How Inventions Make a Real-World Impact

Purpose & objective

Working in teams, educators will design an invention that helps solve a problem in their community, builds empathy and creates social change. The objective is for participants to understand and experience the hope and power that invention provides, especially for those wishing to make the world a better place.

Activities will be based on news stories of the PBS NewsHour of real inventors and inventions as well as lesson plans of NewsHour Extra that utilize MIT-Lemelson invention education strategies. One of our presenters, Leigh Estabrooks, directs the MIT-Lemelson program and InvenTeams project and can discuss how students and teachers can get involved building their own inventions and taking part in invention competitions.

We will primarily use devices such as laptops, tablets or smartphones to learn about the easy-to-grasp 7-step invention process that is used by inventors.

The group will also dig into the invention resources: "10 lesson plans on invention education" via PBS NewsHour Extra's invention education series based on news events and invention stories from around the world. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/lessons-plans/5-engaging-lesson-plans-celebrating-invention-and-innovation/ Doug Scott, head of technology and engineering teacher at Hopkinton High School, will discuss how he wrote one of the lessons on a low-cost solar power invention and how teachers can design similar lessons. Doug will also discuss how he and his former students filed and received a U.S. patent through the Lemelson InvenTeam program. He has since gone on to work with Leigh at Lemelson-MIT on a number of invention education projects, which focus on providing students and teachers across the country with the skills to invent.

We will also use PBS Learning Media's interactive lesson plan written by NewsHour's Victoria Pasquantonio: "Design Apps That Help Others and Build Empathy," which utilizes MIT-Lemelson invention education techniques. https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/ilnewsh18-sci-ilinvention/design-apps-that-help-others-and-build-empathy

As for evidence of success, I presented NewsHour's invention education lesson series at the K12 Summer Institute in Texas for two full days of workshops with Texas STEM and humanities teachers. Here are 12 lesson plans on STEM stories in the news that the teachers produced and were published on the NewsHour: "12 news stories that make STEM meaningful for students" http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/daily-videos/how-current-events-makes-stem-meaningful-for-students/

Outline

What content will be presented and/or in what activities will the audience participate?

DOUG SCOTT WILL SHARE HIS LESSON: "Lesson plan: Solar invention makes safety and production levels shine" (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/lessons-plans/lesson-plan-low-cost-solar-light-invention-makes-safety-and-production-levels-shine/) ON INVENTION AND THE POWER OF HANDS-ON LEARNING WHEN IT COMES TO STUDENTS CREATING THEIR OWN SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS IN THEIR COMMUNITY.

How much time will be spent on each content component? AND what is the process:

15 MINUTES: WARM-UP ACTIVITY -- HOW HAS INVENTION PLAYED A ROLE IN YOUR LIFE? WHERE DID INVENTION EDUCATION COME FROM and WHAT IS IT? FROM US...AND IT'S ALL AROUND! ACTIVITY WILL EXPLORE THE POWER OF INVENTION RIGHT AT ISTE!

15 MINUTES: PAIRS OF TEACHERS WATCH A VIDEO OF INTEREST TO THEM FROM THIS LIST OF 10 STEM NEWS VIDEOS VIA PBS NEWSHOUR: (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/lessons-plans/5-engaging-lesson-plans-celebrating-invention-and-innovation/)

15 MINUTES: WHAT IS THE INVENTION PROCESS? HAND OUT INVENTION PROCESS CHART AND MAKE SURE TEACHERS UNDERSTAND IT BY HAVING THEM DISCUSS HOW INVENTION PROCESS WAS EXHIBITED IN THE PBS NEWSHOUR STORY AND ASPECTS OF THEIR OWN LIVES.

30 MINUTES: PEER-TO-PEER INTERACTION AND DEVICE-BASED ACTIVITY INCLUDING IDENTIFYING A PROBLEM IN YOUR COMMUNITY AND BRAINSTORMING A SOLUTION.

15 MINUTES: SHARE YOUR INVENTION WITH TWO OTHER GROUPS; REVIEW INVENTION PROCESS AND ACTIVITY; DOUG DISCUSSES HOW TO PATENT AN INVENTION AND THE IMPORTANCE OF TEAM WORK.*

*IT MAY BE WORTH NOTING THAT INVENTION EDUCATION HAS BROUGHT TOGETHER FOUR DIFFERENT ENTITIES (FOUNDATION, ACADEMIA, HIGH SCHOOL AND PUBLIC MEDIA NEWS OUTLET) BECAUSE OF THE SHARED BELIEF THAT GIVEN THE RIGHT TOOLS, YOUNG PEOPLE HAVE THE POWER TO CREATE SOLUTIONS TO REAL-WORLD PROBLEMS.

Supporting research

GET INVENTION EDUCATION IN THE CLASSROOM:

DOUG SCOTT, IT AND ROBOTICS TEACHER, HOPKINTON HIGH SCHOOL (MA.):

"Natick High School InvenTeam Awarded U.S. Patent"
http://lemelson.mit.edu/news/natick-high-school-inventeam-awarded-us-patent

https://blogs.solidworks.com/teacher/2018/06/lemelson-mits-eurekafest-inspires.html

Doug's lesson on NewsHour Extra: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/lessons-plans/lesson-plan-low-cost-solar-light-invention-makes-safety-and-production-levels-shine/

DAVID CORONADO, PROGRAM OFFICER, THE LEMELSON FOUNDATION

What is impact inventing?: https://www.lemelson.org/content/impact-inventing

Why is invention so important?
https://www.lemelson.org/

VICTORIA PASQUANTONIO, PBS NEWSHOUR EDUCATION PRODUCER:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/lessons-plans/5-engaging-lesson-plans-celebrating-invention-and-innovation/

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/

LEIGH B. ESTABROOKS, INVENTION EDUCATION OFFICER, LEMELSON-MIT PROGRAM

https://lemelson.mit.edu/inventeams

https://lemelson.mit.edu/

https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources