Ideas/Inspiration/Links

Here are some innovation ideas and inspiration gathered throughout this course:

Pinterest- Here you can discover, explore and save creative and innovation pictures which might inspire you for different projects. You can check out my 'Innovation board' where I have pinned some things I find innovative and inspiring!

Design for Change- I love this website! As a teacher I find this a really motivating place for helping teachers to empower their classes to take on the 'I CAN' attitude and discover and solve things creatively for themselves. Although there is no Design for Change initiative running in Northern Ireland there is in the UK. However, I can draw on similar experiences of UK teachers and how they used the format and adapt it to suit my children in my classes in Northern Ireland. I think this framework would work really well within the Northern Ireland Curriculum as we teach in themes and topics. Therefore, if you were teaching a topic of Africa you could help your class discover that for some people in the world hunger is normal because they only get one meal a day. They would FEEL hopeless and sad about this situation. They wanted to do something to SHARE what they have with these people. They could IMAGINE how they could help communities in Africa provide for their families. The children could decide to DO something: they could come up with innovative ideas such as growing plants from seed and sell them on a plant stall during the Ashley Flower Show. The could advertise the stall around the school, label and price the plants. They could set up the stall and take it in turns to sell. With the money they raised, they could choose and buy different items – including chickens and fruit trees - through the Send a Cow charity to send to Africa.

Lego Design Challenge- 

This is a competition where tens of thousands of schools and after-school teams take part in international engineering and robotics competitions each year using LEGO® Education resources. Contests are sponsored and run by industrial and educational professionals eager to promote science, technology and innovation skills from an early age. I think this is a great thing to use as a teacher and be a part of as it is a fun and interesting way for your pupils to become innovative and creative in a real contest and for a real purpose!

IDEO Shopping Cart Challenge- I think this is a good idea as in my home education system it is very focussed on helping children achieve to the same level and if you don't reach a certain level you are not good enough and seen to fail. It is less about innovation and creativity and more about academics and performance. Through this project I feel it would help children in my class to become innovative and not see creativity as something to be scared of. In this you cannot fail as you work together as a group. It is a good starting point for innovation as you choose an object that is very familiar to re-design. Similarly it is more about the process which you are involved in and less about  the product which is a good way to change children's perceptions in a education system which is extremely focused on the product and grades! Likewise there is no "boss" in the group, everyone is valued and equal. It helps to develop and teach important skills such as communication, understanding and learning not to critizize on ideas of others, everbody give their ideas with post-its.

Pestalozzi- This is a method which emphasizes spontaneity and self-activity. Children aren't given ready-made answers, but are encouraged to arrive at the answers on their own. It cultivates observing, judging and reasoning. Above all, children are encouraged to use their imagination to visualize images. As Einstein said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination circles the world." This is a good method to use to encourage creativity and innovation within the classroom. 

Children's Innovation Project- supports children's development as learners who are confident, competent and caring. Guided by a careful learning progression and thoughtful use of materials, children develop habits of mind that support them as curious innovators who can creatively problem solve in the world around them.




27 ways to teach Innovation- These give practical, and easy ways to encourage children to be innovation and create an environment where creativity and innovation is welcomed!

Overall, these are a just a few of the things I have found to inspire me to use innovation within my teaching back at home. I'm encouraged and inspired and I hope you are too!