Today’s students are growing in a world that is changing faster than ever. The development of new technologies across industries continues at an exponential pace. Artificial intelligence is an uncharted frontier for educators, scientists, researchers and business leaders. The information and communication landscapes continue to undergo seismic shifts.
Educators who are preparing students to enter the workforce in this reality face challenges of their own: keeping students engaged, building their confidence and designing curricula that will give them tools needed to succeed in industries that may not even fully exist yet. Jordan Estock and Doug Scott are two among many educators who have harnessed “invention education” to bridge these challenges and find out about the support the US Patent and Trademark Office offers educators seeking to implement it themselves.
Steps 1 & 2: Identify the problem; brainstorm solutions
Invention education is a powerful approach that emphasizes problem-solving, collaboration and creativity. It has sparked students to become more invested in their own learning, more expansive in their thinking, and more equipped for a world of change and uncertainty.
Jordan teaches high-school Design and Engineering in Delaware. In the senior-level engineering class, students partner with local businesses and nonprofits to develop assistive technologies for people living with disabilities. Crucially, students work directly with the people for whom they are building these technologies: A young man interning at the hospital pharmacy who has a difficult time sorting medicines according to their barcodes and labels; two employees at a local dog treat company who struggle with the dexterity and coordination required to weigh and package dog treats; a young woman with cerebral palsy who wants to play the viola but cannot achieve the necessary range of motion on her own.
As part of their invention education, Jordan’s students go back and forth between the classroom and these workplaces, working with the end user to understand their challenges, developing a prototype based on their specific needs, testing that prototype and improving on it with the insight they provide. The result is what Jordan calls “authentic learning.” Students connect to a real-world problem, use inquiry and critical thinking skills along with their knowledge of STEM concepts, and collaborate – with each other and with community members – to create something that improves people’s lives.
Doug teaches high-school engineering, robotics and technology in Massachusetts. An almost accidental project to create an underwater remote-operated vehicle with his students became much bigger when the class connected with the local fire department and realized their invention’s real-world potential. Building an underwater robot is cool, but building an underwater robot that could assist with search-and-rescue operations on Massachusetts’ frozen lakes? Even cooler, and — more importantly — genuinely exciting for students who could now see in real-time the impact their creations could have on their community.
Doug saw his students become excited and engaged by the underwater robot project in a way he’d never seen before. After that experience, he developed a new approach to teaching: Students would identify real problems and invent real solutions, while he would act as a guide and coach. If this sounds familiar, that’s because it is exactly what Jordan’s authentic learning approach does, too. Authentic learning, STEM with a purpose, and what Doug calls “doing it for real” are all ways of describing the same thing: Invention education.
Step 3: Sketch and build a prototype
Invention education recognizes that students are most engaged when solving problems they identify and that they care about. In this paradigm, the educator’s role is that of facilitator and support team. Their first task is to help students identify the problem they want to solve. From there, the educator works forward to the scientific concepts students must understand to solve the chosen issue. By tying standards-aligned material in math, physics, computer science, biology, business and design (this list goes on!) directly to an active problem-solving process with a personal stake attached, students are more engaged and more likely to retain knowledge.
Incorporating intellectual property concepts takes invention education a step further. Students must understand that in identifying a problem; conceiving a solution; and making, building, testing and improving upon an invention, they are potentially creating their intellectual property – and some of this work product may even be protectable by a patent.
A foundational principle of the US patent system is the sharing of knowledge: In exchange for the property right granted by a patent (the right to exclude others from making, selling, offering for sale, using or importing an invention into the US), the inventor agrees to publicly disclose how to make and use their invention so that others can learn from and improve upon it. By identifying a problem, conceptualizing a solution, conducting patent searches, building upon prior inventions and contributing to the growing body of knowledge, students can gain an early foothold in the real world of science and innovation.
Step 4: Test and iterate
It’s important to note that not every project ends with a patent. But suppose we can pass on to our students the ability and the confidence to solve problems, an understanding of what a patent is and the process for obtaining one, and an awareness of other forms of IP protection (trademarks, copyright and trade secrets). In that case, students can see clearly how the things they create from their ideas intersect with the daily realities of people in their community. Invention education requires students to look beyond their classroom’s four walls and pay attention to what they see there. Similarly, because an invention must be novel and non-obvious to qualify for a patent, students need to identify and understand existing related inventions.
With an understanding of IP in their toolbox, students can take ownership of their learning path – and potentially, in the literal sense, their intellectual property rights.
