Title: Fostering Innovative Skills Within the Classroom: A Qualitative Analysis from Interviews with 60 Innovators
Abstract: Abstract Fostering Innovative Skills within the Classroom: A Qualitative Analysis from Interviews with 60 InnovatorsThe Educate to Innovate project was initiated to better understand the innovation process so thatK-12 schools, colleges and universities, businesses, and policymakers can better promoteinnovation throughout the educational, entrepreneurial, and industrial ecosystems in the U.S. TheEducate to Innovate project began with semi-structured, open-ended interviews with 60successful U.S. innovators. Digital recordings of the interviews were transcribed and analyzedqualitatively to identify attributes common to several innovators. This paper presents aqualitative analysis of six major themes that relate to classroom-level strategies for fosteringinnovation: 1) Exposure to Compelling Challenges and Real-world Problems, 2)Experiential/Hands-on Learning, 3) Changing Students Expectations about Failure, 4)Collaborative Learning, 5) Teaching Students how to Implement Ideas, and 6) Teaching Cases ofInnovation. Implications of these classroom-level strategies for fostering innovator skills arediscussed, including risk-taking, identifying “good” ideas, the ability to see the “big picture”,flexibility in one’s ideas, communication skills, and managing time and resources well.