How 'Invention Education' and Storytelling Empower the Next Generation of Inventors

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Explore and create : Creation lab

David Coronado
Antonio Gamboa
L. Clara Mabour
Victoria Pasquantonio
Explore how news stories by the PBS NewsHour empower today's young inventors and innovators. Dive into the invention process to learn how young, diverse inventors have solved real-world problems. Then give your students the tools to solve problems in their own communities with PBS's "Invention Education" series.

Audience:	Curriculum/district specialists, Principals/head teachers, Teachers
Skill level:	Beginner
Attendee devices:	Devices required
Attendee device specification:	Smartphone: Android, iOS, Windows Laptop: Chromebook, Mac, PC Tablet: Android, iOS, Windows
Topic:	Maker activities & programs
Grade level:	6-12
Subject area:	Social studies, STEM/STEAM
ISTE Standards:	For Students: Innovative Designer Students exhibit a tolerance for ambiguity, perseverance and the capacity to work with open-ended problems. For Education Leaders: Empowering Leader Inspire a culture of innovation and collaboration that allows the time and space to explore and experiment with digital tools. For Educators: Designer Design authentic learning activities that align with content area standards and use digital tools and resources to maximize active, deep learning.

Proposal summary

Purpose & objective

So, what is invention education, anyways? We will start out by exploring this question, including specific inventions that have personally impacted participants in the session.

David Coronado of the Lemelson Foundation will discuss the new invention education framework that was designed to explain how invention education can be used in schools and why it is needed, particularly how it will help “future-proof” our kids and our economy.

Working with a partner or with others at the table, attendees will design an invention that helps solve a problem in their community, builds empathy and creates social change. The main idea is for participants to understand and experience the hope that invention provides. Another aspect of invention education is that when new inventions come to market, there is opportunity for economic growth.

L. Clara Mabour, biology teacher in Oakland Park, Florida, will discuss how she wrote one of the PBS lessons on how to design an inventive device to combat the plastic pollution problem that is devastating ecosystems world-wide. Clara will also discuss how she and her students received a Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam grant in 2017. Her InvenTeam students created the Mosquito Disruptor, a device that prevents mosquitoes from propagating in stagnant waters.

NewsHour's Victoria Pasquantonio will discuss her work with STEM teachers from across the country to build the "Invention Education" lesson series.

A positive success story involved Victoria presenting on the role that current events play in the STEM classroom to a group of Texas educators last summer. After a full-day workshop for two days, STEM teachers created their own current events lessons, which were published on NewsHour Extra: "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/

Evidence of success: We have been in contact with several of the ISTE attendees from last year's conference. We have received helpful feedback and ideas on the invention education series moving forward, including having some attendees work together on building new curriculum.

Outline

The group will also dig into the invention resources: "18 Lesson Plans Teaching the Power of Invention" via PBS NewsHour Extra's invention education series based on news events and invention stories from around the world. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/lessons-plans/5-engaging-lesson-plans-celebrating-invention-and-innovation/

Supporting research

White Paper: A Framework For Invention Education https://inventioneducation.org/framework-for-invention-education/

Equity in STEM-rich Making: Pedagogies and designs
Ryoo, J. J., & Calabrese Barton, A. (2018). Equity in STEM-rich Making: Pedagogies and designs. Equity & Excellence in Education, 51(1), 3-6.
https://makered.org/blog/ryoo-j-j-calabrese-barton-a-2018-equity-in-stem-rich-making-pedagogies-and-designs-equity-excellence-in-education-511-3-6/

Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams: A Catalyst for STEM Learning
https://inventioneducation.org/wp-content/uploads/Invention-Education_Case-Study_InvenTeams_100620C.pdf

Why Invention Education?
https://inventioneducation.org/invention-education/

Design Squad Global Clubs
https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/collection/dsgclubs/#.WYJFS4jytEb

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