One of the magical things about invention education is that the inventive process, at its core, can be scaled down to the level of the individual homework assignment and scaled up to entire yearlong curricula or after-school programs.
Educators who want to make the most significant impact with invention education can find a local and national network of educators who have put it into practice and are eager to share their experience. To grow this network, the USPTO provides resources and programs for educators, such as the National Summer Teacher Institute – a weeklong professional development intensive designed to increase K-12 teachers’ knowledge of intellectual property concepts and provide strategies to incorporate innovation, STEM and IP into their classrooms – and the Master Teacher of Invention and Intellectual Property Education program, a “train the trainer” approach that cultivates teacher-leaders and supports their efforts to provide professional development opportunities in their local communities. The invention education support network also includes community organizations (nonprofits, small businesses, local government offices) that can partner with students and benefit from their inventions; intellectual property alliances and professional service organizations; competitions where students can put their inventions to rigorous tests; and industry support such as First® Lego® League, Microsoft’s #MakeWhatsNext Patent Program and The Inventor’s Patent Academy, a collaboration between Qualcomm and Invent Together.
Federal STEM agencies – including the USPTO – are committed to creating a more inclusive innovation ecosystem where all students of all abilities can see themselves as inventors, creators and entrepreneurs. Guided by its National Strategy for Inclusive Innovation, which has a distinct focus on inspiring new generations of innovators and empowering their success, the USPTO is engaged in several initiatives to expand its outreach and support for young innovators. These initiatives include the resources for educators mentioned above and the development of learner-centered resources such as EquIP HQ, a free online invention education resource for students with interactive games and activities to support the growth of an innovative mindset. The Patent and Trademark Resource Center Program, a nationwide network of academic, public and state libraries, helps local inventors and small businesses access the tools and information they need to protect their IP. Other free resources include assistance for pro-se patent applications (applications submitted without the assistance of a lawyer or patent agent), opportunities for pro-bono patent support from law firms, how-to tutorials covering just about every stage of the process for patent applications and trademark registration, and more.
Step 5: Protect your IP, share it with the world
Jordan Estock and Doug Scott have guided students in obtaining patents for projects developed in their classes. That group of Doug’s students mentioned earlier eventually received U.S. Patent No. 9,511,833 for their “multi-component robot for below ice search and rescue” invention (read more of Doug’s story on the USPTO website). However, as we mentioned before, patents are not the ultimate goal of invention education.
Remember the people Jordan’s students set out to help with their assistive technologies? The device those students developed to help the young man interning in the hospital pharmacy sort medicines had such an impact on his efficiency that he was offered a paid position. The employees working at the dog treat company saw huge improvements in their self-confidence and day-to-day enjoyment of their jobs, thanks to the assistive devices the students invented to help them bag and weigh packages of dog treats. The young woman with cerebral palsy who wanted to play the viola got her wish with an ingenious combination of a stress ball, a 3D-printed adapter, and a strap adapted with a Velcro® hook and loop fastener. All three projects resulted in positive, meaningful differences in people’s lives.
“These projects shouldn’t be measured by how impressive the technological solutions were, but by how authentic the learning was that got them there,” Jordan emphasizes.
That part worked, too: Three girls who worked on these projects pursued careers in engineering. (Hear more from Jordan about his students’ transformational projects in his TEDx Talk.)
Doug’s students continue to work with local fire, police and rescue departments: Students interview officers and first responders about the problems they encounter during their jobs and develop solutions.
“Very rarely have I seen any students have a eureka moment,” Doug says. “It’s basically a series of days where it’s a lot of grinding and head banging and just working your way through the problem.”
This persistence is its own lesson that sticks with students long past their time in high school. It is, conveniently, a lesson that is easy to come by in the iterative, back-and-forth process of inventing. Earlier this year, two of Doug’s students, Lauren Strechay and Nicolette Buonora, obtained a patent for their “Battery Swap” invention, a flashlight that allows police officers, first responders and firefighters to shift between two batteries, ensuring they always have light when they need it.
The next time you design a curriculum or assign a project in your STEM class, think about how invention and IP concepts could help you take the lesson to the next level. You just might see more engaged students, more barriers broken between the classroom and the world outside, and more young people tapping into their unlimited potential for the first and surely not the last time.
[Note: SmartBrief uses Associated Press Style and typically does not include registration trademark symbols in articles. Given the authors of this piece, we made an exception.]
Opinions expressed by SmartBrief contributors are their own.
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