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1-Page Summary of Creating Innovators
Innovators Needed
The American economy is struggling. Unemployment and underemployment are high, especially among the young. Middle-class jobs have been disappearing for decades, and that trend will continue if we don’t find a solution to this problem soon. We need an economic growth engine to help us out of this crisis, and innovation is the best way to do it. Historically, America has promoted innovation with a solid educational system (including access to education), functional patent laws, and an economic structure that encourages invention by rewarding people who come up with new ideas. These systems can be used as models for future generations so they can innovate effectively in our society too.
Innovation is the process of making something new and valuable. It can be small improvements or incremental adjustments to existing technologies, products, ideas or services, or it can be disruptive changes that introduce fundamental, sweeping transformations. Innovators often need to collaborate across disciplinary boundaries. They can include skilled researchers, analysts, synthesizers and communicators. Tim Brown says that “design thinkers” share the following five characteristics: they are empathetic and regard the world from different perspectives; they practice “integrative thinking,” allowing them to see problems in new and unexpected ways; they are optimistic; they experiment by developing multiple prototypes; and they collaborate.
Teaching and Learning Innovation
Parents and educators can teach students creativity, expertise in a specific field, and intrinsic motivation. The education system must change because the current generation is motivated by different things than past generations. Older generations need to help younger people develop these creative skills, as well as expertise in their fields of study.
Parents Guide the Way
Kirk Phelps’s parents were supportive of his interests and encouraged him to explore new things. They also required their kids to read daily, but gave them the freedom to choose what they wanted to read. Their children had time for themselves while still spending quality time as a family watching television shows together and having fun.
The Phelps family took historical education seriously. They would research the places they were going to visit before going on vacation and plan out a schedule of events they wanted to experience. Kirk went to Phillips Exeter Academy when he was younger, but did not like it because he felt that the curriculum was too rigid. He then attended Stanford University with his brother Michael and took classes in engineering as well as a class called “Smart Product Design” which helped shape his future career. This class brought him into contact with Ed Carryer, who became an important mentor for him throughout high school and college.
“STEM Innovators”
America needs people who work in STEM fields, such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics. America has some of the best colleges for scientific education but they don’t always prepare students to succeed in today’s job market. For example, Stanford University hasn’t granted tenure to Carryer even though he’s been successful at his design career.
Science classes have failed to inspire a culture of innovation. They don’t use teamwork or competition, which are key factors in creativity and motivation. Carryer’s curriculum incorporates both teamwork and competition into the classroom, thus inspiring students to be creative and work together.
A Single Course
Kirk Phelps’ experience shows that STEM innovators tend to have similar attributes. They share a lot of traits, but their stories rarely mention their college coursework. Kirk experienced this first hand when he took a class called “Building Virtual Worlds” at Carnegie Mellon University and it changed his life. The same goes for artist Shanna Tellerman, who also attended Carnegie Mellon and was inspired by the class she took there on virtual reality experiences with instructors Randy Pausch (author of The Last Lecture) and Don Marinelli (professor of drama). Jodie Wu’s story is similar: supportive parents, dedicated teachers – such as Chuck Garner who coached her high school math team –and a transformational class experience. An MIT course series called D-Lab transformed Wu’s life and education, teaching her to apply engineering and design to address social problems.
