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Young inventors are present leaders, not future leaders.
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Given the challenges facing the world, the temptation to be depressed, apathetic, or cynical is enormous. These problems are so complex, how can they be solved? Who among us dares to challenge them? We need leaders who are not afraid to question the status quo.
The good news is that pathways exist and are already growing nationwide to develop these leaders. invention education.
Invention education differs from other educational frameworks that support innovation, such as STEM, because it puts students in the proverbial driver’s seat. Rather than being assigned a problem and told how to solve it, it is the student’s responsibility to identify the problem for which they wish to design a solution. Empathy is the focus as students are asked to consider the experiences of others as they begin to investigate their own chosen problem and develop possible solutions. As part of the curriculum, students develop their ability to articulate their ideas clearly and persuasively.
If invention education was all about teaching students how to invent, that would be important. But its benefits go far beyond invention. Learning how to identify and solve problems is the antidote to feelings of helplessness. It instills in young people the concept of what a problem is. valuable that has been resolved, and in fact can resolved. It teaches them how to reach out to others for help and expands their ability to progress in all areas of life.
The teenage inventors I have had the privilege of interviewing are confident and highly capable. They are current leaders, not future leaders.
Here’s a snapshot of their lives as young inventors.
Samaira Mehta
Samaira Mehta giving a lecture.
Samaira Mehta
Samaira Mehta is a 15-year-old Bay Area entrepreneur and STEM advocate. Before she reached middle school, she designed and commercialized her first product, a board game that taught coding concepts to children.
This game was the solution to a problem she faced when she was six years old. It was that her friends didn’t find coding fun or interesting. Could she convince them otherwise? Mehta notes that creating a physical game based on a digital process is unusual.
“One of the greatest advantages we have as children working in the field of innovation is that our brains are not limited to possibilities. I can think,” she explains.
She came to see herself as an inventor and CEO when she found herself creating solutions that impacted people. Now, she estimates that her three boards and her games, all simplifications of complex concepts, have reached more than 25,000 of her students. Now her goal is to help 1 billion children learn to code. Because we believe coding is an essential skill. For that she said,Coding as easy as 1234is an online program last year that used gameplay to introduce AI and coding.
Recently, she has applied her strengths as an innovator to the field of medical research. The platform she created to help diagnose ovarian cancer using artificial intelligence and machine learning won her first place at the 2022 California Science Fair.
According to the Alliance for Ovarian Cancer Research, ovarian cancer is the 11th most common cancer among women and the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women. Mehta’s mother, a science teacher, died of ovarian cancer and discovered that ovarian cancer had been ignored by the medical community, which prompted her to focus on the issue.
“When I saw a problem and realized that there was simply no good solution to it in the world today, I decided that I would create the solution,” explains Mehta. “Sometimes the best solutions may come from our children, our teens and our generation. I need to be taught how to call
Mehta encourages young inventors to start slow, build momentum, and take big leaps when the time comes. She is currently working on a middle school graphic novel about a coding club. MIT Kids Press.
Aum Durb and Nick Harty
Student inventors Aum Durb and Nick Harty
J. Lindsey Photography LTD
As juniors enroll in the International Baccalaureate Program at Fort Myers High School in Florida and Harrison High School in New York, Aum Drub and Nick Harty are using Vision Bound, a low-cost tool for diagnosing diabetic retinopathy. co-invented. Diabetic retinopathy affects more than 90 million people worldwide and can lead to blindness if left undiagnosed and treated, which is common in low- and middle-income countries. .
They describe the fully functional prototype as “a solution that bridges the gap between preventable retinal disease and technology.” Their invention drew on previous experience at FIRST Robotics and grew out of a desire to develop medical software for point-of-care devices. Bringing the initial concept to life required conducting original research using neural network algorithms, cold emailing local ophthalmologists and university researchers, and learning how to 3D print.
Last year, they teamed up to compete, ultimately winning the first prize in the annual inventors’ competition at the Henry Ford Museum. Part of the reason was that their skills complemented each other. Harty cultivated his science background in robotics competitions, STEM educators, and computers through his Scratch at MIT, while Dhruv honed his interest in science and business through his HOSA and his DECA. Their interest in STEM began when he grew up participating in competitions such as math teams and science fairs when he was in middle school.
Ultimately, Durb describes the experience of designing an entire research project on their own from start to finish as “life-changing.” Both are confident that they want to continue to develop their ideas into businesses.
“Inventing is what we love to do,” Drub succinctly explained.
Harty recommends that teens interested in inventing find a team they can work with who have the skills to influence the projects they want to focus on.
“If you want to build something but don’t know how to use CAD or 3D printing, you need someone to help you,” he said. “Find a friend or teacher at school who knows how to use CAD.”
Durb encourages young inventors to ask lots of questions and not be afraid to approach adults.
“When you’re young, people don’t judge you very much when you make mistakes,” Drub explained. “And to learn and truly grow, you have to make mistakes.”
How to help young people embrace their inner inventor
Inventing is natural for humans, Britt Magneson emphasized in a Zoom interview. As Executive Vice President, American Inventors Hall of Fame, she oversees educational programs for youth who blend creativity and play with STEM concepts. Parents don’t need to buy special kits or toys to evoke the spirit of ingenuity in their children, she says, because they already exist. Instead, she recommends asking open-ended questions and providing a large amount of open-ended material that children can experiment with as they explore the “what if?” question. These materials can be simple, everyday items.
A longtime advocate for invention education, Juli Shively launched a quarterly free 24-hour online event for young innovators to present their ideas in March 2020. since then, Global innovation field trip has provided students from over 60 countries with a platform to connect, share and collaborate. She called this “world study”. She describes her own website, her Innovation World, as a “one-shop-stop” for resources related to the youth innovation space.
Juli Shily is the founder of the free 24/7 online quarterly Global Innovation Field Trip. … [+]
Julie Sibley
In a Zoom interview, she stressed the importance of looking for learner-driven programs rather than programs that teach general processes. It doesn’t matter what the program itself is centered around, she said, it could be coding, art, music, innovation, and more. The point is that young people are actually excited about what they are going to do. Because we are the ones who decide. This will give you the support you need to grow and teach you that your direction matters.
Shibley also recommended helping children meet potential role models. As an example, she told the story of a nine-year-old GIFT presenter who, along with her co-founder, encouraged her to write a letter to Neil deGrasse Tyson. It was this student’s dream lunch date. The six-page handwritten letter ended up being an invitation to the student to meet Tyson behind the scenes at a local event later in the year.
“They want to inspire young people to either follow in their footsteps or outperform them and go further. “It may not work, but it may work. How wonderful is that?”
In my experience, creatively successful people are willing to help guide the next generation.
An important final note. Inventive education is particularly well suited to target at-risk adolescents, including divergent children whose natural tendency is to think differently.
Looking for an invention education program for students around you this summer? Check out the National Inventors Hall of Fame’s Camp Inventions. Over 1,000 programs are in place nationwide.