Becoming Inventors: An Inclusive Challenge for All Kids
“That came out of our brains!” was one of the best lines that I heard as a chapter leader. The Inventor’s Challenge was the culmination of months of practice and projects, and for this young boy came with the realization that an idea could become a reality. Almost as importantly he used the pronoun “our” — he was learning what it was to share an imagination.
For children with social-cognitive learning challenges accessing and participating in group learning experiences is often a bigger hurdle than the academics. That was all the more reason why fellow speech-language pathologists Nancy Tarshis MA, MS, CCC-SLP, Allie Brudner MS, CCC-SLP and I, started an Imagination Chapter for children with special needs.
How do we teach kids to imagine when it doesn’t come easily to them? We were very conscious of how we set up each week to build the necessary skills. To help with the practicalities we reframed the question to, what gets in the way of their capacity to be imaginative? Not wanting our kids to simply dress the part of inventors, we needed to create a condition in which it would be possible for them to flex those creative muscles.
So, each week we went to the “creative and imagination gym” a term coined by one of the kids. The activities and resources provided by the Imagination Foundation offered repeated opportunities to build upon and practice the skills needed to ultimately take on the Inventor’s Challenge.
Collaboration | It’s hard to be on the same page when you can’t figure out the book
What does collaboration even look like? We first worked on how to share a space, guiding the kids to be more mindful of their bodies as well as others’ in context. Can everyone see the plan? Is anyone too squished or out of the circle? In their work we used colored tape to delineate spaces to help them organize themselves as a team. We also began each session with a clapping game: Two kids had to clap their hands at the same time before passing it around the circle. To do so they had to share a goal: Listening and watching one another to be in sync. Instead of repeatedly directing them to pay attention to one another we gradually showed them what it looked like to collaborate.
Executive Functioning | Routines root
We had a set routine to our sessions — when you know what’s expected it frees up cognitive space to play with the unknown… and we wanted them to play! The sessions began and ended in a circle, with set times scheduled for brainstorming, planning, and checking in. Within this repeated structure they practiced prioritizing, visualizing, self-monitoring, reflecting, and how to start and complete a task.
Language | Words give shape to thoughts
Among the most exciting measures of growth and change that we noted was how our kids integrated certain words and phrases into their vernacular. Words like checking-in, plan, what if, prototype and the growth mindset favorite, yet. The kids didn’t simply learn these new words and run with it — they had to flex their definitions in context. We worked hard to overlay and encourage use of these words especially in those frustrating moments when cardboard cutouts didn’t look exactly as intended, or a preference wasn’t picked or when a difficult moment arose with a peer. This gave them a practiced vocabulary that bolstered their internal narratives, particularly in the face of an obstacle.
Flexible Thinking | What if…?
Every session challenged the kids to consider alternatives — to flex what was to what could be. This was a challenge for many of our more concrete thinkers: A box was a box. The Cardboard Challenge was a great step into the world of possibilities: What else could the box be? At first the kids were bound to its shape — a fridge, a table, a stool… But what if we cut it, added to it, connected it… We found that the combination of exposure and practice built this capacity in a way that was brilliantly fun to watch. Brainstorms became charged and increasingly generated by the kids themselves. Most powerfully questions that began with What if were being punctuated by a peer’s, “Oh, maybe we could also…” Instead of waiting us, the adults, they began to inspire each other’s creativity.
Tolerance | It’s a disgrace! A disaster!
… Is what one of the kids said when she made a mistake. The initial sessions were punctuated by behavioral outbursts. Our kids struggled to tolerate frustration, challenge and risk and either gave up, lost interest or became destructive. A mistake can be a big deal in a world largely depicted as linear. Visually, there’s little room to manage an error on a line and for many of our concrete thinkers a mistake meant starting over… back of the line. The design process is more forgiving (and realistic) in its iterative spiral. Our daily schedules were always drawn out on a spiral with room to allow for the unexpected. While this may have alleviated some of the anxiety around mistakes it didn’t necessarily change how they perceived them. Where possible, we wanted mistakes to be seen as opportunities. The Ozobots were great for this — when they made mistakes in coding the little robots sometimes did even cooler things like spin or zoom. So, instead of “It didn’t work” period, we heard, “It didn’t work but I/we learned how to…”
Agency | I think I can
For many children, and ours in particular, therapy, school and extracurriculars are filled with directives, supports, sequences and scaffolding which can inadvertently foster a learned dependency. Through some of the above points we sought to create a structure that allowed for less adult-involvement and more opportunities for the kids to initiate problem solving. Closer to the Inventor’s Challenge we placed wrapped boxes of littleBits in the circle and had them walk us through what you do with something new (e.g. open carefully, check the pieces, look at instructions…). We had them draw the schedule on the spiral and then said, “Go for it!” They took full control of the actual exploring with minimal input from us, including when things went wrong.
If creativity is a muscle then imagination is a habit of mind. We set scaffolds, structured what we could, and adjusted accordingly to allow our kids to step mindfully and enthusiastically into the role of inventors. This took practice, lots and lots… and lots of practice. If you think about, it takes guts to be an inventor — to imagine something that isn’t and be willing to step into that dark and explore the unknown. But with the tools accrued at the “creative and imagination gym” our kids lit the way to the Inventor’s Challenge.
Inventor’s Challenge 2019 runs until June 30, 2019. For more information on how to enter, please visit inventorschallenge.org.
