (2018). 15-Minute STEM Book 2. Crown House Publishing - Hunt, E. (2016). 15-Minute STEM Book 1. Crown House Publishing - Innovation and Science Australia (2017). Australia 2030: prosperity through innovation, Australian Government, Canberra. Retrieved from: https://www.industry.gov.au/sites/default/ files/May%202018/document/pdf/australia-2030prosperity-through-innovation-full-report.pdf? acsf _ files _ redirect - National Science Foundation (2020). STEM Education for the Future: A Visioning Report. Retrieved from: https://www.nsf.gov/ehr/ Materials/STEM%20Education%20for%20the%20 Future%20%202020%20Visioning%20Report.pdf

Emily Hunt

Emily Hunt is a primary school teacher from the UK with a passion for STEM education. She is the author of the 15-Minute STEM book series – an exciting collection of 80 quick, easy-to-resource STEM activities for children. Emily also blogs and shares STEM activities on her website HowToSTEM.co.uk. She regularly works with magazines, websites and STEM organisations to create STEM articles and activities, drawing upon her experience as a teacher and her knowledge of the curriculum. Emily ’ s latest book 15-Minute STEM Book 2 (Crown House Publishing, 2021) is out now.