The Case for Invention Education

How Empathy in STEM Can Transform Learning for Students and Teachers

By Doug Scott, Business/Technology/Engineering Department Head, Grades 6–12 Hopkinton Public Schools, Massachusetts

UPDATE: In August 2020, Doug Scott was awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching

Picture a group of high school students on a frozen pond in Massachusetts, their eyes trained intently on a moving object. No, it’s not a hockey puck. It’s a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) built to perform search and rescue missions below the ice — and the students invented it themselves.

Like all of my assignments, this one began with a simple question: “What is your problem?”

At the time, I was teaching at Natick High School about 30 miles east of Boston. A group of my students were participating in the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam program where they’re tasked with solving problems that have positive impact on people and communities near or far. I challenged them to think of a problem specific to our area, and they brought up an issue related to the ponds that are found throughout the region.

In winter when the local pond freezes over, the local fire department’s dive team is often called upon to investigate possible cases of people falling through the ice. But swimming around in frigid water searching for potential victims is perilous, even for experienced divers. What if there was a machine, they wondered, that could perform the search instead?

Their resulting invention — an ROV equipped with an underwater camera that rescuers could use to pinpoint a victim’s location before diving in — was so useful and effective that it won praise and gratitude from the fire department. It went on to earn them a trip to the White House Science Fair, where President Barack Obama operated it himself. And it even ended up receiving a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

That was in 2014, and since then I have only become more passionate about incorporating invention into my classroom and advocating for what we call Invention Education. Far more powerful than simply providing students with a problem to solve, Invention Education flips the script. It’s a teacher-facilitated experience where students learn the process of how to clearly define a real problem affecting others in their local community or somewhere else in the world. They then must design a solution and fabricate a prototype and respond to critical user feedback.

At first it can be hard for teachers to let go of control — we’re used to being in the driver’s seat. But we can be just as effective as a passenger with a map, providing directions as needed. The destination is ultimately the responsibility of the student.

In too many science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) courses, the problem is not only pre-selected for students, it’s often unrelatable and not tied to the real world. Think about the old standby assignments of building a bridge or dropping an egg. How many students really care about that bridge or egg, and how do their solutions help other people? Students end up walking away from projects like these with no lasting impact on them or on other people’s lives. Through Invention Education, however, students become deeply engaged with the problem they’ve chosen to tackle. They also go through a more genuine engineering process with a focus on iteration and user experience.

I often like to start with a project where they’re the beneficiaries, designing something that serves their own needs — remember, teenagers love to think about themselves. Then, building on that experience, I ask them to start thinking about and designing for other people, and this can be the biggest motivator. One of my students had a neighbor whose dog had been hit by a car at night. In response, he designed a light source that could be affixed to an animal’s collar in hopes of preventing similar casualties. Ultimately, empathy is at the heart of Invention Education and results in a more meaningful learning experience.

But students aren’t the only ones who benefit. When students are motivated by empathy, teachers have fewer classroom management issues. We have students who are suddenly more invested in the learning experience and are driving their own education. I’m now on staff at Hopkinton High School, where my shop doors are always open because students can’t seem to stay away from working on their inventions outside of class time.

At first it can be hard for teachers to let go of control — we’re used to being in the driver’s seat. But we can be just as effective as a passenger with a map, providing directions as needed. The destination is ultimately the responsibility of the student.

Invention Education works just as well for students and teachers who do not have STEM experience. My own background was in business and as an athletics coach. But I was introduced to engineering and technology through the invention process, and learned along with my students. And because this approach also appeals to students who don’t necessarily identify with STEM subjects, we’re engaging traditionally under-represented groups like young women, minorities, and lower-income populations. Many students who participated in that original InvenTeam had no interest in engineering, but after their invention experience, went on to places like MIT and the space program in the Air Force. Even those who haven’t pursued STEM fields have developed life skills that can apply to any type of challenge — from fixing a leaky pipe at home to solving complex problems in the workplace.

The process of Invention Education has a transformative impact on students and teachers alike. I never would have predicted that my path would lead from coaching sports to teaching robotics and engineering, and that my name would be listed as a co-inventor with my students on an official U.S. patent (№9,511,833 B2). And although not all of my students have gone on to become patent-awarded inventors (at least not yet), the skills they’ve learned will have lifelong benefits to themselves, their careers, and their communities — and ultimately will help create the world we all want to live in.

To learn more, visit inventioneducation.org.