MEMBERS & VISITORS
Why Develop African Invention Education?
Africa’s incredible wealth of natural resources is a good starting point. The fact that this material wealth has been historically and primarily extracted for the greater benefit of others outside of Africa is a good second point. Technological advances in artificial intelligence, human speech recognition, and computer vision are advancing to the degree, and at such rapid rate, that they threaten to make aspects of the current education system increasingly obsolete. The promise of Invention Education is its focus on ways of thinking, engaging, and learning from one another that inherently define us as humans such as empathetic problem identification, innovative problem solving, and tolerance for operating in ambiguity or without instructions. Tharaka Invention Academy believes it is uniquely positioned to prepare the next generation to leverage fast-approaching technological advances that have and will continue to dramatically change African economies and society at large in this 21st century.
The benefits of Invention Education are increasingly recognized by many visionary thinkers. The community directly involved with Invention Education is growing, and includes both in- and out-of-school-time educators, business leaders, education researchers, nonprofits, policy makers, inventors, and the philanthropic community. These measures correlate directly to the attributes that will be needed to stay relevant in our future economy, and to enhance our quality of life while preserving our ecosystems and natural environments. Invention Education has demonstrated the ability to increase student engagement and participant interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math education, to promote knowledge acquisition, and to develop characteristics, skills, and mindsets that are needed not just for the future economy but for our increasingly connected world. Tharaka Invention Academy’s online courses will effectively engage learners from diverse backgrounds in collaborative projects, and develop the confidence in problem solving that empowers individuals to productively contribute to their local and global community.
Invention Education helps prepare students to become problem solvers with the interest and capacity to address issues facing humankind at the community level or globally. These problems include local needs or global concerns. Fostering invention, innovation, and an entrepreneurial mindset directly supports the development of learners’ self-determination and helps learners develop ways of exerting greater control over their future unlike in the colonial past. It increases the spectrum of opportunities by developing the capacity for each individual to create new approaches, products, services, and then take them to market. These capabilities add value whether working within an existing company or creating a new one, and can benefit individuals and society in more ways than just financially. Invention Education provides a set of experiences that increase both capacity and confidence within the learner. Invention Education also can build collaboration and communication skills. Research shows that while inventors can work individually or in teams with co-inventors, they are most successful when they pursue invention as a deeply collaborative process. At their core, inventors display many of the following traits and dispositions, which can benefit all individuals in our society and are highly sought-after.
I have seen first-hand how the open-ended project-based work required by Invention Education impacts the lives of their students. Invention Education’s transdisciplinary nature brings value to both formal and informal classrooms. As education stands at a crossroads today, Invention Education is well positioned to help prepare today’s learners for the uncertainties of the future while meeting students where they are academically and behaviorally. In this new era of African development Invention Education will ensure the continued relevance of our adapting education system by helping prepare today’s learners for the economy of the future.
We have published other informative posts on Invention School’s website which may interest you. To view our entire catalog of over 740 posts go to inventionschool.tech/category/blog/ or use our handy search tool to find topics of interest to you.
Mechanical/Solar Engineer, Prof. Oku Singer
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